kairojya
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- Jun 7, 2016
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- Dallas, TX
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- Kyle
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- 17 GT350
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NOTE: Ford changed the oil filter housing design mid year on 2017 cars. I've created a similar DIY thread for my 2017 car (with the new design) here: http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1873414
I took some pictures while doing my first oil change today at 1050~ miles. Figured I would post them in case it helps anyone else.
Here is most of what's needed. I used a 6" 3/8" extension with my 3/8" ratchet to remove the oil drain plug (extension not shown). The oil filter wrench (76mm 14 flute) is absolutely required, both to remove the old filter and to properly torque the new filter to spec (16-18 ft/lb). You should use the Motorcraft OE filter FL2069ST. I got a few of them from RockAuto.com for $14.xx~ plus shipping. You will also need 10 quarts of Motorcraft 5w-50 full synthetic. I bought this from my local dealer for $9.19 per quart. Confirm with the dealer that it's the correct oil for the GT350. Also shown in the picture is the oil filter access panel and torx bolt.
Get the car safely in the air. I just installed Steeda jack rails, they made getting the car up on 4 jack stands extremely easy and quick. Standard Disclaimer: do not get underneath the car with the car's weight resting only on a jack. Use jack stands in the correct safe places!
Remove the oil filter access door. It's a torx bolt but I didn't realize this until after I removed it using a 4 mm hex bit.
I learned this great tip from the forums here. Very carefully punch a hole in the bottom of the filter to drain most of the oil in it before removing it. I very lightly tapped the pick until it broke through the filter. I do not recommend hammering anything deeply into the filter. Before I punched a hole in it, I made sure the oil filter wrench I bought was the correct size and I broke the filter loose with a breaker bar. It would suck to punch a hole in the filter and then not be able to remove it! I did remove the oil fill cap at the front of the passenger side head of the engine before punching the hole, to aid with the draining.
The filter took 5 or more minutes to drain. Then I continued with removing it. Once I spun it a couple of times and the rubber seal was no longer contacting, more oil started to drain from it. I left the filter drain like this for a couple of minutes until it stopped then I completely removed the filter. It had barely any oil remaining. Most importantly, I didn't get oil all over the top side of the belly pan!
I'm posting this just for reference, but it doesn't hurt to take a look at the oil that you drained out to check for excessive metals. Clean your drain pan(s) beforehand so the pan is not contaminated. These pictures are of the oil I drained from the filter. I'm not sure if this is excessive or normal during the first change (break in).
Install the new oil filter. Put a light amount of oil on the rubber seal using your finger. Hand tighten the filter (to ensure it's not cross threaded) until the seal hits the mating surface. Then use the oil filter wrench to torque the filter to spec. I put a single blue disposable shop towel between the filter wrench and the filter (another tip I learned here on the forums). It grips/fits the filter perfectly this way so it doesn't slip as your tighten the filter. I have an in/lb Craftsman 3/8" drive "micro" torque wrench. I set it to 16 ft/lbs (192 in/lbs) and torqued the filter to this setting first. Then I increased it to 18 ft/lbs (216 in/lbs) to do the final torque. This is just my preference, the spec calls for 16-18 ft/lbs from Ford. In the following picture you can see how the new filter looks torqued to spec. The rubber seal is not visible at all, there's just a tiny gap.
At this point I did not reinstall the oil filter access door. I wanted to leave it open so I can check for leaks after running the car when done filling the engine with the new oil.
Next up is draining the engine oil. The GT350 has a plastic/composite oil pan with a very simple drain plug design. I figure this makes up for the hassle with the oil filter that we have to deal with. To remove the plug all you need is a 3/8" wratchet and optionally an extension.
Place your oil drain pan beneath the plug and make sure it covers an area roughly 12" behind the plug. Also make sure you have a pan that can hold at least 10 quarts. I picked up this 16 quart pan/container for only $15~ from my local auto parts store. Later in the day I saw the same one at Wal-Mart for only $10. Note that the oil flows out very fast, so much so that it was about to overflow from the top section of my pan as it couldn't drain fast enough down into the lower container area. If this happens you can simply put the plug back in to reduce the amount of flow. Once the oil drains completely, reinstall the plug. It's incredibly easy, make sure you don't over-tighten and break it. It requires only 120 degrees of rotation. It has tabs that lock into place (check previous picture to see how the plug looks installed).
Here you can see the oil fil cap removed at the front of the passenger side head / valve cover. I took a picture inside just for kicks. I used a funnel when filling the engine with oil, but note that the fill hole is at an angle. For the first few quarts, I checked under the car after pouring each quart into the engine to check for leaks. After adding 9 quarts I waited for a few minutes and then checked the dip stick. It was in between the 2 holes on the dip stick indicating LOW and FULL. At this point I checked again under the car for leaks then I installed the oil fill cap. I started the car, checking the oil pressure then looked under the car for any leaks (I had oil pans under both the drain plug and the oil filter access door just in case). I let the car run for maybe 2 minutes while watching underneath.
After turning the car off and waiting 10 minutes I checked the dip stick again. It was at the LOW mark and took 1 more quart to hit the FULL mark. I checked for leaks again under the car and then reinstalled the oil filter access door. At this point I put the car back on the ground and waited several minutes and checked the oil yet again.
For the GT350 it's not a bad idea to check that the oil filter is still torqued properly after you get a few heat cycles into the car. Enjoy!
I took some pictures while doing my first oil change today at 1050~ miles. Figured I would post them in case it helps anyone else.
Here is most of what's needed. I used a 6" 3/8" extension with my 3/8" ratchet to remove the oil drain plug (extension not shown). The oil filter wrench (76mm 14 flute) is absolutely required, both to remove the old filter and to properly torque the new filter to spec (16-18 ft/lb). You should use the Motorcraft OE filter FL2069ST. I got a few of them from RockAuto.com for $14.xx~ plus shipping. You will also need 10 quarts of Motorcraft 5w-50 full synthetic. I bought this from my local dealer for $9.19 per quart. Confirm with the dealer that it's the correct oil for the GT350. Also shown in the picture is the oil filter access panel and torx bolt.
Get the car safely in the air. I just installed Steeda jack rails, they made getting the car up on 4 jack stands extremely easy and quick. Standard Disclaimer: do not get underneath the car with the car's weight resting only on a jack. Use jack stands in the correct safe places!
Remove the oil filter access door. It's a torx bolt but I didn't realize this until after I removed it using a 4 mm hex bit.
I learned this great tip from the forums here. Very carefully punch a hole in the bottom of the filter to drain most of the oil in it before removing it. I very lightly tapped the pick until it broke through the filter. I do not recommend hammering anything deeply into the filter. Before I punched a hole in it, I made sure the oil filter wrench I bought was the correct size and I broke the filter loose with a breaker bar. It would suck to punch a hole in the filter and then not be able to remove it! I did remove the oil fill cap at the front of the passenger side head of the engine before punching the hole, to aid with the draining.
The filter took 5 or more minutes to drain. Then I continued with removing it. Once I spun it a couple of times and the rubber seal was no longer contacting, more oil started to drain from it. I left the filter drain like this for a couple of minutes until it stopped then I completely removed the filter. It had barely any oil remaining. Most importantly, I didn't get oil all over the top side of the belly pan!
I'm posting this just for reference, but it doesn't hurt to take a look at the oil that you drained out to check for excessive metals. Clean your drain pan(s) beforehand so the pan is not contaminated. These pictures are of the oil I drained from the filter. I'm not sure if this is excessive or normal during the first change (break in).
Install the new oil filter. Put a light amount of oil on the rubber seal using your finger. Hand tighten the filter (to ensure it's not cross threaded) until the seal hits the mating surface. Then use the oil filter wrench to torque the filter to spec. I put a single blue disposable shop towel between the filter wrench and the filter (another tip I learned here on the forums). It grips/fits the filter perfectly this way so it doesn't slip as your tighten the filter. I have an in/lb Craftsman 3/8" drive "micro" torque wrench. I set it to 16 ft/lbs (192 in/lbs) and torqued the filter to this setting first. Then I increased it to 18 ft/lbs (216 in/lbs) to do the final torque. This is just my preference, the spec calls for 16-18 ft/lbs from Ford. In the following picture you can see how the new filter looks torqued to spec. The rubber seal is not visible at all, there's just a tiny gap.
At this point I did not reinstall the oil filter access door. I wanted to leave it open so I can check for leaks after running the car when done filling the engine with the new oil.
Next up is draining the engine oil. The GT350 has a plastic/composite oil pan with a very simple drain plug design. I figure this makes up for the hassle with the oil filter that we have to deal with. To remove the plug all you need is a 3/8" wratchet and optionally an extension.
Place your oil drain pan beneath the plug and make sure it covers an area roughly 12" behind the plug. Also make sure you have a pan that can hold at least 10 quarts. I picked up this 16 quart pan/container for only $15~ from my local auto parts store. Later in the day I saw the same one at Wal-Mart for only $10. Note that the oil flows out very fast, so much so that it was about to overflow from the top section of my pan as it couldn't drain fast enough down into the lower container area. If this happens you can simply put the plug back in to reduce the amount of flow. Once the oil drains completely, reinstall the plug. It's incredibly easy, make sure you don't over-tighten and break it. It requires only 120 degrees of rotation. It has tabs that lock into place (check previous picture to see how the plug looks installed).
Here you can see the oil fil cap removed at the front of the passenger side head / valve cover. I took a picture inside just for kicks. I used a funnel when filling the engine with oil, but note that the fill hole is at an angle. For the first few quarts, I checked under the car after pouring each quart into the engine to check for leaks. After adding 9 quarts I waited for a few minutes and then checked the dip stick. It was in between the 2 holes on the dip stick indicating LOW and FULL. At this point I checked again under the car for leaks then I installed the oil fill cap. I started the car, checking the oil pressure then looked under the car for any leaks (I had oil pans under both the drain plug and the oil filter access door just in case). I let the car run for maybe 2 minutes while watching underneath.
After turning the car off and waiting 10 minutes I checked the dip stick again. It was at the LOW mark and took 1 more quart to hit the FULL mark. I checked for leaks again under the car and then reinstalled the oil filter access door. At this point I put the car back on the ground and waited several minutes and checked the oil yet again.
For the GT350 it's not a bad idea to check that the oil filter is still torqued properly after you get a few heat cycles into the car. Enjoy!
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