100,000 miles with my 2015 Transit Connect

[jrm223]

From Blackstone themselves - "We always recommend using an oil grade recommended for your engine by the manufacturer and a brand that fits your budget. But beyond that, we find that brand makes very little difference. If there were an oil that consistently out-performed the rest of them, we’d have no reason to keep that information secret, but we just haven’t found that oil yet. ... One of the best-kept secrets of the oil industry is that these store brands are actually the same, quality oils that are produced by the major oil companies." https://www.blackstone-labs.com/which-oil-to-use/

 

On a somewhat related note, I rolled 92K yesterday, so I'm getting close to knocking down that 100K in my van, lol. Only big issue I've had is the ambient air temperature sensor, I had to get that replaced in 2016, somewhere around the 30K mile mark or so. 

[Fifty150]

Nothing matters. People will always use their own reasoning for the oil of their choice. That is why you constantly see on forums, and in real life, someone using an oil weight which is different than the one specified in the owners manual.  People who are brand loyal will spend no matter how much on their brand of choice. 

 

I drank the Kool Aid. I used to pay more for boutique oil brands.  I don't think any of the high price oil made any difference.  

 

Filters do make a difference.  Cut them open and you can see how some filters are made better.

 

Amazon.com oil will be just fine for the price.  It comes from the same factory as other no name brand products. 

 

 

[Beta Don]

Oil brands are one thing  -  You can use any you like.  Oil weight on the other hand is MUCH more important  -  Engines are designed from the ground up to utilize a certain weight of oil and going against the weight the engineers specified for your engine is asking for expensive problems,  IMO

 

Don

[PhotoAl]

Oil threads are always fun to read.  It's a blast on some of the motorcycle forums!   Agree with you except there can be a difference in the additive packages and the ability of some oils to last longer at higher temperatures.  For most vehicles including the Transit Connect I don't think it makes much difference.  I always use a full synthetic for their better temperature capability  but IMO things like letting the engine come up to temperature before accelerating hard and changing the oil more frequently if taking a lot of short trips are more important. Much more concerned about the transmission fluid and it being changed on a routine basis particularly the OEM fluid.  It has been a long time since Ive seen an engine failure due to poor lubrication.  I'm not talking about running out or oil or having a crummy filter or a badly designed part.  Have a VW in my driveway with an engine destroyed by the failure of the timing chain tensioners-lots of metal in the oil pan and low oil pressure at idle so know there are bearing issues somewhere.  Not oil related though and the engine did better that the 1.8T in terms of cooking the oil.  Fix one thing break two more, sigh.  Its a 2009 so the Germans may have a good engine now after millions of miles of customer funded R&D.  

[Fifty150]

You're absolutely correct in regards to different oil brands using different additives.  For some of those high price brands, you are paying for the additives which differentiate it from other brads....allegedly.  If you are driving a performance car, racing, towing.....maybe you benefit.  But with Transit Connect's 2.5L engine, your gains are questionable.  Just about any over-the-counter oil in 5W-20 or 0W-20, synthetic blend or full synthetic, not conventional, with the API starburst will be fine.  Your engine will be lubricated.  

 

At this point, I am trusting the engineers at Ford who calibrated Transit Connect's algorithm for oil change.  I believe that since the algorithm is based upon the use of synthetic blend oil, by using full synthetic, the condition of the engine oil should be better than the car's computer thinks it is. 

 

I am still skeptical of those extended oil change intervals, being an old man who remembers 3000 mile oil changes.  My pickup truck, which is a 2007 model year, was sold with the 5000 mile normal condition & 3000 mile severe condition maintenance schedule.  Low speed, extended idle, stop & go traffic, towing, livery, sudden acceleration & braking pursuit conditions......all fell within Ford's description of severe condition back in 2007.  Over the course of the last decade, used oil analysis posted by other Ford owners have shown that different oil brands have held up fine for 7500 miles - 10000 miles.  

 

People worry so much about oil, and sometimes forget about the filter.  A better made filter can make all the difference.  

 

With Transit Connect being a front wheel drive, transmission fluid is a concern.  A lot of people don't stay with the factory spec of Mercon LV.  Or they don't know.  I think that multigrade ATF which says that you can use it in any car, should not be used in any car.  Just like multigrade coolant.  Today's cars are very particular when it comes to automotive fluids.  Cooling systems go bad when you don't use the specified coolant.  And we all know what happens to automatic transmissions when you use multi-vehicle ATF.

[G B L]

If the Transmission fluid is rated to the OEM Ford LV Spec by a good manufacture then it will give good service.  

Again good universal antifreeze is formulated to protect older engines and also the newer extended life antifreeze engines.  It cost a little more than the single purpose antifreeze's , a small penalty with a great up side.. The up side it makes the jug you happen to have when your car needs coolant  the right jug !!

[Fifty150]

Ever notice how on some antifreeze/coolant bottles, it says to use distilled water?  There goes the old fashion flush the coolant with the garden hose technique.  

 

 

 

[WillMartin]

My 1970s shade tree dirt ball so-called mechanic wisdom:

 

When I was racing motorcycles, I would change the oil after every weekend.  I ran something like 0-30 mostly because it made less drag, which meant more horsepower.  Coolant was nothing but distilled water.  Mostly because ethylene glycerol is slippery as snot and banned from race bikes.  Other than that, filters matter a lot, as everyone here seems to agree.  I use distilled water in cooling systems along with whatever the specified coolant is.  If you need to top up coolant, you usually have a problem that needs to be addressed.  Distilled water is less than a buck most places, so why not use it?  As far as flushing, the tap water that blows through the engine block and everywhere else isn't sitting in there very long.  Not much of an issue, in my world.  It doesn't have time to precipitate anything, have any kind of galvanic reaction to anything, or react to much of anything.  Garden hose is fine.  Plus, you cooling system will have stronger teeth if the water has fluoride.  That's a big deal for those of us who have a certain kind of ancestry and still have all our own teeth.

 

Oil is pretty cheap also, relative.  My TC is hardly a racing vehicle of any kind, and I drive gently (sez me).  No hard starts, no hard braking if I can help it.  I have only spun the wheels a couple of times now in a few months of owning my TC.  I count that as pretty gentile.  Get it up to temperature and the oil should be hot enough to burn off whatever blow-by contaminants that get into it.  With a decent filter, the rest should be a moot point.  So, I'm OK with the 5K mile change interval.  The viscosity recommendation is pretty much what I care about.

 

You paid a lot for these pixels.  You got every penny's worth.

Edited December 19, 2018 by WillMartin

[MLB]

On 1/18/2018 at 10:02 PM, Spooner said:

The bike is around 230 lbs. I believe the hitch is rated to 500 lbs and the van handles the weight well. For sure I wouldn’t put a ZX6r on it though. I’ve pulled two bikes on a small trailer but for one the hitch hauler is so easy. 

 

That's a light bike!  But because the weight is rearward of where the normal "tongue weight" is, you are supposed to cut the tongue weight limit in half.

 That means the 300lb tongue weight limit is reduced to about 150lbs.  I hauled a 300lb old school 4 stroke around behind my 4Runner with 750lb tongue capacity and could barely notice it, but much bigger, heavier vehicle.  That's a pretty good load way back there for a light duty vehicle.   be careful.  JMO!

[MLB]

52 minutes ago, MLB said:

 

That's a light bike!  But because the weight is rearward of where the normal "tongue weight" is, you are supposed to cut the tongue weight limit in half.

 That means the 300lb tongue weight limit is reduced to about 150lbs.  I hauled a 300lb old school 4 stroke around behind my 4Runner with 750lb tongue capacity and could barely notice it, but much bigger, heavier vehicle.  That's a pretty good load way back there for a light duty vehicle.   be careful.  JMO!

Oh shoot, replied long ago. Sorry.