Post oil change differences in running

[ronnyek42]

I don't drive my car a ton, well I drive daily but just around town stuff. It has ~13k mi since I bought it new in 2018.

I recently changed my oil, and it's running quite a bit different. It has a different exhaust note... Louder than it did before but maybe not as refined. It runs about the same when driving spirited etc. At idle the rpms seem kind of low ~600 rpms, and every now and then I feel a slight stumble... But it hasn't stalled yet. Felt a bit like a light miss.

The car had cam phasers changed on one bank. When the phaser was bad, I had codes but didn't notice anything about how it ran.

I was at about 1yr and maybe 3500mi since the oil change prior.

I've seen a lot about vct solenoids, but don't know if 2018s fall into the problem years for that or not. (Do they make the upgraded vcts for 2018s?)

I don't see any codes, and honestly don't know what's normal. I guess I can just drive it until something breaks, or it starts actually stalling out... But the massive difference in how the thing runs after oil change has me a bit worried something is on the way out or something.


Anyone got things I should try, or ideas about it, or is there just nothing to be concerned about?

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[SheepDog]

I don't drive my car a ton, well I drive daily but just around town stuff. It has ~13k mi since I bought it new in 2018.

I recently changed my oil, and it's running quite a bit different. It has a different exhaust note... Louder than it did before but maybe not as refined. It runs about the same when driving spirited etc. At idle the rpms seem kind of low ~600 rpms, and every now and then I feel a slight stumble... But it hasn't stalled yet. Felt a bit like a light miss.

The car had cam phasers changed on one bank. When the phaser was bad, I had codes but didn't notice anything about how it ran.

I was at about 1yr and maybe 3500mi since the oil change prior.

I've seen a lot about vct solenoids, but don't know if 2018s fall into the problem years for that or not. (Do they make the upgraded vcts for 2018s?)

I don't see any codes, and honestly don't know what's normal. I guess I can just drive it until something breaks, or it starts actually stalling out... But the massive difference in how the thing runs after oil change has me a bit worried something is on the way out or something.


Anyone got things I should try, or ideas about it, or is there just nothing to be concerned about?

You sure you didn't bump/damage the PCV tube on the passenger side valve cover during the oil change? You sure the oil level is correct?

 

[ronnyek42]

Definitely no new damage as a part of the oil change...

I just put 10qt of motor craft 5-20 while changing out the filter as well. Oil level seems fine but it's not like it's terribly easy to read the dipstick... Just how it's bent all over weird and it's not always obvious where the fill level is. I think it's good tho

 

[gsxr1300]

Did you use 5w-20 oil last time?

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

If you didn’t inflict any damage by accident during the oil change, then it’s just coincidence and is not oil change related.

 

[ronnyek42]

I mean from what I've heard of vct problems and their cause, oil change itself could affect that (if that's a problem my car may be prone to)

 

[loucas-2021]

I have a similar problem with my 2021 GT PP. From the research I've done it looks like it could be a number of things. Fuel injectors, vacuum leaks, MAF sensor, spark plugs, etc.

Sorry I don't have a definitive answer.

 

[GregO]

I don't drive my car a ton, well I drive daily but just around town stuff. It has ~13k mi since I bought it new in 2018.

I recently changed my oil, and it's running quite a bit different. It has a different exhaust note... Louder than it did before but maybe not as refined. It runs about the same when driving spirited etc. At idle the rpms seem kind of low ~600 rpms, and every now and then I feel a slight stumble... But it hasn't stalled yet. Felt a bit like a light miss.

Sounds to me like you need to stuff the skinny pedal to the floor and blow the cobwebs out of it a couple two three times and report back.

 

[offroadkarter]

I mean from what I've heard of vct problems and their cause, oil change itself could affect that (if that's a problem my car may be prone to)

The only time I've heard of VCT behavior changing is when the oil is higher mile/dirtier. On my 2016 F150 I started having solenoid issues around 150k which caused a rough idle and sometimes a stall. When the oil was nearing that 5000 mile mark, it was worse. Did a fresh change and it was totally fine until I got up near that 5000 mile mark next go around.

The Gen 3 coyote's have the same solenoids on the intake cams as the gen 1's and 2's, but the exhaust cam setup is totally different.

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

I feel like if i drove my car sporadically i'd hear new sounds every time. I think you just need more seat time.

 

[HKusp]

Are you doing oil changes by mileage, by time, or by the oil life monitor?

 

[TonyT930]

I don't drive my car a ton, well I drive daily but just around town stuff. It has ~13k mi since I bought it new in 2018.

I recently changed my oil, and it's running quite a bit different. It has a different exhaust note... Louder than it did before but maybe not as refined. It runs about the same when driving spirited etc. At idle the rpms seem kind of low ~600 rpms, and every now and then I feel a slight stumble... But it hasn't stalled yet. Felt a bit like a light miss.

The car had cam phasers changed on one bank. When the phaser was bad, I had codes but didn't notice anything about how it ran.

I was at about 1yr and maybe 3500mi since the oil change prior.

I've seen a lot about vct solenoids, but don't know if 2018s fall into the problem years for that or not. (Do they make the upgraded vcts for 2018s?)

I don't see any codes, and honestly don't know what's normal. I guess I can just drive it until something breaks, or it starts actually stalling out... But the massive difference in how the thing runs after oil change has me a bit worried something is on the way out or something.


Anyone got things I should try, or ideas about it, or is there just nothing to be concerned about?

I wonder if Ford did some computer update to the car and didn't tell you? This has happened to me before, but with my Toyota

 

[Oakley]

5W-30 is what you should run at least.

 

[ronnyek42]

So.... I decided to just swap solenoids... and I've gotta say the car is running better than it ever has. Its unfortunate that if it was beginning to have problems with solenoids, it wasn't enough to trigger codes.

Kind of wish I would have done it earlier.

 

[Nobuemon]

So.... I decided to just swap solenoids... and I've gotta say the car is running better than it ever has. Its unfortunate that if it was beginning to have problems with solenoids, it wasn't enough to trigger codes.

Kind of wish I would have done it earlier.

How long did it take you?

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