I took my car to the dealer to have my first oil change about a month ago. They charged me an arm and a leg because "the 5.0 needs a lot more oil."

Well my oil pressure meter has been sitting a good bit above the halfway mark ever since.

Is this normal?

 

Did you check the dip stick to see what oil level your at? I don't think oil pressure should vary with quantity in the oil pan...

 

That's where it should be. Check your own oil level every other gas fill up or at least once a month. My wife's 11 GT just cracked 103k miles on the pressure is about 3 needle 'widths' to the right of dead center.

Your GT takes 8 quarts of full synthetic, so yes, the oil changes can be expensive, depending on your dealer. For something so simple and gratifying, it's something to consider doing yourself, even if you aren't 'mechanically inclined'. The money saved on doing it yourself will pay for the tools, floor jack, jack stands, drain pain, funnel, and flexible funnel.

Plus you have the satisfaction of knowing it was done right!! Unless you aren't capable of doing it (live in apartment, physical issues, etc...), then you are at the mercy of a trusted service provider. Avoid the 'express oil' franchises at all costs, the internet is full of horror stories about those asshats...

 

Not sure if it's actually cheaper to do it myself... I'll run the math in a few thousand miles.

Dipstick checks out OK. I didn't notice the oil pressure being above midway before though.

Thanks for the reassurance.

 

If you're referring to the oil gauge between the tach and speedo, it doesn't give an accurate reading of oil pressure. It will display in the middle (or slightly above) if the sensor is between the normal thresholds, and will shift all of the way to either side if above or below those thresholds. It's closer to a dummy light than a gauge.

 

Ah, good to know!

 

Yeah i had the same feelings, didn't really save myself that much money doing it myself though the last oil change i did because it was nice out.

Still cost me 70$.

 

I grew up with a few guys who're now excellent mechanics but they just refer their customers to one lube joint or another for oil changes. It's hard to compete with companies who buy oil by the barrel (bulk price) and pay someone $10/hr to do it with idiot proof machines.

 

If you do go to a oil change facility do yourself a favor and have them show you your oil level on the dipstick after they ran it a few minutes and visually check your filter for leaks.