F250 Oil Change Question

[hunterridgefarm]

I have an F250 Power Stroke that I average 70 miles or less a week driving with most weeks being around 40 miles. The reason being I drive a company car during the week.

Oil changes are scheduled every 4-6000 miles with the fuel filter being changed everyother oil change. So I could basically go a year and a half to two years between oil changes. Now I DON'T plan on doing this; and in the past on my F150 I would change the oil twice a year averaging the same mileage.

My question is how often should the oil and fuel filter be changed on a diesel truck, time verses mileage?

Right now I am approaching one year since the last oil change but still have about 3500 more miles to put on the truck.

I plan on going in and getting the oil and fuel filter changed in the next couple of weeks. Any diesel mechanics out there that can offer advice?

 

[QueBota]

You can have an oil analysis done for between 10 and 20 dollars, should help you decide on the time vrs mileage oil change interval.

Dave

 

[HGM]

Good question....

I havent actually heard a recomendation on that. However, I would recomend at least 2 per year. If you do any idling, dont forget to count that time as well. 1HR idle time is equal to 33MI of driving. The oil analysis would be a good idea to let you know whats in the oil and if it needs changing. It seems that you would need to do it before each change and that would add $20 to the oil change. I'm a bit lazy on this and would likely just change the oil every 6mo, and not worry about it.

Just my $.02 /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RobertN]

I change at least once a year at a minimum, independant of miles or hours. Over time, especially with diesel, all kinds of icky gunk and acidic stuff builds up in the oil. Figured it's best not to let that stuff sit forever in the crankcase. Those buildups are worse in vehicles that see few miles, especially where the engine does not heat up enough to vaporize/vent off mositure that builds up.

 

[_RaT_]

The fuel filter gets changed that frequently on a Powerstroke? Does it call to be changed every 10,000 to 12,000 miles? That seems excessive. Is it anywhere near as big in size as the one on the old IDI's? I don't change mine but maybe every 50,000 miles.

 

[HGM]

You may be able to get away with that on an older Powerstroke, its all dependant on fuel quality though. The 6.0L recomended interval for fuel filters is 15kMI. Lack of fuel pressure will whipe out the injectors, $800ea, dont skimp here...... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[EddieWalker]

Interesting delima. Reminds me of the story my shop teacher told about the little old lady who only drove her car to church. Said that her car motor was in worse shape than one driven everyday on the highway. An engine that is rarely driven creates condensation that increases wear on a motor much faster than steady highway driving.

Don't know about modern diesel engines or how bad the condensation issue really is, or if it even exists. Just one of those things that stuck with me from High School.

Eddie

 

[_RaT_]

<font color="blue">Lack of fuel pressure will whipe out the injectors, $800ea, dont skimp here...... </font>

Wow, thats unbelievable. So running out of diesel is about a $6000 mistake? My next truck won't be a Ford, the very reason you mention pretty much eliminates it as a contender. My current F250 IDI has a great running engine, its everything else that is coming unglued. It's nickel and dime'n me all to frequently. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[HGM]

HAHA!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thats funny, the fact that you might neglect your truck will make your decision not to buy a truck that will serve your purposes as good or better than Brand X.... I like that.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If you really pay attention to what you are supposed to do for maintenance, maybe you wouldnt have to spend as much time fixing it(this is a general statement RaT, not directed to you in particular). I see it every day, guys abuse their trucks, take them to the dealer and say "fix it. No, I didnt do anything wrong, your product sucks".. I promise you, Ford isnt the only one that will cost you to maintain.

BTW, you may be able to get by with 50kMi fuel filter changes on a 6.0L... My point was, do your maint do you dont have to worry about it breaking. Then you can really say WhooooooooooCares. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[HGM]

Eddie, your right,it is still a factor...... You need to drive the vehicle like it was intended to be driven. Another idea, might be to keep the block heater plugged in if he doesnt drive it much..