Oil changes

[Deadlock]

Forget the Ford line, what's the recommended oil change interval on these? Just curious, mostly because on my Mazda if you didn't change every 3000 miles you could wave goodbye to your lifters.

[Cougarbloke]

I would recommend changing it at least every 6000 miles with a good quality oil. Every 3000 would be great if you can afford it. Remember all that dirt in your oil will act as a more and more aggressive abrasive the longer you leave it, thus, more engine wear.

[Deadlock]

Thanks for that. Think I'll stick with a flush, filter and a dose of Mobil 1 at 3000 mile intervals, i'm kinda used to it by now....
The problem on the mazda V6 wasn't so much engine wear as clogging in the microscopic oilways in the hydraulic lifters, I'm guessing my Duratec doesn't suffer from this so much.

[StaceyS]

I took my cat in for it's first oil change (back in the states) at around 3000 miles and was told by the garage that the Cougar didn't need an oil change until 5000 miles. I've kept fairly close to that interval and 43,000 miles later, so far so good. Does anyone know why Ford recommends different service intervals for the same model car in different countries??

[Deadlock]

The different service interval recommendations are down to marketing a lot of the time. Different parts of the world have different expectations to how many miles their car should go between services, so, provided it won't trash your car by leaving it longer, the car makers are happy to stick another few thousand on between services to fall in line. Sometimes there are genuine reasons though, like extreme hot, cold or dusty conditions, or mechanical differences in the cars sold in different countries.

People who do a lot of city driving or short journeys are probably better off changing their oil as regularly as possible, and a flush every time you change you change the oil never hurts either.

[Skinful]

OK, so we have sussed out how often we change our oil but what oil do we all use?
Must confess I have never given it any thought until today as Mr Ford and his merry men have done servicing at prescribed intervals.(ie 10,000 miles)
In my last car, Scorpio 2.9 24V Cosworth, I used synthetic oil.
Can any technical bods out there explain why I shouldn't do the same with a Duratec engine? Or should I stick to 5W/30 mineral oil?
Mike.

[Deadlock]

Synthetic oil doesn't leave so many deposits in the engine. Dino oil does, the sludge you sometimes see in the oil pan of engines is a mixture of oil and ash from burning oil. Mobil 1 is a true synthetic, and that's what I'll carry on using in the Duratec. Castrol Magnatec, although billed as a synthetic, definitely isn't, and is worse than many dino oils for ash deposits. Avoid this stuff. Flushing before a change is always worth doing, as it helps prevent the build up of varnish (look inside your chip pan, you'll see the sort of thing) around your valve train. Go here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.bradbury/probemx/p_ws2.htm) for the low down on Magnatec oil. Nasty stuff.

[timjford]

I had an oil and filter change done at Kwik Fit using Mobil 1 synthetic oil and it cost £34 which is a quid less than you can buy a 4 litre can of the stuff for in most motor shops.

Tim.