Saturday, March 29, 2014

Oil change at Thousand Trails/Wilderness Lakes RV Resort

I have been planning on an oil change since we left WA several weeks ago. It was getting close to time but I had so many other things to get done that I decided to put it off until we got to my brother's house in Goodyear, AZ. On top of that, with the problems we were having with the truck's cooling system, and the oil temps we were seeing, I was concerned that the oil had probably lost some of it's viscosity (thickness). The cooling system has been repaired and working properly again so when I noticed that the Thousand Trails/Wilderness Lakes RV Resort mentioned that they take recycled oil ($1/gal) at their maintenance facility I decided there was no time like the present. I had brought oil (4 gallons Shell Rotella T6 5W40 synthetic) and a Motorcraft filter with me. I had already purchased a drain pan that doubles as a closed container to transport the used oil. What makes this chore simple is two things. One, Ford did a nice job designing the oil filter housing. It sits right up on top of the engine and when you undo the filter cap a spring loaded mechanism allows a drain port to open and let the filter housing drain to the oil pan. With a little care and a couple of paper towels you can replace the filter without spilling a drop. The second thing is I had previously installed a quick drain valve (made by Fumoto) in the oil pan. Just slide the drain pan under the truck and flip the lever down and over and, viola!, oil is draining and none of it is on me! All in all I spent about 30 minutes, taking my time, checking other vital fluids, hoses and wiring, etc. and driving the used oil over to maintenance. Happy to have that done. The truck starts a little quicker now. The fuel injectors use high pressure oil to actuate them and the truck won't start until the high pressure oil pump (HPOP) reaches 500 psi so the new oil being thicker, it builds pressure quicker and starts.

1 comment:

  1. Maintaining your vehicle regularly is always the key to extend its lifespan. It may be exhausting at times, but it's definitely better than having problems in the middle of a trip. Anyway, this seemed like a very productive day for you. And thanks for sharing some tips. People will surely find these helpful. Take care!

    Abraham Yates @ Apache Oil Company

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