Ecoboost Oil Change + Cabin Air 3/5 Would Do Again

[Steve Urquell]

Good write up Steve. Answered all my questions, I'll tackle the next one myself. HF has some nice ramps I was looking at. I get a little claustrophobic, and having a little extra room under there would be nice.

What's your opinion of adding one of those quick drains?

Well done! See you over on GT.

Thanks. I'm 5'8"/165lbs and still had to squish up to get the back belly pan screws so the ramps would be better, just have a spotter when driving up them.

I thought about getting one of the valves then the "what ifs" got me. If it leaked and engine damage occurred your warranty would be void. It's not hard for me to take out at all given its location.

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[MAVERICK OCD]

I've never considered rivnuts before. That might actually work. Sounds a whole lot better than what is currently used. I'll have to get under and make sure everything clears but I'm going to look in to that and give it a shot. Awesome suggestion.

I don't know about debris building up on the Maverick but on my previous Escape it was awful. Heavy ice would build up and it caused a single retainer to break which when driving would mean the ice built up on the top of the shield would slap back and forth. Took me a while to figure out what it was as I thought one of the rear wheel liners (which were also held in place by single clips and very flimsy) was flapping but once I got under it was obvious. Had to replace the whole shield because the tear was so bad I couldn't seal it together again and trust it to grab on the retaining clips. Anyways... From what I see it does look a little more sturdy on the Mavericks as far as the mounting locations. On the Escape it was basically two of those flappy plates meeting together in the middle rear. Also, that was worst case scenario in some very bad weather during last winter. That Escape was driven regardless of what was going on lol. I had no choice. Blizzard? Gotta get home.

Montana,
Let me know if you do the rivnut hack. I don't know what they are but a quick google search peaked my interest. I don't know what size I would need but I may experiment with it here in a few months.

 

[Steve Urquell]

Montana,
Let me know if you do the rivnut hack. I don't know what they are but a quick google search peaked my interest. I don't know what size I would need but I may experiment with it here in a few months.

Here's a cheap kit at HF
https://www.harborfreight.com/45-piece-threaded-insert-riveter-kit-1210.html

 

[NedF]

I use ramps and they work well with the exception of one issue. First time I used them I ripped a chunk off of my front mudflap ( The small factory one in front of tire attached to lower fascia ). It became caught on the ramp due to the steep angle of my ramps.
You may not have same issue with your ramps but I now put a 2x6 in front of the ramps before I drive up and that gives me the extra clearance needed to negate the issue.

I don't have my truck yet but the ramps I have are metal and have a sort of mini pre-ramp attached to the front of them that flips down. I suspect they were designed to allow a RWD vehicle to preload the lower angle part of the ramp without pushing the ramps with the non-drive wheels but it sounds like they will do what the 2x6's are doing in your case (to gain a little clearance over the ramps as you approach). Thanks for the heads up... I will use a spotter the first time I put my truck on the ramps.

 

[Hammer]

I don't have my truck yet but the ramps I have are metal and have a sort of mini pre-ramp attached to the front of them that flips down. I suspect they were designed to allow a RWD vehicle to preload the lower angle part of the ramp without pushing the ramps with the non-drive wheels but it sounds like they will do what the 2x6's are doing in your case (to gain a little clearance over the ramps as you approach). Thanks for the heads up... I will use a spotter the first time I put my truck on the ramps.

A spotter is definitely the way to go. It would have saved me. Although I was able to patch the damage with some black duct tape that is still holding well after 18 months…. and a duct tape patch makes the Mav feel a little tougher

 

[Steve Urquell]

I replaced the cabin air filter today. Bought some Luber-finer filters in my last Rockauto order. They are not as big as the factory filter.

They have flimsy front and back ends (the ends without the bigger caps)and don't feel like they will seal well. I'll use the 2 I have but not order them again.

 

[Steve Urquell]

I did the 3rd oil change today right at 14,000mi. Drove the front tires up on 2x12s which gave me the right height to get under it.

Lil Ryobi screwdriver is perfect for the T30 bellypan screws. I filled my oil filter off the bag in the box tap and then filled the engine out of my 5qt jug then refilled the jug. Did all the filling over my drain pan.

I didn't end up with a drop of oil on the floor and was done in 20mins. Slick! I really like the bag in a box oil. I flip the box on its back tap up for storage and have no drips.

I painted my 15mm pan plug socket to match the truck so I can grab it fast next time.

 

[FindGeo]

I'll add one thing that I saw a mechanic doing (50+ years ago) when changing the oil in his personal car, and that was filling the filter with oil prior to installing. That way you don't have that temporary gap in oil pressure after an oil change. I've done that my entire life and that's why I'd never go to any of those "quick lube" places to do my oil changes. Think of a dry sponge and how long it takes to absorb water and begin working as a sponge. Fill the filter just below the threads and then wait. Keep repeating until it doesn't take more oil, then wipe a bit on the oil filter's rubber seal and install. If you've never done it before, you'll be amazed how much oil the holds.

 

[Steve Urquell]

I'll add one thing that I saw a mechanic doing (50+ years ago) when changing the oil in his personal car, and that was filling the filter with oil prior to installing. That way you don't have that temporary gap in oil pressure after an oil change. I've done that my entire life and that's why I'd never go to any of those "quick lube" places to do my oil changes. Think of a dry sponge and how long it takes to absorb water and begin working as a sponge. Fill the filter just below the threads and then wait. Keep repeating until it doesn't take more oil, then wipe a bit on the oil filter's rubber seal and install. If you've never done it before, you'll be amazed how much oil the holds.

I've always filled my filters. Worked as a diesel fleet mechanic for 20 years and all filters on all eqpt were filled as well. For the fleets I worked for you had better not get caught installing a dry oil filter on any engine.

If you get the filter full you don't have to top off the oil after running it either. Fill filter, 5qts in the pan, done. That bag-in-the-box made the filter fill super-easy.

 

[FindGeo]

I've always filled my filters. Worked as a diesel fleet mechanic for 20 years and all filters on all eqpt were filled as well. For the fleets I worked for you had better not get caught installing a dry oil filter on any engine.

If you get the filter full you don't have to top off the oil after running it either. Fill filter, 5qts in the pan, done. That bag-in-the-box made the filter fill super-easy.

I was at a local "quick change" franchise getting an annual inspection. Another customer car was pulled out of the shop after an oil change with engine running and the guy comes in and says to a coworker, the oil light is still on! I'd NEVER trust my vehicle to anyone for routine service I can do myself.

 

[Steve Urquell]

I was at a local "quick change" franchise getting an annual inspection. Another customer car was pulled out of the shop after an oil change with engine running and the guy comes in and says to a coworker, the oil light is still on! I'd NEVER trust my vehicle to anyone for routine service I can do myself.

Yep, snotnose kid don't care about your rig like you do.

 

[Toddman45]

New Ecoboost owner here, with 500 miles on the odometer. So 5.5 qts is what our trucks oil capacity is? Thanks again

I'll be doing my own oil changes as I always do on my vehicles using Mobil 1 synthetic oil and wix oil filter.

 

[Steve Urquell]

New Ecoboost owner here, with 500 miles on the odometer. So 5.5 qts is what our trucks oil capacity is? Thanks again

I'll be doing my own oil changes as I always do on my vehicles using Mobil 1 synthetic oil and wix oil filter.

Yep, 5.5qts.

One other thing that helps me is I have a magnetic parts tray I bought from HF. It is perfect for keeping up with the screws. $3 and well worth it. I stick it to my toolbox when not using it.

 

[Toddman45]

Yep, 5.5qts.

One other thing that helps me is I have a magnetic parts tray I bought from HF. It is perfect for keeping up with the screws. $3 and well worth it. I stick it to my toolbox when not using it.

Thank you.. Can you use 10w-30 in the Ecoboost?

 

[Steve Urquell]

Thank you.. Can you use 10w-30 in the Ecoboost?

I'm not sure if Ford recommends it and wouldn't use it without researching it first.

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