hey guys,
i am going to go get an oil change on my '97 F250 diesel in the next couple of weeks.
how many quarts of oil does this thing hold?
is the oil filter a spin on/off or a canister?

what brand of oil do you guys like ?
i have always used castrol and/or valvoline in most of my cars.

thanks,
Kevin Rea
Palmdale, Calif.

 

I just changed the oil in my 97 7.3
The book says 15 quarts, but mine is solid at the full mark with 14
my oil filter is a spin off, but be careful when it is full of oil, it is heavy and hard to hold on to, don't ask me how I found that out.

I rigged a funnel on a 5 gallon can to catch the oil, or use a open can but don't loose the plug.

make sure you use a GOOD oil made for diesels, these are too expensive to fix, just to save a few bucks at oil change time, and I have been warned not to stretch out the oil changes.

This is my first diesel, so I am trying to do every thing right.

 

Ya, mine holds 14.5 approx. I run rotella 15/40 as do lots of guys. Some run motorcraft, some delo, some synthetic. Motorcraft fl1995 I think is the number for the filter. I've been told to change at 3000 miles, especially if you work the truck hard. You could probably go to 5000 with just highway driving. Jim at rosewood diesel wrote to change at 3000 miles so that's what I do...

 

ditto above. Due to HARD lessons learned: I would make sure you have a drip pan large enough to catch all the oil AND try to put a large box or droop a large heavy blanket on the "wind side" of the truck to combat the wind blowing the oil all over the place/face, hair etc...
It isn't to difficult, you should be able to do it from start to finish in about 20 minutes or so.
Oh, and don't forget to check the filter for tightness before and after the truck is warm/operating temperature.

 

Take a punch and drive it in bottom of filter then u can drain oil and filter at the same time. Makes it a ton easier to remove the filter. Also remember to fill the filter with oil before you put it back on. If not u run the risk of loosing a bearing due to the large filter and the time it takes to fill it and get oil pressure to engine. Good luck.

 

Great idea! I will try that next time.
Thanks!

 

I now just expect to get bonked in face with a hot messy oil filter.

 

Poke a hole in it... I take a big nail and a hammer under there with me. A couple good raps and you're done. Makes things so much nicer! Also consider a Fumoto valve... one flick of the lever to drain the oil.

 

so, i know what to expect when i take it to get an oil change.

too old to do that stuff myself.

i already did hundreds of them in the past.. don't want to do them any more.

kevin

 

At least put take a sharpie type permanent marker to your old filter...so you can shove it in their face when you take it back because they charge you but don't bother to actually replace it...

 

Have used Rotella 15w 40 since new on my 1996 F-350 CC 4x4 and am now reaching the 300,000 miles. I do use a motorcraft filter though. It takes 14quarts.
Alot of guys use this combo on their 7.3's and more.

 

A good sharp punch...give it five minutes to drain. Absolutely, fill that new filter before putting it on...as with anything you change. It's the little things that are important.

I've used both Motorcraft and Shell, but I like the Motorcraft 5 qt jugs best. Fl-1995 is my mainstay. I have been changing my ever 5K, but under severe duty 3K is the ticket, an expensive ticket, but better that the alternative

 

This brings up a question in mind. With the weather starting to turn cold, what weight oil do you all run? Winter in Indiana usually runs 10 to 30 degrees.

 

If you can afford it, run a good 5W40 synthetic, like Rotella or Amsoil. Faster starts, and some have reported MPG increases as well.