Changing oil

smr · 9 Dec 2011 at 13:57

Hi all,

I received 6l of Ford fully synth "formula f" oil today - the formula e type (which i used in the last oil fill up) is now obsolete and formula f is used by ford in mostly all cars, including mine (as verified by ford service dept.)

My question is do I need to drain the old oil as it's a different type (semi vs fully)

or can I just add to it with the new type of oil I have?

4T5 · 9 Dec 2011 at 14:00

You need to warm the car up properly & then drain the old oil out & refill with the amount specified in your manual.

Will Gill · 9 Dec 2011 at 14:00

drain it if/as the viscosity has changed

smr · 9 Dec 2011 at 14:00

4T5 said:
You need to warm the car up properly & then drain the old oil out & refill with the amount specified in your manual.

Warm it up ? I thought you were supposed to only fill oil in a cold engine ?

4T5 · 9 Dec 2011 at 14:01

Warm oil flows better & the engine will be fairly cool by the time you refill it.

smr · 9 Dec 2011 at 14:34

ok thanks

smr · 9 Dec 2011 at 14:59

Do I need to change the oil filter as well or just drain the existing oil ?

PMKeates · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:00

Change the filter too.

smr · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:02

Ok, I think I might have to get a garage to do this, don't see how I'm gonna get this all done with just a wheel jack!

ubersonic · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:16

smr said:
Ok, I think I might have to get a garage to do this, don't see how I'm gonna get this all done with just a wheel jack!

You jack the car up, you put a bucket/bowl/etc under the sump, you undo the sump drain bolt, when its drained you unscrew the old filter, you screw on the new filter, you put the bolt back on, you fill the new oil until the mark on the dip.

4T5 · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:19

The only thing I would add to that is just before putting the new oil filter on clean both mating surfaces & then rub a small amount of engine oil on the rubber seal on the filter before twisting it on only Hand tight.

smr · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:19

ubersonic said:
You jack the car up, you put a bucket/bowl/etc under the sump, you undo the sump drain bolt, when its drained you unscrew the old filter, you screw on the new filter, you put the bolt back on, you fill the new oil until the mark on the dip.

Yeah I've seen one or two informative youtube vids on it now, the process is easy, it's just that I only have one wheel jack so would have to jack one side of the car up and would feel unsafe under my car like that.

Joe T · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:28

If you're going under a car for any length of time, it's usually advisable to put it on axle stands.

smr · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:30

Just wondering which a good website is for ordering a new filter? I want to be sure that I'm getting the right type.

ubersonic · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:32

smr said:
Yeah I've seen one or two informative youtube vids on it now, the process is easy, it's just that I only have one wheel jack so would have to jack one side of the car up and would feel unsafe under my car like that.

Buy some axle stands or wheel ramps, I justified the expense on the basis that the cost will be negated by being able to do it yourself until the day you die as opposed to paying a garage to do it every time (though my oil changes are every 3000 miles).

bledd · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:37

eurocarparts, or just get one from Ford, it will likely be cheap ~£10

Personally, I'd never trust a wheel jack, I have this jack (I bet loads of people on here also have it) http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_217059_langId_-1_categoryId_255207

And these jack stands

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_253949_langId_-1_categoryId_255207

Halfords would also stock an oil filter, personally, I like to buy the manufacturers own brand one. What car do you have? on many cars you don't even need a jack to do an oil/filter change. I also bought a £10 set of spanners, "Draper Hi-Torq 29545". Couldn't justify spending more as my mate does everything else that I can't do

Dogbreath · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:37

If you only bought the oil to top up then you shouldn't need to drain and refill. It's quite safe to mix semi and fully synth, though you don't get the benefits of the higher spec oil.

If you bought it to do an oil change then obviously the old stuff needs to be drained.

smr · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:45

bledd. said:
eurocarparts, or just get one from Ford, it will likely be cheap ~£10

Personally, I'd never trust a wheel jack, I have this jack (I bet loads of people on here also have it) http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_217059_langId_-1_categoryId_255207

And these jack stands

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_253949_langId_-1_categoryId_255207

Halfords would also stock an oil filter, personally, I like to buy the manufacturers own brand one. What car do you have? on many cars you don't even need a jack to do an oil/filter change. I also bought a £10 set of spanners, "Draper Hi-Torq 29545". Couldn't justify spending more as my mate does everything else that I can't do

Thanks for the product links, puts things into perspective. I have a Mondeo Mk3 1.8 l petrol. Can an oil change be done on this car without jacks ?

smr · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:46

Dogbreath said:
If you only bought the oil to top up then you shouldn't need to drain and refill. It's quite safe to mix semi and fully synth, though you don't get the benefits of the higher spec oil.

If you bought it to do an oil change then obviously the old stuff needs to be drained.

Over the past few days the oil light has come on when stopping at roundabouts etc. so I bought it with the view to just topping it up.

When my old man showed me how to oil change a car years ago it was a case of showing me how to see if the oil needed topping up via the dipsticks readings, oil filters weren't mentioned!

PiKe · 9 Dec 2011 at 15:50

If you only have one wheel jack, park 2 wheels on the kerb and jack the other side, simples.