New Focus Oil

newcarbuyer · 06-04-2006, 12:01 PM

Hopefully sooner rather than later, I will be picking up our new baby Zetec. I was wondering if people recomend changing the oil and filter say after 500 or so kms rather than wait for the 3K service. Also what kind of oil does Ford use and what oil do you recomend?
Cheers

FRA · 06-04-2006, 12:09 PM

They shouldn't need replacing that soon.
Just wait until the service.

melbzetec · 06-04-2006, 12:12 PM

I would always keep the initial fill of oil in the car until the recommended change. Often this oil is a different spec, designed to catch the odd gremlin in the new engine.

Then switch to the oil of your choice. I have always been a Mobil1 guy. Synthetics are the best. Have seen the evidence (1 miilion miles and the engine still within manufacturers tolerances). You pay for it, but a great oil.

BUT, every brand has its fans. So there will be lots of valid opinions

mitch_lx · 06-04-2006, 12:24 PM

When i picked up my Fiesta in late 04 this is what i did.

LET IT WARM UP before you drive it (every time), even if its just 2 minutes of idling, and drive it gently for the first 10 minutes at least.

Drive it around for the first few hundred kms keeping it under 3,500rpm.
Then after the first few hundred i stretched it to about 4,000rpm (loading it up hills, and then down hills not using the brakes, but letting the engine brake for you)
Varying speeds, using the engines torque up hills etc...

Then feel free to start giving it a bit of the ol right foot ;)

At 1000km drain the oil out, replace it with quality completely synthetic oil (also replace the filter) and then enjoy a sweet ''Smooth as'' ride.

And im not sure what sort of service intervals the new focus has.. (fiesta has 15,000kms or 12months) but i think thats WAY too long, even with synthetic. Make it 10thousand at the absolute maximum ( i change mine every 3-4 thousand, cheap insurance hay.)

Forest Bear · 06-04-2006, 06:29 PM

When I had my 2001 Astra I changed the oil and filter myself in between the dealer book service. Which was 7500km. It was such a cinch. Unscrew the sump, drain, pop in a new oil filter cartridge and put the oil in. Took about 30 minutes. Kept the receipts for oil and filter and added this "service" on the book. It gave me some bargaining points when I traded it in.

I want to do this with my LS Zetec also but by the look of things it would be a much more complex undertaking with the Focus. I would have to drive it over some bricks to get enough clearance. Remove the undercover etc.

Has any done it already? I haven't the time to check the engine bay out. How to reach the oil filter etc. What kind of oil filter does it use and what tooling would I need to get it done? I'd suspect I can just get myself an oil filter intented for a Mazda3 2.0 and use it in the focus too.

Update: Found this link after some trawling

shepv8 · 09-04-2006, 07:20 PM

Im no mecanic but...
I think that it is a big mistake to put synthetic oil in an engine after 1000kms. Maybe someone in the know can clarify this but I think when an engine is running in it must have a mineral oil in it. I assume this is whats in the car when you get it, and also I assume that they put in the regular oil at the 3000km change. I know with sports bikes they tell you not to put in fully synthetic oil before 6000kms.
anyone got any ideas????????

pertuan · 09-04-2006, 07:45 PM

The service manual doesnt even specify an oil change at 3000km. As far as I've read in that manual, the 3000km service is merely a "lets take a look" service only. So, the oil thats in the engine from 0km should (and I use that lightly) last unil 15000kms.

Forest Bear · 09-04-2006, 08:15 PM

There is no "service" at 3K for the LS Focus. No oil change is done. Its merely an inspection to see everything is okay and to iron out any initial problems.

mitch_lx · 11-04-2006, 03:36 PM

It is an option that they should change the oil at the Free 3,000km. Of course its something you will have to pay for.

pertuan · 11-04-2006, 06:56 PM

How much would that cost?

lincoln · 11-04-2006, 08:48 PM

I wouldn't change your first fill oil until the 3000 service. They normally just top up and that's it at 3000, though. I'd go ahead and do a filter and oil change with a good full synthetic (Elf Excellium).

First fill oils often have a thicker viscocity to normal oils and really shouldn't be messed with.

zetec · 12-04-2006, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shepv8

Im no mecanic but...
I think that it is a big mistake to put synthetic oil in an engine after 1000kms. Maybe someone in the know can clarify this but I think when an engine is running in it must have a mineral oil in it. I assume this is whats in the car when you get it, and also I assume that they put in the regular oil at the 3000km change. I know with sports bikes they tell you not to put in fully synthetic oil before 6000kms.
anyone got any ideas????????

AFAIK Fully synthetic is too clean and too fine for a brand new engine. The mineral oil is used for reasons beyond my lack of engineering knowledge. I think it requires a little gunk and lazier properties to help protect the engine at startup or something. Given you generally don't cane a new engine, the fully syntrhetic is probably overkill. Furthermore, I believe Fully synthetic is also not good for old engines. Again, it's TOO good for them.

Just did a google search and found some random independent advice. Don't take it as gospel but it sounds relevant!

The advantage of synthetic oil is that it can withstand higher temperature and can work longer without losing its lubricating qualities. It doesn't get thicker at below-zero temperatures providing good engine lubrication at a cold start. However, since it's more "thinner" a high-mileage engine filled with synthetic oil will more likely to develop leaks and you will more likely to hear lifters tapping noise at a start. Therefore, If you have low mileage or turbo engine and driving under heavy conditions such as high temperature, excessive load, long intervals without an oil change, etc., or simply want to provide extra protection for your engine, synthetic oil may be a good solution. But I don't think it's worth to use synthetic oil in high-mileage engines - thicker mineral oil will provide better protection as long as you change it regularly.

Pieoter · 12-04-2006, 11:26 PM

You shouldn't be changing the oil until the engine is properly run in. Run in oil is a different grade and the 3,000km point is a good place to change it. Doesn't have to be at the dealer but shouldn't change it before this.

melbzetec · 13-04-2006, 08:04 AM

Agree with all of that info on synthetics (I used to do work for Mobil).

Stick with the run in oil for the recommended initial service interval. It's designed help the engine run in. Synthetic oil (as we can purchase it) is not designed for that

Then, IMHO, change to synthetics. You are running it in a virtually brand new engine, and it will keep that engine running in pristine condition.....at least in terms of wear(Consistent with Matt's advice)

Putting in a worn engine is a waste of money, and will find weak spots and probably cause leaks as Matt said (I once had dinner with Larry Perkins (name drop!!) and he described it as......."pyssing out everywhere'....technical term I think)

Part of the reason synthetic protects so well, is that every carbon molecule in the oil is exactly the same size. (Why? Because it's created in the laboratory) So they perfectly rub together without breaking each other down.

The carbon molecules in mineral oil however, are of varying sizes, and as they rub together, the molecules tend to shear each other, causing the molecules to break down into smaller and smaller carbon chains, and losing their effectiveness. That's one reason why mineral oil degrades more quickly than synthetic.

(That's a very layman explanation, but that's what I am!)

lincoln · 13-04-2006, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melbzetec

Agree with all of that info on synthetics (I used to do work for Mobil).

Stick with the run in oil for the recommended initial service interval. It's designed help the engine run in. Synthetic oil (as we can purchase it) is not designed for that

Then, IMHO, change to synthetics. You are running it in a virtually brand new engine, and it will keep that engine running in pristine condition.....at least in terms of wear(Consistent with Matt's advice)

Putting in a worn engine is a waste of money, and will find weak spots and probably cause leaks as Matt said (I once had dinner with Larry Perkins (name drop!!) and he described it as......."pyssing out everywhere'....technical term I think)

Part of the reason synthetic protects so well, is that every carbon molecule in the oil is exactly the same size. (Why? Because it's created in the laboratory) So they perfectly rub together without breaking each other down.

The carbon molecules in mineral oil however, are of varying sizes, and as they rub together, the molecules tend to shear each other, causing the molecules to break down into smaller and smaller carbon chains, and losing their effectiveness. That's one reason why mineral oil degrades more quickly than synthetic.

(That's a very layman explanation, but that's what I am!)

Great post.

Any opinion on diester versus PAO based synthetics?

murcod · 14-04-2006, 11:40 AM

This is my opinion (and what I did in my ST24):

The first oil change is most likely not until 15000km - way too long IMHO for a new engine! I changed the oil and filter with cheap crap Ford mineral oil at 1500km and then at around 4000km I changed to fully synthetic (Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 - but only because Mobil 1 wasn't readily available in the correct viscosity at the time; it now is in the gold containers.)

The reason for not using synthetic too early is because the engine parts need to bed in (wear in) correctly. If you put sythetic in too early they either won't bed in or will take a lot longer to do so and affect the engine's long term performance.

I like to do an early change to get rid of any crap in the oil system. It's guaranteed with a new engine that there will be some stuff floating around from when it was assembled. Years ago it was standard practice to have a 1000km or 1500km first service/ oil change; these days the manufacturers are more interested in making their cars look cheaper to service. If you plan on keeping your car for a long time then look after it from day 1 and do the extra oil changes.