E450 V10 chassis Class C Oil Change

[JD Sharp]

Dark and thick, then.

 

[steve407]

Thanks for all the responses. I guess I should have called more than one ford dealer.  I appreciate the do-it-yourself'ers but I just can't contort my bowling pin shaped body for that stuff, so I have to get someone else to do it.  I had a horrible experience with a Wal-mart oil change on a car because the guy who did it seemed to think it need about 8 quarts of oil (he had zero experience - was a new hire and nobody more senior checked his work) so I just avoid Wallyworld for mechanical work. Dealers usually do a good job although not always cheapest.  Anyway thanks, I'll check around. I think the Jiffy Lube is big enough without a problem, but I'll call them.  Good idea to buy an oil filter in advance in case they don't stock them.

 

[blw2]

I had a conversation with a Texaco lubrication engineer once a long time ago, while we were doing our routing lube sampling analysis at a large paper mill.  It was explained to me that the time component of oil change intervals is because oils have both long and short chain polymers.  The short will evaporate over time, leaving a higher concentration of long chains.
Now I don't know about any of that, except to say it seems plausible to me.

To the OP.  The last time I checked, the ford dealership nearest me...in a nice big modern building... doesn't have a lift or space for it.
Another local dealership did say yes when i called.  Turned out they changed it out back  using a creeper and pan just like I would do in my driveway!
The only reason I was looking for dealerships was because I had a recall to get addressed.

 

[KandT]

I suspect most of us could run a modern car gas engine for 50k or more miles without an oil change and suffer no noticeable loss of power or engine life. Probably 100k+ if you could change the oil filter once in awhile.  Tighter mechanical clearances reduce combustion contamination and modern oils hold up well to normal wear & tear.  However, the automotive engineers have no idea how you will use their engines and have to assume that some percentage will be in the worse case scenario and plan maintenance intervals accordingly.  And since the vast majority of owners have no clue whether they are stressing the engine a lot or a little, changing oil & filter at least once a year is just plain good practice.

Agreed and know of someone who did it.  Dad bought her a car and she ran it until the engine seized without changing the oil.  Made it way over 50K but I forget the exact number.  Heck if she had changed it at 35,000 miles and 70,000 miles she probably would have doubled the engine life.  I'll have to check again and see what her "seize engine" odometer was.

I dont do that by the way - I just do what the manufacturer says (not what Jiffy Lube or my friend says).  I figure if the manufacturer will put it in writing, they are a lot smarter than me about their engine!  Who am I to second guess them?

 

[TheBar]

Not intending to hijack the post but many cars and trucks no longer have dipsticks for their automatic transmissions. The ATF is good for the life of the car. In college back in the 60's  I worked for a mechanic who would not change ATF for customers unless it was burnt or had metal particles in it. His theory was changing the fluid introduced dirt and contaminants and shortened the life of the transmission. I've run a bunch of cars over 300,000 miles without a change and never had problems.

 

[wae]

Thanks for all the responses. I guess I should have called more than one ford dealer.  I appreciate the do-it-yourself'ers but I just can't contort my bowling pin shaped body for that stuff, so I have to get someone else to do it.  I had a horrible experience with a Wal-mart oil change on a car because the guy who did it seemed to think it need about 8 quarts of oil (he had zero experience - was a new hire and nobody more senior checked his work) so I just avoid Wallyworld for mechanical work. Dealers usually do a good job although not always cheapest.  Anyway thanks, I'll check around. I think the Jiffy Lube is big enough without a problem, but I'll call them.  Good idea to buy an oil filter in advance in case they don't stock them.

If the shop doesn't stock the oil filter for the Ford Modular engine, I would never set foot in that shop again.  The 6.8 V10 takes the same oil filter that is on literally 2000 different Fords, the Mopar Hemi V8, plus a smattering of other applications.  It's not the most common oil filter in the world, but it's at least in the top 10.  That said, I do like the Motorcraft filter so if you wanted to make sure they put one of those on instead of something that might not have as good of an anti-drainback valve, I'd understand that.  8 quarts is a bit much unless someone installed some sort of massive oil cooler in there.  It does call for 6 quarts, though, so it takes a little more than what some consider "normal".