10K mile oil changes

[Maybe]

Since I'm retired, going way back to when I was 16 to 20 years old (in the 70s). I think the only synthetic oil available was Amsoil, but nobody I knew used it. The most popular oil back then was 10w-40 Valvoline if you changed the oil yourself. 10W-30 Pennzoil if you had the dealer change your oil. If you were into quarter mile racing straight 30w Valvoline or Castrol.

Back then Fram oil filter were real popular. Nowadays I only see bad reviews on Fram oil filters

fram has gotten better. I do a lot of deep diving on bobistheoilguy and they do well especially the more durable filters they have. They are obviously $5-6 bucks more than the basic orange but those are what I’d rock. I’m using my stash of FL500 from my Mustang i had left over.

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[Morningpride]

Oil at 5, trans at 50k. The funny thing about oil filters, everyone claims that theirs is the best, but when the engine is cold, the oil bypasses the filter anyways.

 

[burbansk]

Just did our 4th oil change on my wife's 2024 Ranger Lariat FX4 2.7L. It has 8,700 miles on it. After this one I will go every 5,000 miles. Only use Amsoil 5W-30 Signature full synthetic oil and Motorcraft fiiters.

 

[Maybe]

Just did our 4th oil change on my wife's 2024 Ranger Lariat FX4 2.7L. It has 8,700 miles on it. After this one I will go every 5,000 miles. Only use Amsoil 5W-30 Signature full synthetic oil and Motorcraft fiiters.

Why 2 k oil changes with Amsoil?

 

[Boosted6G]

Not a chance I'd go 10,000 miles. If you can afford it, change often...and do it yourself. Super easy with an aftermarket quick release drain plug. I'm also in the 5,000 mile synthetic group.

The single most important thing you can do to any vehicle is regular oil changes using quality oil and a filter.

 

[burbansk]

Why 2 k oil changes with Amsoil?

Maybe, I changed it the first time when I bought it and drove it home. The second and third time I did it because the engine was brand new and still being broke in. This last time I did it because winter is knocking on the door here in Northern Michigan and we had a nice 40 degree day. This last one should get us through the winter.

 

[stemplar]

Oil threads without oil analysis reports are a collection of opinions perhaps sprinkled with lots of anecdotes and maybe a reference to the owners manual.

I just did the second change on my 2.7 and should have the oil report in a week or two; the report will show the results of each sample done to the engine thus far including the TBN. I’ll post the report here when I get it.

edit: first report was posted here:

https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/thre...xt=First Oil-,Change,-and Blackstone Analysis

 

[AugPal]

Oil threads without oil analysis reports are a collection of opinions perhaps sprinkled with lots of anecdotes and maybe a reference to the owners manual.

I just did the second change on my 2.7 and should have the oil report in a week or two; the report will show the results of each sample done to the engine thus far including the TBN. I’ll post the report here when I get it.

edit: first report was posted here:

https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/first-oil-change-and-blackstone-analysis.19671/#:~:text=First Oil-,Change,-and Blackstone Analysis

I don't know of anyone who has done this.

How much did you pay for that test? https://www.blackstone-labs.com/tests-price-list/

 

[Preskitt]

I do 5,000 miles, or less, depending on the time between changes…

 

[stemplar]

I don't know of anyone who has done this.

How much did you pay for that test? https://www.blackstone-labs.com/tests-price-list/

I don’t recall; maybe $30-something plus another $5 or so for the tbn?
I typically do several when an engine is new (or new to me), slowly adjusting my change interval until I find where the oil is mostly worn and it’s time to change (and maybe another one or two just to verify). Then I just do one every 20k-40k miles to check in and see how the engine is wearing.

 

[purdyd]

I don’t recall; maybe $30-something plus another $5 or so for the tbn?
I typically do several when an engine is new (or new to me), slowly adjusting my change interval until I find where the oil is mostly worn and it’s time to change (and maybe another one or two just to verify). Then I just do one every 20k-40k miles to check in and see how the engine is wearing.

ok, what’s your verdict?

 

[Maybe]

Maybe, I changed it the first time when I bought it and drove it home. The second and third time I did it because the engine was brand new and still being broke in. This last time I did it because winter is knocking on the door here in Northern Michigan and we had a nice 40 degree day. This last one should get us through the winter.

it’s not a racecar engine. Complete overkill but it’s your money and truck. Was just curious why the excessive changes for no reason.

 

[burbansk]

it’s not a racecar engine. Complete overkill but it’s your money and truck. Was just curious why the excessive changes for no reason.

You are correct, it is not a race car engine. But since it will probably be our last new vehicle I decided to really baby it. I did the same thing with my 2015 Ford F-150 3.5L Twin Turbo. She now has 139,000 miles and no issues. I also worked in the Experimental/Prototype engine group of Ford Motor, building these very same engines and know how important clean oil can be to the engine and the turbo's life span. Better safe than sorry is my motto.

 

[stemplar]

ok, what’s your verdict?

My verdict? My verdict is that oil sampling with TBN is the only way to tell what "the right" change interval is. In about 30 years of doing this I can't find a pattern or consistent rule of thumb as it would relate to manufacturers recommendations, or oil service life monitors. I've had BMW gas engines that just chewed through oil in 5k-6k miles while the oil service life indicator and owners manual were telling me it's fine to go twice that distance, while a diesel benz would go 12k on oil that still showed a TBN over 4. With my air/oil cooled BMW bikes the recommended interval for oil changes is 6k but even after 6k the TBN was still high so I change the oil in spring and fall to get the right viscosities for the ambient temps, but never had to worry about miles on the oil (and I ride consistently over 1k miles/mo).

Oil service life is affected by a number of factors, like how we drive, how much we idle, the cleanliness of the ambient environment in which the engine is run, the brand of oil we choose, and who knows what else; maybe there's variance from one engine to the identical next one off the assembly line too. What interval works for me very likely won't be the same as what works for the next person. For every specific bike/car/suv I've had sampled enough to find a good change interval I can show you a whole host of social media posts of folks with identical machines passionately stating that a wildly different interval is the right one. Maybe it is for them, but not for me.

Then there's the approach or philosophy of just changing it before it's really needed. Maybe every 3k or something; well before the oil is worn. Whose to say that's wrong? A waste of money? Maybe, but some would argue that paying for oil analysis is a waste of money and it's better to spend it on more frequent oil changes. If that works for some folks, who am I to pass judgement?

 

[purdyd]

My verdict? My verdict is that oil sampling with TBN is the only way to tell what "the right" change interval is. In about 30 years of doing this I can't find a pattern or consistent rule of thumb as it would relate to manufacturers recommendations, or oil service life monitors. I've had BMW gas engines that just chewed through oil in 5k-6k miles while the oil service life indicator and owners manual were telling me it's fine to go twice that distance, while a diesel benz would go 12k on oil that still showed a TBN over 4. With my air/oil cooled BMW bikes the recommended interval for oil changes is 6k but even after 6k the TBN was still high so I change the oil in spring and fall to get the right viscosities for the ambient temps, but never had to worry about miles on the oil (and I ride consistently over 1k miles/mo).

Oil service life is affected by a number of factors, like how we drive, how much we idle, the cleanliness of the ambient environment in which the engine is run, the brand of oil we choose, and who knows what else; maybe there's variance from one engine to the identical next one off the assembly line too. What interval works for me very likely won't be the same as what works for the next person. For every specific bike/car/suv I've had sampled enough to find a good change interval I can show you a whole host of social media posts of folks with identical machines passionately stating that a wildly different interval is the right one. Maybe it is for them, but not for me.

Then there's the approach or philosophy of just changing it before it's really needed. Maybe every 3k or something; well before the oil is worn. Whose to say that's wrong? A waste of money? Maybe, but some would argue that paying for oil analysis is a waste of money and it's better to spend it on more frequent oil changes. If that works for some folks, who am I to pass judgement?

sure that is my real question.

I’ve always gone 5k between changes.

while that might not be optimal in terms of cost….

have you seen anything to suggest that isn’t sufficient foe the Ford Ranger?

But what you are suggesting is that 10k might not be depending on your driving conditions and the vehicle.

personally I prefer 5k simply from the aspect of it’s easy to look at the odometer and see if it needs an oil change

and it seems with a quality synthetic oil that is a decent interval looking at various tests on the internet

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