2003 Mercury Sable 3.0 OHV Oil Change Interval

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Greetings, in January I bought my 2003 sable with 167k on the clock, prior owner donated it to the purple heart (did not find out til 2 months later, when I got the title, long story, dealer screwed me)I had the oil changed at a local lube place with my own supplied FL400S filter.

Now, I am doing the ford reccomended 5k interval on this Oil Change, should I change to synthetic oil and do 7500k, or should I do a shorter interval first, to get all the gunk out of the engine? I do not know about the engines history all that much, other than it was taken to pepboys and had a new alternator and starter installed. I also use thicker than OE spec oil, 5W30 vs 5W20, I felt that with the miles it had on it, I was better off going with the 1986-2000 Spec oil instead of the 2001-now spec oil. My logic with that one, the 3.0 Vulcan always took 5W30 until 2001 when ford had to change it to improve CAFE.
 
I use PP at 8,000 miles oil changes. 5W20. No problems at all. I would only consider a thicker oil if it was burning some. As for your first oil change a short interval would be a good idea, 3000 miles of PP.
Have you changed the transmission fluid? Mercon V.
 
I am still going to use 5W30, mostly due to the fact that in my mind, that is what the engine used for nearly 20 years before the CAFE standards changed, making it a 5W20 engine.

What is PP, i am a little new, is that Pennzoil Platnium.

And the trans has not been done since I owned it, but the fluid is decent looking, a little dark, but not burnt smelling. I plan to flush it, put a new filter in, an extra trans cooler, and mercon V

I was thinking of going to synth via high milage synth blends, to prevent any leaks, right now it has a slight oil consumption, maybe 1/2 a quart per 1k mi, which is below what ford says it can do, 1 quart per 1k mi
 
I am using Toyota 0w/20 synthetic in the same 3.0 OHV engine with complete success.
The valve train is very quiet and the oil consumption is very low.
I plan on changing my oil every 10000 kilometres.
 
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The vulcan was originally designed to use a 30 grade oil.

There have been occurrences of people running a xW-20 and having the oil light flicker at hot idle.
 
If the Sable was my car I would do 3K mile OCI'S for the first few oil changes with Dino or a Blend [if you feel there is gunk and since you do not know the past maintenance] then go to Synthetic Blend for 5K OCI'S or 7500 OCI'S using Full Synthetic.

I would definitely stick with 5w30 for the reasons you mentioned..I would go with Motorcraft 5w30 Blend for awhile if it was mine.
 
The engine runs smooth as silk on 5W30, And yeah, the first interval is going to be 5k, but with a bit of marvel mystery oil added when it gets to a quart low, and then change it a week later.

I am probably going to resume using Mobil 5W30 Super 5000, maybe go to Supertech Synthetic since the one we get here is WPP based.

P.S. thank you CrownVic4Life, at least my logic is sound in your mind.
 
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I think the key point here is the unkown maintenance history. That's a lot of miles for the effects of neglect to add up....if it's been neglected (and you imply that it has). how does it look under the oil fill cap? Clean? sludged up? Milky?

While I have had great results with synthetic cleaning up an engine with unkown history...I don't know that you need synthetic to do that...I would go conservative (like 3K) on the first change or two to clean it up...

What is your use like? Highway/city? Long trips? Short drives?
 
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5W30 will be fine. Trans fluid 'a little dark' time to change it. I bet the QSUD (Quaker state ultimate durability) would be a good choice. Walmart now that they seem to have Purolator filters, one stop oil and filter.
 
Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
I would definitely stick with 5w30 for the reasons you mentioned..I would go with Motorcraft 5w30 Blend for awhile if it was mine.

I agree with CROWN, the Motocraft Synthetic Blend is a very decent oil and very decently prices. At WalMart, your described Mobil Super 5000 is $12/5qt jug, the Motocraft is $18/5qt jug. Your Motocraft FL400S filter is regarded pretty highly on BITOG (Bob Is The Oil Guy).

If it were my Sable, shorter OCI (Oil Change Intervals) plus the mentioned MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) about 500-1,000 miles out from an OC (Oil Change). I'm thinking an OCI of about 3,000 miles. This is only for the cleaning aspect you are asking about. After all is clean, as it's going to be, I'd run the Motocraft 5W30 and FL400S filter for 5,000 miles and not look back.

Oh, and I'd be all over that transmission fluid/filter exchange.
 
Use is middle of the road, i live in a smallish town, so no city driving, only a handful of lights in town.

Under the cap, No sludgeyness, just a little bit of a oily color coating in the filler neck. No smoke on startup, no strange noises.

I do know that early on it was maintained decently, carfax has it reported as a rental car.

It did have regular oil changes now that i look at the carfax.

I apologize for the formatting, i forgot to make a PDF of the website while i still had access.

Owner 1 Purchased: 2003 Type: Rental Where: New Jersey, Pennsylvania Est. miles/year: 10,799/yr Est. length owned: 3/15/03 - 10/12/05
(2 yrs. 6 mo.)

03/13/2003 NICB Vehicle manufactured
and shipped to original dealer 03/15/2003 New Jersey
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Newark, NJ Registered as rental
vehicle 04/02/2003 9 Maplecrest Lincoln-Mercury
Vauxhall, NJ
908-964-7700
maplecrestautogroup.
com Washed/detailed
Pre-delivery inspection completed 04/10/2003 20 New Jersey
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Newark, NJ
Title #DA20031000044 Title issued or updated
First owner reported 06/07/2004 16,494 Maplecrest Lincoln-Mercury
Vauxhall, NJ
908-964-7700
maplecrestautogroup.
com Oil and filter changed
A/C and heating system checked 09/02/2005 26,688 Maplecrest Lincoln-Mercury
Vauxhall, NJ
908-964-7700
maplecrestautogroup.
com Battery/charging system checked
Front brake pads replaced and rotors resurfaced 10/12/2005 Auto Auction
Eastern Region Listed as a fleet vehicle
Sold at auction Posted Image Posted Image

Millions of used vehicles are bought and sold at auction every year.

10/13/2005 Reedman -Toll Auto World
Langhorne, PA
215-757-4961
reedman.com Front wiper blades/refills replaced
Air filter replaced
Pre-delivery inspection completed
Maintenance inspection completed
Fuel filter replaced
Oil and filter changed
VIN glass etching
Two tires mounted and balanced
Safety inspection performed
Emissions inspection performed 11/02/2005 Dealer Inventory
Langhorne, PA Vehicle offered for sale 11/03/2005 Dealer Inventory Vehicle offered for sale 11/15/2005 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Langhorne, PA
Title #62607313RE01 Title issued or updated
Dealer took title of this vehicle
while it was in inventory 11/17/2005 Reedman -Toll Auto World
Langhorne, PA
215-757-4961
reedman.com Vehicle sold
Owner 2 Purchased: 2005 Type: Personal Where: Pennsylvania Est. miles/year: 22,279/yr Est. length owned: 11/17/05 - 12/26/11
(6 yrs. 1 mo.)
11/17/2005 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Fairless Hills, PA Vehicle purchase reported 11/23/2005 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Fairless Hills, PA
Title #62607313GL02 Title issued or updated
New owner reported 07/24/2006 45,754 Reedman -Toll Auto World
Langhorne, PA
215-757-4961
reedman.com Front brakes replaced
Engine/powertrain computer/module checked
Drivability/performance checked
Rear brakes serviced/adjusted 09/28/2006 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Fairless Hills, PA
Title #62607313GL02 Title issued or updated
Registration issued or renewed 10/31/2008 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Fairless Hills, PA
Title #62607313GL02 Registration issued or renewed 03/10/2009 104,972 Pep Boys
Philadelphia, PA
215-222-1563
pepboys.com Starter replaced 10/28/2009 Pep Boys
Philadelphia, PA
215-222-1563
pepboys.com Oil and filter changed 10/29/2009 121,038 Reedman -Toll Auto World
Langhorne, PA
215-757-4961
reedman.com Maintenance inspection completed
Engine/powertrain computer/module checked
Safety inspection performed
Emissions inspection performed 11/02/2009 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Fairless Hills, PA
Title #62607313GL02 Registration issued or renewed 11/01/2010 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Fairless Hills, PA
Title #62607313GL02 Registration issued or renewed 04/04/2011 152,954 Pep Boys
Philadelphia, PA
215-222-1563
pepboys.com Battery/charging system/starter checked
Battery replaced 06/08/2011 156,735 Pep Boys
Fairless Hills, PA
215-547-3550
pepboys.com Battery/charging system/starter checked
Battery replaced
Starter replaced 06/14/2011 Pep Boys
Philadelphia, PA
215-222-1563
pepboys.com Steering/suspension checked 09/19/2011 162,148 Pep Boys
Philadelphia, PA
215-222-1563
pepboys.com Light bulb(s) replaced
Cooling system checked
Cooling system serviced 10/04/2011 Warrantech Automotive, Inc.
Fairless Hills, PA
800-833-8801 warrantech.com
Service contract issued 11/07/2011 Pennsylvania
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Fairless Hills, PA
Title #62607313GL02 Registration issued or renewed 12/26/2011 166,672 Auto Auction
Pennsylvania Listed as a fleet vehicle
Sold at auction


It has no electrical issues that i can see, charges fine, starts fine, etc. i think the prior owner when he installed a stereo system messed up some wiring, which was later fixed.
 
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Whats funny, the one in the 2000 OHV is not the same as my 2003 OHV, they changed to the beefier AX4N trans from the 1996-2006 DOHC model, where it will skip gears instead of having to go through all gears in order.
 
My daughter has a 2004 Sable with the DOHC engine (it takes 6 quarts). When she first got it, about 4 years ago, I put Mobil 1 HM in it for 5,000 miles. When I changed it, the oil came out pretty dark, so I repeated it. The next time, it came out a dark amber. It didn't use any oil, so the 3rd time I put in the Mobil 1 EP, and I change the oil & filter somewhere between 10,000 and 11,000 miles.

We don't have freezing weather here on the coast, so I use 10W30. You may want to go with 5W30. That may be what Mercury spec'd.
 
Ford speced 5W20 for 2002-2007 3.0 OHV engines, due to CAFE requirements on MPG, 1986-2001 used 5W30, i was thinking that using the heavier oil would be more along the lines of what the engine took when new.
 
It might....the QS Defy, if you have easy access to it, would be a great oil to use.

I agree with your thoughts about 5W-30 in the OHV engine. It's probably in my head, but my DOHC-powered Tribute seems to run a bit better on 30-weight oil....
 
Addy, one part i have a theory about, on my car, benefits from the thicker oil.

The camshaft Position Sensor, it is mounted on the top of what was at one time the distributor shaft, now supposedly they wear out faster than normal distributors, my theory is that it is improper oiling, 5W20 might not be clinging enough to it, or giving it enough lubercation to play with. This part, if it fails kills the oil pump, thus killing a perfectly good engine. The DOHC taurus/sable for 1996+ lacks the setup the OHV ones do.
 
Stephen use whatever you like. The engine will live long with either. Their is minimal difference in viscosity between the two in most cases (Around 10-15%) and Ford did extensive testing before back specing engines. Thats testing is why certain engines were excluded from the back spec.

In the past 5W20 was a better built oil in many cases including a good quantity of GIII Synthetic (even when sold as conventional) and shearing much less than Energy Conserving 5W30. With the advent of SN/GF5 I dont believe 5W20 has as much an advantage in base stock quality as it once did.

In general an engine that spends more time with oil temp below 160F than above 240F would I believe live a longer life with 5W20 but in the end we are likely splitting hairs anyway.
 
Should i change the oil before 3k, if it has only 1k on it and the oil is pretty dark in color, it is cheap conventional the oil change place put into it (my own filter). i normally am a DIY guy, but being in a hurry+ 24 bucks with a car wash was a decent deal, i know bad move.

SjStangMan is selling me 12 quarts of 5W30 valvoline Max Life, which is what will go into it, along with Motorcraft FL400S filters on the engine. Even if i am doing a short OCI, i go with a good filter, just in case some major gunk gets into it, i want a filter that will last instead of [censored] out like a cheaper (by only 20 cents!) fram.
 
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