Just an observation....

theoldwizard1 wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
Does Ford mandate all synthetic?

No they do not !

They "recommend" semi-syntheic but even that is NOT mandatory.


I have been changing oil on cars for about 50 years now. It is easy. Motorcraft (Ford brand) semi-synthetic oil and filters can be purchased at most Walmart stores for less than $25. Yes, you need some wrenches, including an oil filter wrench, rags, a drain pan and some funnels to get the oil back into the jugs so you can take it to be recycled.

Some large cardboard on the drive is an EXCELLENT idea.

I used to do changes myself at home, then find a reasonable shop on the road, if our Class A Ford F53 needed it. I stopped wasting my time, however, when it became clear that it was taking longer, and very difficult to find anybody who agreed to do the work, and didn't want 2-3X what the job was worth. The last straw was calling around Anchorage, getting repeatedly turned down, then finding a place that was eager to do it for $149.00. Sure, I'll be there right after heck freezes over and monkeys fly. I grab the Motorcraft oil and filter for $25 at Walmart. I also pick up a $0.88 disposable tin foil roasting pan. The pan is a pretty slick trick. I use a utility knife to make a 1/2" hole in the bottom corner of the thing, then it sits, at an angle, on top of the axle and functions as a huge catch pan/funnel to drain the oil pan and let the filter splash into. It leaves the tin foil pan and falls into a typical plastic oil change pan. No mess at all, not even a drop on the ground. Like you, I refill the new jug with dirty oil and drop it off for recycling.

I hang onto carpet remnants far more than cardboard.

OFDPOS wrote:
Yep when I bought our new to us 2011 Aspect , saw the receipt for the last oil change.
$200.92 WOW ! local rv place

$120.00 1 hr labor
$73 for parts = oil 7.5 qrts ? (it takes 6.5) oil filter ,and air filter.

Changed the oil and filter when I got it, hate Frame oil filters and didn't know what oil was put in? receipt didn't show just 5w20 !

I use NAPA or WIX, same manufacturer.

Yep when I bought our new to us 2011 Aspect , saw the receipt for the last oil change.
$200.92 WOW ! local rv place

$120.00 1 hr labor
$73 for parts = oil 7.5 qrts ? (it takes 6.5) oil filter ,and air filter.

Changed the oil and filter when I got it, hate Frame oil filters and didn't know what oil was put in? receipt didn't show just 5w20 !

A few wooden blocks in stages and I drive my Coach up on to them for some extra room.Always have changed my own oil and while the coach is sitting there i get on my creeper with a flashlight and go nose to tail looking for anything obvious. I always fill my filter with oil before screwing it back on. Mobil 1 from Costco, quality oil and air filters, don't forget that air filter.
Wife is a beekeeper, they use old oil in cans on the legs of the hive stand to prevent ants from invading and ruining the hive. I return the used oil in the containers it came in then it gets used again.

All Ford's V10 requires 5W20, Even the early ones. Ford started with 5W30 and in 2003 released new specifications for all v10's. The reason, in the effort for increased fuel economy, Ford uses Low tension rings on all of the v10 pistons, they can allow a 30w oil to pass causing oil consumption. FYI I have 110,000 miles on mine, I always use a motorcraft filter, I did use a Mobile 1 filter but it cause the timing chain to rattle on startup. the Motorcraft filter, for whatever reason, stopped the startup noise.

search catches: v10 Ford oil weight, Triton V10 oil weight, V-10 oil weight, v10 oil consumption, v10 rattle on start-up.

j-d wrote:
Note to Self: Pan PLUS Cardboard. Punch a drain hole in the bottom of the filter. This isn't usually needed when the filter is vertical with the gasket UP, like the 820S on V10. But V10 has the Oil Cooler Adapter above the Filter, and a LOT of oil wants to come down when the Filter is loosened. Which is why I lost grip on the filter. Drain hole should allow both Filter and Cooler to be mostly empty when Filter comes off.

I place a 20" diameter plastic drain bin (with it's drain hole in the center of it's concave upper surface) under the oil filter to catch everything no matter how sloppy the filter removal becomes. I then screw the plug back into the bin's center hole and grab the bin by the handle on it's side to pull it out from under the V10 and carry it to the shed waiting for my next trip to the automotive store. The automotive store supposedly will empty the oil from the bin for you for free so it's ready for your next oil change - or if not, on my next trip to the dump ("recycling center") I can take this plastic drain bin along and dump it into a special large tank they have there.

This special plastic drain bin can hold enough oil for two V10 oil changes.

been there, done that, but still change it myself. some good points j-d, thanks

I, too, have a Cardboard Hoard. Our RV's on a concrete pad, and that's hard to slide around on. A creeper eats up too much clearance needed by my old body. Besides, on a creeper, when I wrench, I tend to move, not the fastener.

Last oil change... I had a big steel tray. One of those Drip Pans we used to have to have under older cars. Surely big enough... Nope. Lost grip on the Filter. It came down on the Funnel inside the Jug I had under the Filter. That was enough to bounce the Filter out of the Drip Pan. Didn't roll toward me, either. Rolled till it stopped against a front tire, spinning oil out as it went.

QUICKLY cleaned the concrete up with towels, brake spray, and detergent. Included jacking the wheel up because oil got in the tread grooves.

Sprayed it all down with the garden hose, then continued the Oil and Filter Change...After I dismantled the Otter Box to dry my Cell Phone...

An Oil/Filer Change I'd've gladly paid for...

Note to Self: Pan PLUS Cardboard. Punch a drain hole in the bottom of the filter. This isn't usually needed when the filter is vertical with the gasket UP, like the 820S on V10. But V10 has the Oil Cooler Adapter above the Filter, and a LOT of oil wants to come down when the Filter is loosened. Which is why I lost grip on the filter. Drain hole should allow both Filter and Cooler to be mostly empty when Filter comes off.

I punch a hole in the filter on the boat engine, which is Gasket Down.

Just be sure to make sure the Filter turns a tweak in the Off Direction before poking the hole! Don't want a hole in a filter that just won't budge...

RV dealer doesn't want to be changing oil. That's not where they make money and its not why they're in business. I think their pricing is a way to encourage that point.

I change all my own oils. Always have and always will. It started as a money thing but has become a job that I enjoy....funny, same thing happened with cutting grass. :)