BrutusBuckeye

Well, I've been watching the oil quantity on my GT and after looking at another thread, it was clear that my oil was low. I did a full change today (instead of top off), since I just hit 3000 miles and after draining everything, I only recovered a little over 5 qts. I really doubt that it burned 3 qts in the past 3000 miles (no other evidence to support burning oil), so I'm thinking it was low from the factory. So, just a word of advice, if the dipstick is just barely wet, it's definitely low, probably lower than you expect.

Also, I was surprised how dirty the oil was after just 3000 miles. For a 10k change interval, I'm not sure the part-syn motorcraft is up to the task. I've upgraded to Castrol Edge.

Cheers!

AzPete

One of the little things one should check before driving the car off the lot and several times between changes. Gotta take care of the vehicle.

SD CALSPCL

Have you checked your oil on a regular basis since taking delivery? The manual is pretty clear about where the oil level should be on the dipstick.

Hopefully, all is well. If she is quiet, then you caught it early enough so no damage was done.

BrutusBuckeye

I did check it at delivery and have been checking regularly since. There was oil showing on the dipstick, just not like it was "soaked" in oil. It wasn't until I saw another posting on this site from a gentleman who did his initial change to find that he was a couple of quarts low. He posted a pic of "before and after" of the dipstick and mine was identical. That's when I decided that I would do a full change and sure enough, I had the same result.

BrutusBuckeye

She's running fine. I've not had any issues with ticking noises or anything else.

GTCS 2k9

I would of thought as part of the pre delivery inspection, oil level should be checked. I, myself, have never checked oil level on a brand new car. After 1,000 miles or so , ofcourse. First oil change I did on my 4.6 was only at about 1200 miles.

fake

It's actually not a 10K interval. The manual states the intervals can be up to 10K depending on what your oil monitor life say's. If you drive like an old granny and do nothing but hwy driving, your oil monitor will be close to 10K before it tells you to change your oil.

Now with that said, there is no way in hell I'm going to let my car tell me when to change the oil. I will change every 5k regardless of what my oil monitor says.

Curious as to the type of driving you do since you said the oil looked dirty? Lot of stop & go, mixture of city/hwy, track time?

Big Poppa

Naaa, you can't trust them. If you get some lazy mechanic or a mechanic thats overworked some things are surely to get missed. I always check my cars over BEFORE and AFTER bringing it to the shop that way they can't say it was like that when it came in, and I know the state it was in when I brought it there.

AzPete

I was reading somewhere else that checking fluid levels is NOT part of the dealer prep on the cars anymore. I just don't trust the guy filling it after a change either.....I check it myself since I gave up changing my own now.

BrutusBuckeye

Sorry, should have said "up to 10k" on the oil change interval. Mine is a DD and I'd say it's a 50/50 city/hwy mix of driving. I would love to hit a track, but haven't found one around the St Louis area yet. I'm not an overly aggressive driver on the streets, but do enjoy the "gas pedal therapy."

As for the change interval, I've owned two other cars where it had a computer to tell you the change interval. One was a 97 BMW 528 and it worked well. I think the longest it went was close to 10k. Also, my previous car, an 04 Volvo S40 had a similar type of system. The volvo directed a change after meeting one of three criteria: 1) miles (7500) 2) 1 year or 3) engine operating time. It seemed to work well and since it was a turbo-charged engine, I was leery at first but I think the "oil life monitors" have come a long way. Never had any oil related issues while owning those cars.

HoosierDaddy

Someone posted a letter from Ford to dealers removing that check from the PDI as an cost saving measure. Dealers could still do it; they just won't get paid by Ford for the time. Since the factory is SUPPOSED to put the right amount of oil in, it's a waste of time for the dealer to check it.

Since you don't check your new cars, you share Ford's position on the matter. I wouldn't.

cdynaco

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTCS 2k9

I, myself, have never checked oil level on a brand new car.

"Never expect what you don't inspect."


Man first thing I do with a new car is lift the hood and check it out. And every time I wash the car I lift the hood and wipe the dust down, check things out. Empty the oil sep every tank of fuel. The dipstick is right there. Pull the dang thing and look at it - otherwise you'll be the dipstick!

Ask the guy that didn't check it for the first 2300 miles and spun a bearing and wasted his engine.

https://themustangsource.com/f726/no...7/#post6121706

GTCS 2k9

Thanks for the update on the oil check on the PDI. Huge oversight on my part, I admit, especially after reading this thread. You guys are right in that I took it for granted that the oil level was up even though I do my first oil change long before its due. And yes unfortunately "they" can't be trusted at the dealership. Having said that I do check the oil levels right after an oil change and in between. On two oil changes, I had the dealership drain some oil after overfilling the crankcase......

So, lesson learned. Gotta be thorough. Gotta be careful.