Oil Change 2.3L lessons learned

[Portapot]

I hit 1000 miles the other day so figured I’d change my oil. 5w-30 oil filter was a motorcraft FL-910S. I used a siphon pump to extract the oil which worked well. But I do need to do a traditional change to see if the siphon is taking out all the oil. I only got 3.75L which is much lower than what is required on the oil capacity which was like 5.5 quarts or something like that. I feel like I left a liter of oil in it. But I hooked the siphon up to my compressor and it sucked all it could out of the engine. Biggest lesson learned is the filter change. Kind of a pain in the arse. Hard to get a tool on it. I ended up using a rubber belt foil filter tool. Pictures below. However once you crack it loose be aware. There is a little aqueduct type thing that is designed to route the oil from the filter right down your arm as you are reaching up there to remove it. See videos below.

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[Wanted33]

A member here posted a video of his oil change on a 2.7L. He let the pan drain a long time to get all the old stuff out. Now, here's the rub. The manual calls for 6 quarts, but the oil was spot on full after he poured in 5 quarts. I looks as if Ford has made a mistake somehwhere on the oil capacity of both engines.

BTW, next time you could try turning your fronts wheels full left, or even remove the left wheel/tire to reach through the fender liner and get to the filter. My dealers service dept. removes the left front wheel on my 2.3L Ranger.

 

[Portapot]

I hit 1000 miles the other day so figured I’d change my oil. 5w-30 oil filter was a motorcraft FL-910S. I used a siphon pump to extract the oil which worked well. But I do need to do a traditional change to see if the siphon is taking out all the oil. I only got 3.75L which is much lower than what is required on the oil capacity which was like 5.5 quarts or something like that. I feel like I left a liter of oil in it. But I hooked the siphon up to my compressor and it sucked all it could out of the engine. Biggest lesson learned is the filter change. Kind of a pain in the arse. Hard to get a tool on it. I ended up using a rubber belt foil filter tool. Pictures below. However once you crack it loose be aware. There is a little aqueduct type thing that is designed to route the oil from the filter right down your arm as you are reaching up there to remove it. See videos below.

A member here posted a video of his oil change on a 2.7L. He let the pan drain a long time to get all the old stuff out. Now, here's the rub. The manual calls for 6 quarts, but the oil was spot on full after he poured in 5 quarts. I looks as if Ford has made a mistake somehwhere on the oil capacity of both engines.

I would agree it only took about 4 quarts to fill so either my siphon left some in there or their specs are off.

 

[Portapot]

I would agree it only took about 4 quarts to fill so either my siphon left some in there or their specs are off.

Here is a video of the Siphon I used. It’s an EWK very pleased with it.

 

[Portapot]

A member here posted a video of his oil change on a 2.7L. He let the pan drain a long time to get all the old stuff out. Now, here's the rub. The manual calls for 6 quarts, but the oil was spot on full after he poured in 5 quarts. I looks as if Ford has made a mistake somehwhere on the oil capacity of both engines.

BTW, next time you could try turning your fronts wheels full left, or even remove the left wheel/tire to reach through the fender liner and get to the filter. My dealers service dept. removes the left front wheel on my 2.3L Ranger.

Good advice, I did not think of that. If I have to take the tire of to change an oil filter that is not very user friendly design. ;-)

 

[JaxGtc]

BTW, next time you could try turning your fronts wheels full left, or even remove the left wheel/tire to reach through the fender liner and get to the filter. My dealers service dept. removes the left front wheel on my 2.3L Ranger.

Yes, good point. There are a couple of Ranger videos and it looks like access through the LF wheel well works (with or without tire removal). If going that way, the filter "cap wrench" that fits on the end of the filter appears to be the way to go from the angle of the access.

 

[Razorbak86]

A member here posted a video of his oil change on a 2.7L. He let the pan drain a long time to get all the old stuff out. Now, here's the rub. The manual calls for 6 quarts, but the oil was spot on full after he poured in 5 quarts. I looks as if Ford has made a mistake somehwhere on the oil capacity of both engines.

Minor correction. In the owners manual, the stated oil capacity for the 2.3L 4-cylinder engine is 6.2 quarts. Stated oil capacity for the 2.7L 6-cylinder engine is 7.0 quarts. Both capacities include oil that eventually sits inside the oil filter itself after circulation.

There is on ongoing debate about what the actual oil capacities really are, because the actual amounts removed during an oil change are lower than the stated capacities.

 

[goatman]

What's wrong with just pulling the plug?

I'm going to be a wise ass here, so forewarned. Your time must not be worth much. By the time you buy the oil and filter, drain the oil, replace the filter, contain the old oil and drive it to the parts house to dispose of it, then stash your receipt for the oil and filter in a safe place so you have proof that the oil was changed to protect your factory warranty, you could have just paid 75 bucks and had someone else do it. Unless you REALLY like doing this kind of stuff yourself, it seems to make no sense to me.

 

[HarderCorer]

... Your time must not be worth much.
...
Unless you REALLY like doing this kind of stuff yourself, it seems to make no sense to me.

If it's easy like my truck, I'll do it myself. Easy to get to the plug, filter, etc. Takes 15 min no problem.

My daughter's car is a total oil covered pain in the ass so I pay someone else.

There is something I enjoy about doing it myself but you're right in that you don't save much, if at all.

 

[Denny Swift]

What's wrong with just pulling the plug?

I'm going to be a wise ass here, so forewarned. Your time must not be worth much. By the time you buy the oil and filter, drain the oil, replace the filter, contain the old oil and drive it to the parts house to dispose of it, then stash your receipt for the oil and filter in a safe place so you have proof that the oil was changed to protect your factory warranty, you could have just paid 75 bucks and had someone else do it. Unless you REALLY like doing this kind of stuff yourself, it seems to make no sense to me.

That’s funny! I‘be always changed my own oil mainly because my time is so valuable. In the time it would take me to drive to the dealer once to drop it off and once to pick it up (time for two people actually unless you get a loaner), I could change the oil on my cars. Plus, I’d much rather do it myself because then I know it has been done right. I have a big storage container that holds about 4 gallons of oil. I take it to the recycling center about once a year.

But I understand your sentiment and especially on the drain plug. You’ll never extract all the oil with an extractor.

Also, $75!? All my cars are European so it would cost me $200-$300 to pay a dealer to change my oil. I can’t imagine a Ford dealer only charging $75, but even at $75, I’d do it myself.

 

[KANE COUNTY ILLINOIS]

What's wrong with just pulling the plug?

I'm going to be a wise ass here, so forewarned. Your time must not be worth much. By the time you buy the oil and filter, drain the oil, replace the filter, contain the old oil and drive it to the parts house to dispose of it, then stash your receipt for the oil and filter in a safe place so you have proof that the oil was changed to protect your factory warranty, you could have just paid 75 bucks and had someone else do it. Unless you REALLY like doing this kind of stuff yourself, it seems to make no sense to me.

Amen brother! I would love to do my own oil change at the convenience of my garage, BUT, I know it will be easier just to go to the Ford dealership, which is what I plan on doing! I saw the video of the 2.7 oil change, where the hot oil squirts out of the drain....not for me!! Kudos on those who do their own oil change!

 

[Bronco cat]

Their is 0 value in changing oil in a modern engine at 1000 miles. Like the 3000 mile oil change another myth. Modern engines have significantly higher tolerances and much tighter assembly process hence the ability to warranty longer than engines of the past. Before computers and lasers older motors had varying tolerances and material grades and came from the factory with additives put in the oil that required the oil and filter to be changed out. If there was potential for damage at 1000 miles you can bet the house a company like Ford would mandate an oil change. To give you a little content, Honda still recommends changing the diff fluid on their 4wd system that is in the pilot and MDX at around 10k so the tech can check the wear patterns on the gears set and inspect the oil for shavings. There are no other cars I can think of having the fluid changed and checked that early.

 

[Phil]

I hit 1000 miles the other day so figured I’d change my oil. 5w-30 oil filter was a motorcraft FL-910S. I used a siphon pump to extract the oil which worked well. But I do need to do a traditional change to see if the siphon is taking out all the oil. I only got 3.75L which is much lower than what is required on the oil capacity which was like 5.5 quarts or something like that. I feel like I left a liter of oil in it. But I hooked the siphon up to my compressor and it sucked all it could out of the engine. Biggest lesson learned is the filter change. Kind of a pain in the arse. Hard to get a tool on it. I ended up using a rubber belt foil filter tool. Pictures below. However once you crack it loose be aware. There is a little aqueduct type thing that is designed to route the oil from the filter right down your arm as you are reaching up there to remove it. See videos below.

I would pull the drain plug and see if you dont find that last quart or so

 

[goatman]

That’s funny! I‘be always changed my own oil mainly because my time is so valuable. In the time it would take me to drive to the dealer once to drop it off and once to pick it up (time for two people actually unless you get a loaner), I could change the oil on my cars. Plus, I’d much rather do it myself because then I know it has been done right. I have a big storage container that holds about 4 gallons of oil. I take it to the recycling center about once a year.

But I understand your sentiment and especially on the drain plug. You’ll never extract all the oil with an extractor.

Also, $75!? All my cars are European so it would cost me $200-$300 to pay a dealer to change my oil. I can’t imagine a Ford dealer only charging $75, but even at $75, I’d do it myself.

Why go to the dealer and drop it off for an oil change? Full disclosure here, I own an independent auto repair shop and we do a ton of oil changes for our customers. We also check the car over every time it's there, and check for factory service intervals. Someone needs to be checking the vehicles over and checking for service due intervals, VERY few car owners do that themselves, so we feel it's our responsibility. A quality independent shop is going to do a pretty good service, and cheaper and more convenient than the dealership. Not trying to sell you folks, you're not in my area, just another perspective. Oh, and BTW, our full synthetic oil service with inspection and battery check is under 100 bucks.

 

[NotApplicable]

Why go to the dealer and drop it off for an oil change? Full disclosure here, I own an independent auto repair shop and we do a ton of oil changes for our customers. We also check the car over every time it's there, and check for factory service intervals. Someone needs to be checking the vehicles over and checking for service due intervals, VERY few car owners do that themselves, so we feel it's our responsibility. A quality independent shop is going to do a pretty good service, and cheaper and more convenient than the dealership. Not trying to sell you folks, you're not in my area, just another perspective. Oh, and BTW, our full synthetic oil service with inspection and battery check is under 100 bucks.

I’ve never been a “change the oil myself” guy, but this may change with the 2.7 Bronco. Reports so far are that you have to let that baby drain for 30-45 minutes, and still only see 6/7qts that are supposedly in there drain out, most of which at a snail’s pace after the initial spurt.

I have serious reservations that either the dealership or quick lube type places are going to leave a car draining for that long under normal circumstances, taking up precious space to get the next customer’s vehicle in and out…

Maybe a locally owned, non-chain shop will do…

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