O/T advice on filters oil for new truck

Saturday, I plan on getting the oil and all the filters changed on my Ford and would like opinions on filters/oil. We've always used Valvoline 15/40 on the Dodge with the cummins diesel.

No wars please, just your advice/experiences.

I've always changed the oil every 3,000 miles, does this hold for the Ford diesel?

I doubt if the fluid/filters have ever been changed on the tranny, so I'd like opinions on whether to change it or leave well enough alone. Truck has 92,000 miles on it.

Any service records with the truck? If not, if you change it all you know when it was done & keep records from now on.

What does the truck's operator's manual state for oil type & change intervals?
I would trust the engineers that designed the truck over Bubba's opinion down at the pub.

No records, which is why oil and filters are going to be changed.

Just stay away from the Fram filters. I always thought they were good, but learned from personal experience they are not, about the worst you can use. Started looking around online and seems all the gurus and independant testers agree.

Wix seems to be a lot of people's favorite, might not be able to get them through a lube place though.

I've always been partial to Valvoline too, but most all name brands are good these days.

Time for a tranny flush if it's never been done. Just check it and see if it's dark or burnt smelling.

Saw your pics the other day, looks like it had been pretty well taken care of, at least cosmetically, so hopefully that will mean mechanically too.

You should be good with that oil for the Powerstroke (Delo, Rotella are good too), although I would go 5,000 if it gets much use. The FL 1995 Motorcraft filter at wally world is also a good filter, made by Wix I think. I would change the trans asap.

Good advice. Bought the truck Monday, just hadn't had time yet to sit down and read the manual.

Not interested in bubba from down at the pub's advice, but all the folks on this forum who work on their own machinery have a world of good knowledge.

Sales contract had a contingency clause that the truck had to pass inspection by my mechanic. I saw him look at and smell the fluid in the tranny. He said it was very clear and no burnt odor.

Nancy I have 2 1997 Powerstrokes and have always used Rotella in them. Both are close to 200,000 miles and don't use any oil as of yet. As for the tranny if it is an automatic be sure and take it to someone that can get all the fluid out not just a few quarts. They have to be able get it out of the torque converter.

Jim

My personal bias is to Exxon Mobile XD3 in 15w40. Its in everything here from the track hoe to my gasoline powered car, lawnmower, and my Dodge pickup and Jeep Cherokee, both diesels. I dont have any particular loyalty to it, it seems to do well and its what my jobber is a dealer for. I did use Shell Rotella for a while but I was in a couple of different clean engines with low hours and they already had some deposits in them. As to filters, Napa Gold or Wix (same filters, even the same part numbers with the Wix simply adding one number in front of the string).

15-40 Rotella and either Wix or Motorcraft filter. Not sure on the older Strokes, but my 01 held 15 quarts.

Nancy,
If you know who the previous owner is, call them and ask what they used in it. Otherwise, I suggest what I use in my 96 and that's Rotella and a NAPA filter which is made by WIX. I do mine at home to save a few bucks, but since it holds 14 quarts of oil and that big filter is pricey plus you have to have an oversize drain pan, it gets expensive.

Have you checked the sticker(s)?

Just can't imagine a reputable dealer selling a used outfit without first changing all the fluids/filters. Just isn't done.

Allan

3000 mile oil changes are overkill. With today's oils that is no longer needed. Look in the owners manual. My dodge cummins with over 300,000 miles gets the oil changed every ten thousand and has never has an issue. This is my third one with over three hundred thousand. Rotella or Delo 400 will do fine. Most new vehicles don't call for an oil change for around six thousand now.

Even if the transmission fluid appears to be in decent shape - I'd still change it so you know where you are starting from and what you are starting with. The fluid for that transmission is expensive and if it was serviced and the guy knew he was getting rid of it may have filled it with Type F (or what ever Jiffy Lube has in a barrel) instead of Mercon.



Heat is the main concern for ATF. Automatic transmissions create a lot of friction, and friction produces heat. The fluid is constantly churning inside the torque converter and being pumped through metering orifices and hydraulic circuits. Every time the transmission shifts gears, the clutch packs generate even more heat that must be carried away by the fluid. The greater the load on the transmission, the more heat it generates and the hotter the fluid gets. Most ATF can withstand normal operating temperatures of around 200 degrees F for tens of thousands of miles. But if the temperature of the fluid rises above 220 degrees F the fluid starts to break down quickly. Above 300 degrees, fluid life is measured in hundreds, not thousands of miles. And above 400 degrees, the fluid can self- destruct in 20 to 30 minutes!

The '07 Duramax of mine uses a built in computer to monitor oil temp, milage, water temp etc to determine the time to change. Oil analysis confirms it is a very good system. If I haven't been towing and just riding the interstates, I've seen it go 15k before calling for an oil change.

Rorella 15-40 and WIX in my Dodge Cummins. Every 8 thousand miles. There's twice as much oil in those diesels so I figure they can go qyite a ways on a new change.
Don't forget to find out when the fuel filter was last changed.

Gordo

I taught night school at our local technical
college for many years. The classes were
hydraulics, and preventive maintenance, I am a
certified diesel and heavy equipment mechanic,
though my experiance is strictly with engines.
I"ve never actually worked on a truck, but
rebuilt the engines removed from the vehicle, and
been a locomotive mechanic specializing in V16
645 cubic inch per cylinder, 3000 horsepower
General Motors 2 cycle Locomotive engines.
At tech College we cut apart over 20 different
brands of spin on oil filters.. We anylized the
thickness and quality of the filter paper, and
how much of it,(filter media) was in the cannister
Some of the expensive brands were very cheap
inside. some of the cheap ones were very good, we
were suprised. some with good material were made
very sloppy, and I would be afraid of internal
leakage,(bypass) We found the very best, good
quality media, and lots of it, pleated filter
paper streached out to 14 feet, were Baldwin, Wix,
NAPA,(just Wix in a different can). Motorcraft was
good. John Deere and Fleetgard are the same, i"ve
seen them manufactured in a Fleetgard plant, and
the same element silk screened JD green and given
JD numbers, or had Fleetgard numbers go on,
Fleetgard is now Cummins Filtration,. The absolute
worst that we cut open were FRAM, Cheap material,
and not much of it, media only streached out 7
feet. And very sloppy manufacturing, big gobs of
glue squirted out of an automatic glue gun, I
presume, hitting and blocking some of the filter
material. I suppose that Fram elements meet the
minimum requirements, but I wouldn"t put one on
anything I owned, and could never recommend one.

Gonna agree with buickanddeere. Go with the manufacturers specs. Why ruin a ten thousand dollar engine by saving a few bucks on maintenance.

Nancy, Go to the Cummins Filtration website and do a little research. They have the best filters on the market. They supply to many diffent OEMS, JD, CIH, NH.

Fuel filter will be changed Sat.

Last I knew Purolator made Motorcraft filters.

My 97 Ford F350 Dually has 226,000 miles on the 7.3 Turbo and I use Napa Filters and Shell Rotella T 15/40 oil. The other place a Checker/O"reily is a lost cause trying to find the Filters or the Oil at the same time. Oh we can have it here tomorrow is what they usually con you with. We only have the two parts stores here and Napa has never failed to have the Filters,Oil or Greases I want. My Ford looks great and runs great.

Then you're good to go for a good while.

Check out Amsoil. I use it as well as some buddies. I'll let their website make all the claims but I will attest to them!

www.amsoil.com

you can easily run the diesel past 5 to 7500 miles before changing oil if you do not start and stop ,cool down alot ,,, Let Me hear from you Guys if You think I am wrong ...