Forum Discussion
DRTDEVL
Jul 10, 2021Explorer
Late to the party, but I beg to differ on the 5k oil changes on the 2v 5.4. I say it depends more upon the engine hours and usage.
I used to expedite freight in a 1997 E150 high top with the 5.4 2V engine. I changed the oil filter every 5k miles and the oil every 20k miles. I only used 5w30 synthetic.
I retired that van when the rear axle housing got bent by hitting a monster pothole in the rain when towing a loaded trailer. It had 304,000 miles on it, the engine fired up perfectly every time, had even compression numbers across the cylinders, and there was no smoke to be found. I changed the transmission fluid and filter every 50k with Amsoil, and the rear end at the same intervals.
This placed my engine oil change interval at around 300 hours. Remember how I said it depended upon your usage? 300 hours in a normally used vehicle is only about 9,500 miles. The easiest miles on an engine are highway miles, and that van pretty much lived on US90 between El Paso and Del Rio, Laredo, and the RGV, just meandering along 2-lane highways at 65-70 mph with minimal traffic. The 5k oil filter changes exchanged nearly a quart of oil for fresh synthetic, and ensured the media was always in good shape to keep the oil clean. Back then I could pick the filters up at Walmart for about $4.50 each.
So yeah, take the numbers and other people's processes with a grain of salt. They may not be right for your application.
I used to expedite freight in a 1997 E150 high top with the 5.4 2V engine. I changed the oil filter every 5k miles and the oil every 20k miles. I only used 5w30 synthetic.
I retired that van when the rear axle housing got bent by hitting a monster pothole in the rain when towing a loaded trailer. It had 304,000 miles on it, the engine fired up perfectly every time, had even compression numbers across the cylinders, and there was no smoke to be found. I changed the transmission fluid and filter every 50k with Amsoil, and the rear end at the same intervals.
This placed my engine oil change interval at around 300 hours. Remember how I said it depended upon your usage? 300 hours in a normally used vehicle is only about 9,500 miles. The easiest miles on an engine are highway miles, and that van pretty much lived on US90 between El Paso and Del Rio, Laredo, and the RGV, just meandering along 2-lane highways at 65-70 mph with minimal traffic. The 5k oil filter changes exchanged nearly a quart of oil for fresh synthetic, and ensured the media was always in good shape to keep the oil clean. Back then I could pick the filters up at Walmart for about $4.50 each.
So yeah, take the numbers and other people's processes with a grain of salt. They may not be right for your application.
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