DIY oil change (2019 GT350 oil light on is on)

[jmn444]

If we deleted all the opinions on the internet there'd be nothing left haha

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[NDALLAS40]

I just noticed your thread and would like to congratulate you on your purchase and the decision to do your own oil changes. I have a '16 with 20K miles and 8 track events. The '15 and '16 models had the oil filter that became known for spinning loose causing oil spills and engine failures. The filters were required to be torqued to 18-20 ft. lbs. Most dealers would send the new GT350's through the regular oil change line and these guys had never heard of torquing down an oil filter, so that step was often skipped. What a fiasco. Ford changed the filter design for the next model year and sent a special wrench attachment that fit these filters to all owners. Two years later, a few of my fellow 350 owners would have the dealer do their oil changes. So I asked them to check their filters as soon as they picked up their cars. 3 out of 4 were well below spec., and the 4th one was loose with oil in the pan already! 4 different dealers in the Dallas area, with similar results. These owners became oil change DIYers from then on!

Also, a good way to reduce oil spewing from the filter when you remove it is to punch a couple of holes in the bottom of the filter and let it drain before loosening. If you let it sit long enough, it comes off almost empty.

 

[NDALLAS40]

A good source for cheap oil filters is Rock auto. And the only oil brands approved under warranty specs are Motorcraft and Amsoil. I've had good luck with the latter almost zero oil consumption. Just sayin

 

[Spart]

Two years later, a few of my fellow 350 owners would have the dealer do their oil changes. So I asked them to check their filters as soon as they picked up their cars. 3 out of 4 were well below spec., and the 4th one was loose with oil in the pan already! 4 different dealers in the Dallas area, with similar results. These owners became oil change DIYers from then on!

NoViCeS aRe mOrE pRoNe tO sCrEwInG uP aN OiL cHaNgE tHaN a TrAiNeD mEcHaNiC

 

[460Fred]

A good source for cheap oil filters is Rock auto. And the only oil brands approved under warranty specs are Motorcraft and Amsoil. I've had good luck with the latter almost zero oil consumption. Just sayin

I’m a new owner and have always changed my own oil in my cars and trucks....it’s therapy for me more than anything until now. Now it’s about doing the job right.
I’ve done some research but obviously not enough.
Do you have something to back up your statement about only two types of oil that are “approved under warranty specs”. Are you looking at the specs that are in the GT350 supplement and found Amsoil the only other one that qualified?
I’m not getting into an oil battle but truly want to know. This whole oil thing with this particular car is just plain nuts.

 

[cantdrive55]

Funny thing is I'd trust someone (with some experience) having to Google oil change instructions for this car. They're more likely to use a torque wrench.

Lube monkey in the pit at your local Ford dealer? That guys knows everything, just ask him. Filter goes on 3/4 turn after the gasket contacts the block and the car takes 8 quarts of 5W20.

Reminds me of the autoshop class I took at my community college when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life - we had a kid that worked at the local whatever-lube that thought he was hot shit because he worked on cars as his job. It came time for oil change day and he volunteered to show everyone else how to do an oil change by doing one on his car. Captain dipshit ended up spilling about half a quart of oil all over the engine bay when filling the oil back up.

There's countless stories of idiot techs messing up basic oil changes or even screwing up a simple tire rotation. I don't trust them to do anything unless absolutely necessary (ie. warranty work). Even then, my battery died a couple weeks after I bought my car and I removed the battery myself and brought it in for them to test and exchanged it. I told them that I would not, under any circumstances, have my car towed for them to swap the battery.

 

[cantdrive55]

A good source for cheap oil filters is Rock auto. And the only oil brands approved under warranty specs are Motorcraft and Amsoil. I've had good luck with the latter almost zero oil consumption. Just sayin

Apparently there's a third option now - Lucas Oil. The quart bottles even have a GT350 on them. I haven't confirmed myself, and their website suck ass, to be frank.

https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-10101-Synthetic-Quart/dp/B072V63S8J

 

[JAJ]

A good source for cheap oil filters is Rock auto. And the only oil brands approved under warranty specs are Motorcraft and Amsoil. I've had good luck with the latter almost zero oil consumption. Just sayin

Ford's oil spec for the GT350 has evolved a bit. From MY 2015 to 2019 they put it pretty clearly in the Owner's Supplement, where in the maintenance section, it says "Use Motorcraft SAE 5W-50 full synthetic or an equivalent SAE 5W-50 full synthetic oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C931-C" and then later on in the Capacities and Specifications section it says "Your engine has been designed to use engine oil that meets our specification or an equivalent engine oil of the recommended viscosity grade that displays the API Certification Mark for gasoline engines".

To be clear, "or an equivalent" means it meets WSS-M2C931-C.

For model year 2020, Ford didn't change the Maintenance section of the Owner's Supplement, but they did reword Capacities and Specifications just a little bit. It still calls out WSS-M2C931-C, but it also says "Oil must meet specification WSS-M2C931-C or use SAE 5W-50 oil that meet API SN requirements".

So, which oils MEET WSS-M2C931-C? Motorcraft, Castrol SuperCar and Lucas. That's it. Pretty much everything else exceeds the 800 ppm phosphorus target in the 931-C spec - most SN oils have 1000, which is 25% too high.

As for what you can actually use, well courtesy of the 2020 update, the field has opened up a lot. There are those three of course, but you can now use pretty much any API SN 5w50 with the API Starburst symbol on it. That gets you Mobil 1, Castrol Edge, and a host of alternatives. Sadly, what it doesn't get you is Amsoil. Now before anyone reacts badly, Amsoil makes really good oil. Decades of success prove it. BUT, the entire premium line of Signature Series oils is not API licensed and the bottles don't have the API Starburst symbol on them - just look at the pictures on the website if you don't believe me. Why? I have no idea. But Amsoil's decision not to put that mark on the bottle makes it a use-it-at-your-own-risk product in a GT350.

For any of you that wants to see which Amsoil products are API licensed, that information is here: https://engineoil.api.org/Directory/EolcsResultsDetail?accountId=-1&companyId=10079&resultsUrl=/Directory/EolcsResults?accountId=-1&companyName=amsoil

 

[460Fred]

Ford's oil spec for the GT350 has evolved a bit. From MY 2015 to 2019 they put it pretty clearly in the Owner's Supplement, where in the maintenance section, it says "Use Motorcraft SAE 5W-50 full synthetic or an equivalent SAE 5W-50 full synthetic oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C931-C" and then later on in the Capacities and Specifications section it says "Your engine has been designed to use engine oil that meets our specification or an equivalent engine oil of the recommended viscosity grade that displays the API Certification Mark for gasoline engines".

To be clear, "or an equivalent" means it meets WSS-M2C931-C.

For model year 2020, Ford didn't change the Maintenance section of the Owner's Supplement, but they did reword Capacities and Specifications just a little bit. It still calls out WSS-M2C931-C, but it also says "Oil must meet specification WSS-M2C931-C or use SAE 5W-50 oil that meet API SN requirements".

So, which oils MEET WSS-M2C931-C? Motorcraft, Castrol SuperCar and Lucas. That's it. Pretty much everything else exceeds the 800 ppm phosphorus target in the 931-C spec - most SN oils have 1000, which is 25% too high.

As for what you can actually use, well courtesy of the 2020 update, the field has opened up a lot. There are those three of course, but you can now use pretty much any API SN 5w50 with the API Starburst symbol on it. That gets you Mobil 1, Castrol Edge, and a host of alternatives. Sadly, what it doesn't get you is Amsoil. Now before anyone reacts badly, Amsoil makes really good oil. Decades of success prove it. BUT, the entire premium line of Signature Series oils is not API licensed and the bottles don't have the API Starburst symbol on them - just look at the pictures on the website if you don't believe me. Why? I have no idea. But Amsoil's decision not to put that mark on the bottle makes it a use-it-at-your-own-risk product in a GT350.

For any of you that wants to see which Amsoil products are API licensed, that information is here: https://engineoil.api.org/Directory/EolcsResultsDetail?accountId=-1&companyId=10079&resultsUrl=/Directory/EolcsResults?accountId=-1&companyName=amsoil

You should be a teacher....very well put together. Even a dummy like me can understand it.
This really opens up other possibilities as well as my favorite preference.

 

[Spart]

Ford's oil spec for the GT350 has evolved a bit. From MY 2015 to 2019 they put it pretty clearly in the Owner's Supplement, where in the maintenance section, it says "Use Motorcraft SAE 5W-50 full synthetic or an equivalent SAE 5W-50 full synthetic oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C931-C" and then later on in the Capacities and Specifications section it says "Your engine has been designed to use engine oil that meets our specification or an equivalent engine oil of the recommended viscosity grade that displays the API Certification Mark for gasoline engines".

To be clear, "or an equivalent" means it meets WSS-M2C931-C.

For model year 2020, Ford didn't change the Maintenance section of the Owner's Supplement, but they did reword Capacities and Specifications just a little bit. It still calls out WSS-M2C931-C, but it also says "Oil must meet specification WSS-M2C931-C or use SAE 5W-50 oil that meet API SN requirements".

So, which oils MEET WSS-M2C931-C? Motorcraft, Castrol SuperCar and Lucas. That's it. Pretty much everything else exceeds the 800 ppm phosphorus target in the 931-C spec - most SN oils have 1000, which is 25% too high.

As for what you can actually use, well courtesy of the 2020 update, the field has opened up a lot. There are those three of course, but you can now use pretty much any API SN 5w50 with the API Starburst symbol on it. That gets you Mobil 1, Castrol Edge, and a host of alternatives. Sadly, what it doesn't get you is Amsoil. Now before anyone reacts badly, Amsoil makes really good oil. Decades of success prove it. BUT, the entire premium line of Signature Series oils is not API licensed and the bottles don't have the API Starburst symbol on them - just look at the pictures on the website if you don't believe me. Why? I have no idea. But Amsoil's decision not to put that mark on the bottle makes it a use-it-at-your-own-risk product in a GT350.

For any of you that wants to see which Amsoil products are API licensed, that information is here: https://engineoil.api.org/Directory/EolcsResultsDetail?accountId=-1&companyId=10079&resultsUrl=/Directory/EolcsResults?accountId=-1&companyName=amsoil

This is all great info, thanks.

I have a question though... has anyone actually contacted Ford or Ford Performance and asked specifically which 5W-50 oils do not void the powertrain warranty? It would be nice to have something in writing.

 

[460Fred]

This is all great info, thanks.

I have a question though... has anyone actually contacted Ford or Ford Performance and asked specifically which 5W-50 oils do not void the powertrain warranty? It would be nice to have something in writing.

I just sent an email to [email protected]. I was pretty specific on my request for a list of approved oils and in particular my choice.
I was initially alerted it was an invalid address but sent it anyways. Got the address right off the FP website.
I’ll post the response if I get one.

 

[460Fred]

Their is also a chat line.
Here is the response....Same as the manual.

I’d be willing to bet the farm we won’t get a definitive answer on any particular brand.

 

[JAJ]

Their is also a chat line.
Here is the response....Same as the manual.

I’d be willing to bet the farm we won’t get a definitive answer on any particular brand.

A very polite way to say "RTFM".

 

[95CobraR]

I say use a good oil and keep the receipt.

 

[460Fred]

A very polite way to say "RTFM".

Hahaha, yup. That was my response to Anthony.

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