First oil change! What type?

[Sonic04GT]

Well I have always taken my car to Ford for oil changes because I can't do it in my neighborhood, stupid, I know. Well I'm at the girlfriends house for a couple weeks and I'm due so I'm finally going to do it myself.

I have always done the $30 Ford change which is semi-synthetic I believe. What do you guys recommend using this time around? Car has about 59k on the clock.

Owners manual calls for what, 6qts of 5w-20 for a 2004 GT?

Do you guys keep the car level with 4 jackstands or just jack the front up enough to reach the oil pan?

Do these cars have an aluminum pan? I'm paranoid about stripping the threads on the drain bolt haha Hand-tighten the filter?

You guys stick with Motorcraft filters?

Sorry for all the questions

 

[crzyhrse99]

Mobile 1 5w20, MC filter. I use rhino ramps.

 

[IIGood]

I've just stuck with Motorcraft 5W-20 and the Motorcraft FL-820S filter for all my oil changes. No issues at 126K miles.

I used to jack the front end up but it started to be a pain. Now I have a set of Raceramps. Great for lowered cars but pricey.

 

[bdcardinal]

use your fav brand of 5w20 oil and a Motorcraft FL-820s and you are good.

BTW its Mobil, not mobile oil.

 

[Dark04GT]

Mobil 1 5w20, MC filter.

+1. BTW filter is: Motorcraft part# FL-820S.

I do it exactly like this guy:
BULLITT Archive oil and filter Change

If you are concerned about stripping threads make sure you hand tighten all bolts first.

 

[Sonic04GT]

Is the Mobil 1 full synthetic? I don't have a favorite brand as I've used the Motorcraft stuff from Ford since I bought the car.

Is it a good idea to switch to full synthetic? Once I get back home I'll probably be back to Ford's semi-synthetic anyway...

Any issues doing an oil change on ramps, on an already inclined driveway?

I'll have to see if her father has a torque wrench so I can hit the drain bolt with 19lbs and not worry about stripping it.

How many quarts do you guys use? 5 and then add a little at a time from the 6th quart?
Aim for the middle of the hash marks on the dip stick?

 

[crazystang25]

Middle of hash marks is not full. I use castrol syntec or Mobil 1 full synthetic with either Mobil 1 or K&N oil filter.

 

[Crzyhrse]

Most importantly, don't forget the foil. Cover all areas below and to the sides of the filter. Most of the time I still have a tiny clean up, but my last oil change I did'nt have to clean up anything.

 

[Sonic04GT]

Middle of hash marks is not full. I use castrol syntec or Mobil 1 full synthetic with either Mobil 1 or K&N oil filter.

Figured it would take a bit for the rest of the oil to actually reach the pan.

 

[Sonic04GT]

Most importantly, don't forget the foil. Cover all areas below and to the sides of the filter. Most of the time I still have a tiny clean up, but my last oil change I did'nt have to clean up anything.

Yeah, thanks, I was concerned about that. The Bullitt article cleared that up

 

[IIGood]

Is the Mobil 1 full synthetic? I don't have a favorite brand as I've used the Motorcraft stuff from Ford since I bought the car.

Usually, Mobil 1 is the full synthetic.

Is it a good idea to switch to full synthetic? Once I get back home I'll probably be back to Ford's semi-synthetic anyway...

It's up to you. Full synthetic is more expensive, and once you use it, you shouldn't switch back. As I said in my previous post, I've been using the Motorcraft stuff all along in my car (at 126,000 miles) and haven't had any issues.

Any issues doing an oil change on ramps, on an already inclined driveway?

Depends on the incline. Personally, I don't feel comfortable raising a car by any means on a non-level surface. I do all my car work at my parents house (I live in an apartment complex), and they have a rather steep driveway...I pull in the garage and do the work in there.

I'll have to see if her father has a torque wrench so I can hit the drain bolt with 19lbs and not worry about stripping it.

Couldn't hurt, but I've never had a torque wrench myself. I've always just gotten the drain bolt snugged up and have never had any issues.

How many quarts do you guys use? 5 and then add a little at a time from the 6th quart?
Aim for the middle of the hash marks on the dip stick?

Mine calls for 6 quarts, so I put all 6 quarts in.

 

[txredgt]

Now I have a set of Raceramps. Great for lowered cars but pricey.

Good lord those things are pricey! All for just a little piece of plastic.. Looks like a great product and good quality but I couldn't justify that price.

I have nothing to add about th OP though, I believe it all has been covered

 

[04GTMustang]

I run Royal Purple 5w30. little thicker than what ford calls for but i would much rather have better wear protection. Then I have a mobil 1 filter in the car. That combo has kept my car running strong since the day I bought her and its now closing in on 98000 miles with many years of abuse

 

[Mustang5L5]

When i had my GT, i ran Castrol GTX 5W-30 and the Motorcraft FL-820S filter.

Reason I went with the 30wt is because the 4.6L originally called for 5W-30. Ford changed it to 5W-20 at some point and even made a TSB recommending older 4.6's use 5w-20 as well. Their reason was it gained an additional 0.25MPG. Since none of the bearing clearances changed, i went with the oil wt th engine was originally designed for.

I also am not a huge synthetic engine oil fan. I run it in every other location except engine. I still with factory fill, so if a car came OEM with conventional, that's what I run.

Honestly, sometimes the synthetic oil trend reminds me of the misnomer that if you car at all about your car, you run 93 octane, synthetic oil, and platnium plugs no matter what. I understand fully that syn fluids are superior to conventionals, but find it funny when someone gets a nice car they feel compelled that they need to run syn fluids, or put the highest grade octane they can find...any less, or conventional fluids is just "putting in the cheap stuff"

I could show you plenty of 150K mile 5.0 blocks run on conventional with factory cross-hatch still on the cylinder walls.

Of course, i realize everyone has their opinions on oil...so make your own decision and run what you want to run

 

[N8Dogg98]

Save your money and just buy the Motorcraft 5W-20 oil. There's no need to switch to a full synthetic.

 

[deftsound]

When i had my GT, i ran Castrol GTX 5W-30 and the Motorcraft FL-820S filter.

Reason I went with the 30wt is because the 4.6L originally called for 5W-30. Ford changed it to 5W-20 at some point and even made a TSB recommending older 4.6's use 5w-20 as well. Their reason was it gained an additional 0.25MPG. Since none of the bearing clearances changed, i went with the oil wt th engine was originally designed for.

I also am not a huge synthetic engine oil fan. I run it in every other location except engine. I still with factory fill, so if a car came OEM with conventional, that's what I run.

Honestly, sometimes the synthetic oil trend reminds me of the misnomer that if you car at all about your car, you run 93 octane, synthetic oil, and platnium plugs no matter what. I understand fully that syn fluids are superior to conventionals, but find it funny when someone gets a nice car they feel compelled that they need to run syn fluids, or put the highest grade octane they can find...any less, or conventional fluids is just "putting in the cheap stuff"

I could show you plenty of 150K mile 5.0 blocks run on conventional with factory cross-hatch still on the cylinder walls.

Of course, i realize everyone has their opinions on oil...so make your own decision and run what you want to run

+1 I never started using synthetic until i put the vortech on. I think its hilarious when people waste their money on 93 octane when their car doesn't require it, they think they are getting extra performance with it or something but the truth is they are just wasting money.

 

[sneaky98gt]

The oil really isn't going to matter. Just try and pick something and run with it. I run Valvoline because that's what we have always used in all our farm trucks, personal vehicles, and because that's what Mark Martin used to have on the side of his car. But Valvoline does have a "300,000 mile engine guarantee" or something like that that might be worth checking on. I run the 5W-30 weight for the same reason Mustang5L5 mentioned, and I run the full synthetic just because that's the "accepted" thing to do with higher mileage Mustangs, even though it's probably not necessary.

The filter does matter; Motorcraft FL820-S is the only one you should ever run in your car.

I could show you plenty of 150K mile 5.0 blocks run on conventional with factory cross-hatch still on the cylinder walls.

+1. My dad is always picking on me about running full synthetic because his old E-150 work van has run conventional for almost 20 years now, and has nearly 600,000 miles on the stock motor. We have several farm trucks that have been beaten to death over the last 15-20 years with 250,000+ miles that have always had conventional oil.

 

[IIGood]

Good lord those things are pricey! All for just a little piece of plastic.. Looks like a great product and good quality but I couldn't justify that price.

Yeah, they definitely aren't cheap, but they are a good product particularly for lowered cars. They're not even plastic either. I don't know what the material is...but it's pretty solid, very lightweight, and the texture reminds me of Rhino-liner. Each ramp is 2 pieces, so if you need to crawl under the middle of the car for example, you can remove the ramp part and have more area to work with. They are definitely nice...but yes, quite pricey. I got 'em as a Christmas gift one year so no money out of my pocket. LOL.

+1 I never started using synthetic until i put the vortech on. I think its hilarious when people waste their money on 93 octane when their car doesn't require it, they think they are getting extra performance with it or something but the truth is they are just wasting money.

My GT is stock and people are just shocked and amazed that I "only" put regular in it. They figured I'd fill it up with premium. I always come back with "Nope, it only calls for regular."

 

[fast97gt]

FL 820s MC filter, and motorcraft 5w20 took my 97 npi to over 280k

 

[Sonic04GT]

Thanks alot guys. I think I'm just going to stick with the Motorcraft stuff, since the car has basically had Motorcraft semi-synthetic (I believe), from the dealership since I bought it a couple years ago. Might as well stick with it since I'll be going back to it when I get home.

I'll grab 6 quarts of that and the 820s filter.