Did My First Oil Change

[bradleyem]

Well, I changed the oil in my '05 GT for the first time yesterday (No, it's not the first time the oil has been changed since new ) I used Royal Purple and about fell over at what it cost....almost $100 for an oil change with the filter. But hopefully it'll be worth it, and it will help with my poor gas milage some. My milage has been very erratic since I bought the car. It started around 16 (mixed city/highway driving), then it went up to around 18 after I cleaned the throttle body and MAF, then it went back down to around 15 Other than cleaning the MAF and throttle body once, I haven't made any changes at all to the car.

Along the same lines, I'm going to change the fluids in the transmission and the rear differential soon too. What is the concensus on fluids for these? I've had extremely good luck in the past with Redline Shock Proof. I've used it in all of my previous Mustangs as well as several 4x4 vehicles that see lots of hard off road use, and I can certainly attest to the fact that it helps with hard shock loads. It also does an excellent job of smoothing out notchy shifting.

Also are any friction modifiers needed for the synchros in the Tremec 5 speed transmissions or for the limited slip in the rear end?

Thanks!

 

[NastyStang113]

$100 for an oil change? I use the same stuff and have never spent close to that ..

Royal Purple 5w20 Motor Oil at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

K&N Performance Gold Oil Filter (96-09 GT, 05-09 V6, & 07-08 GT500) at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

I'd recommend using Royal Purple's Syncromesh for your transmission.

Royal Purple Synchromax Manual Transmission Fluid at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

It's also been said to use a little bit of ATF fluid since Ford soaks the syncros with it before installing. I've heard just a splash.

Royal Purple Max ATF Transmission Fluid at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

As far as the rear differential since it's got a LSD it's going to need a friction modifier or an oil that has it already in it. The Royal Purple gear oil has additives so there is no need to add any friction modifier to it.

 

[bradleyem]

Thanks for the info!

I spent $8.99/qt for the same oil at VaderZone.

I also spent $12.99 on a Mobile1 filter, although I've heard conflicting stories on how good they are.

 

[bradleyem]

Also, it looks like I'll be sticking with Royal Purple throughout then

 

[Slipk911]

There's much debate on which gear oil is the best for the rear and the trans. I personally went with Royal Purple Synchromesh in mine. Do not add any friction modifier to your transmission! Just Mercon V compatible oil. Also: MAKE SURE YOU DONT PUT MORE THAN 3.0L!!! If you fill it up to the fill hole that is 3.8L. It will create issues down the road with you not being able to smoothly shift in and out of gears. This is due to the fact that the synchronizers are slowed down by the larger volume of oil. My mechanic made that mistake with mine and it was really clunky going into 2nd and 1st. As for differential fluid... Ford doesn't recommend that you change it. Aparently it should be good for life... so me personally I won't change it until i change my gears. And that does need friction modifier (but some products like Royal Purple say they have the friction modifier in them).

And that's it...

I heard Royal Purple motor oil is not that crazy good to be worth that much per oil change... Amsoil gets better reviews aparently. Last time I used Castrol Syntec since I couldn't find the right weight in Mobil 1... and it runs fine on it.

 

[UrbanRedneck]

WTF? I buy my oil at Autozone and it's 7.20 a quart. They must have huge ohio markup or something.

 

[NastyStang113]

WTF? I buy my oil at Autozone and it's 7.20 a quart. They must have huge ohio markup or something.

It's the same price here in Florida, $8.99.

 

[CRoberts91]

i got 5 quarts of Royal purple and a Wix filter for $43 at O'Reilly's.

 

[NastyStang113]

i got 5 quarts of Royal purple and a Wix filter for $43 at O'Reilly's.

Any reason why you only bought 5 quarts? The 4.6L takes 6 quarts. The 4.0L takes 5 quarts.

 

[02GTRX]

Since when does the 4.6 take 6qts?! I've been putting 5 in mine since I got it new till the 30k miles it has now
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[ApexStang]

I replied to your other post but the car manual says 6 qts.

 

[NastyStang113]

2005+ 4.6L is 6 quarts. 2005+ 4.0L is 5 quarts.

The 2004+ F150s with the 5.4L 3Vs use 7 quarts so it could be worse.

 

[Sparty92]

My milage has been very erratic since I bought the car. It started around 16 (mixed city/highway driving), then it went up to around 18 after I cleaned the throttle body and MAF, then it went back down to around 15 Other than cleaning the MAF and throttle body once, I haven't made any changes at all to the car.

How do you manage to do this? I get 20mpg mixed driving and 30 hwy. only. I shift my own gears and don't drive like a girl (not all the time, lol).

 

[bradleyem]

How do you manage to do this? I get 20mpg mixed driving and 30 hwy. only. I shift my own gears and don't drive like a girl (not all the time, lol).

I have NO F'N IDEA....its driving me NUTS


I need to get this thing on a Dyno, get it tuned, and see if there's something robbing power. I have noticed that there is alot of brake dust on my back wheels, which is opposite from normal, since the front brakes usually do most of the stopping. So, I may have a stuck caliper, or parking brake cable. I need to get it on a lift and look into that more.

 

[Slipk911]

i get around 25 mixed if i drive it normally... 13 mixed if i'm on it.

Btw... my mechanic told me the 06+ take 6.25 quarts... I didn't have time to research it... but he filled it to 6.25 and it is right at the line on the stick...

 

[NastyStang113]

i get around 25 mixed if i drive it normally... 13 mixed if i'm on it.

Btw... my mechanic told me the 06+ take 6.25 quarts... I didn't have time to research it... but he filled it to 6.25 and it is right at the line on the stick...

That's probably right at the "Do not exceed" this mark.

 

[UrbanRedneck]

the people that put 5 in it really ought look int heir owners manual, rather than just believing that every car takes 5 lol. I wouldn't worry though, running one low won't hurt it, just put 6 in from now on please.

6.25 is probably right at the line like nasty said, because at 6.0 mine reads right in the middle of the crosshatch.

Nasty it could be even worse than the F150. A Z06 takes something like 11.75. A lot of German cars take between 7 and 9, depending on the engine. Then on the other end, Honda 4 cylinders usually take between 3.75 and 4.

 

[white07gt-cs]

6.25 is probably right at the line like nasty said, because at 6.0 mine reads right in the middle of the crosshatch.

That's exactly what I get when I change my oil and filter. I put in 6 qts and it reads about a half a quart low.

 

[bradleyem]

I don't have a owners manual for mine, so I just had them look it up at vaderzone when I was buying my oil. They (or their computer) said 6.5 quarts wih an oil change. I put in about 6.25 also. I have a hard time getting a good reading on this dipstick though. It seems as if there is always some oil that creeps up the dipstick. You can see a straight line of oil within the hash marks, but it's like oil wicks up one side slightly into where it starts to twist

 

[NastyStang113]

That's exactly what I get when I change my oil and filter. I put in 6 qts and it reads about a half a quart low.

Are you going by the top line or the bottom line? I've always used exactly 6.0 quarts and it fills it to the middle. Below the bottom line means it's low. Above the top line means it's too full. In the middle of the two means it's good to go. I don't ever fill mine to the top line, too much oil is a very bad thing.