Oil for New Ford Ranger 2.3L Ecoboost

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Hi all, a relative of mine recently bought a Ford Ranger and it comes with the 2.3L ecoboost (4 popper).

The manual says to use 5w30 and recommends synthetic blend. I found that very odd considering it has a turbo on it. I told him to use a synthetic, and to change it after the break in period of 1000 miles.

Something interesting I noticed is that the manual says "e. If Motorcraft® oil is not available, use motor oils of the recommended viscosity grade that meet API SN PLUS requirements and display the API Certification Mark for gasoline engines", yet the oil the recommended, the Motorcraft 5w30, doesn't seem to be SN Plus certified, at least according to the pictures I saw 🤔
 
Does the Ranger have the IOLM?
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Originally Posted by BurntMusic


What is the IOLM?


Intelligent Oil Life Monitor is a computer algorithm thing that computes the right OCI based on driving conditions. Most recent Fords have it, but some might not.
 
Oh, yeah the ranger has one. The manual says to not exceed 10,000 miles no matter what the oil thing says though.
 
You should do a used oil analysis after the first 3 oil changes on 5W30 see if a trend can be noticed. I doubt you'll have any problems, and once you are out of the powertrain warranty, go with whichever oil weight helps you sleep at night.
 
Originally Posted by BurntMusic
Oh, yeah the ranger has one. The manual says to not exceed 10,000 miles no matter what the oil thing says though.


Cool! Then use the synthetic 5w30 of your choice using the OCI suggested by the IOLM
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I'd look for a Full Synthetic ACEA A5 5w30 that also meets Ford Spec.

Edit: Actually I'd just mainly look for the A5 spec, with the Ford spec coming secondary.
 
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Originally Posted by BurntMusic

Something interesting I noticed is that the manual says "e. If Motorcraft® oil is not available, use motor oils of the recommended viscosity grade that meet API SN PLUS requirements and display the API Certification Mark for gasoline engines", yet the oil the recommended, the Motorcraft 5w30, doesn't seem to be SN Plus certified, at least according to the pictures I saw 🤔

Manufacturers will always tell you to use there oil. However, they always leave a way out, so they don't have to provide the oil for free. The rotorcraft is a synthetic blend, so that why they recommended. Most full synthetic will meet the Ford specs., so you have good choices there. Yeah, use full synthetic is also my recommendation.
 
Originally Posted by Reddy45
You should do a used oil analysis after the first 3 oil changes on 5W30 see if a trend can be noticed. I doubt you'll have any problems, and once you are out of the powertrain warranty, go with whichever oil weight helps you sleep at night.

Waste of $$$$ watching the break in metals drop.
 
Originally Posted by BurntMusic
The manual says to use 5w30 and recommends synthetic blend. I found that very odd considering it has a turbo on it. I told him to use a synthetic, and to change it after the break in period of 1000 miles.

Something interesting I noticed is that the manual says "e. If Motorcraft® oil is not available, use motor oils of the recommended viscosity grade that meet API SN PLUS requirements and display the API Certification Mark for gasoline engines", yet the oil the recommended, the Motorcraft 5w30, doesn't seem to be SN Plus certified, at least according to the pictures I saw 🤔

I think the smartest thing for your relative to do is to follow the owner's manual recommendations, be that 5W-30 synthetic blend or SN+ oil.

Where in the manual does it indicate a 1000 mile break-in period ?
 
Motorcraft oil currently made by Phillips Petroleum for ford is always available at Walmart at a fair price. and meets all specifications. You can do much worse but not a whole lot better. Change at 5K intervals.
 
Not sure about the 2.3 specifically, but It being a direct injection turbo, I would be cautious about going 10k between changes for a couple of reasons.
1. Fuel dilution. Again, not sure about the 2.3, but the 3.5 TT has a tendency to push fuel into the oil. Not all of them, but some, definitely. Personally, I have no fuel smells in mine that I can tell, but it seems somewhat common.
2. Soot. DI seems to load the oil with greater amounts of soot than port injection. The size of these particles doesn't allow the filter to remove them and they tend to wear the timing components. The only way to remove them is increase the OCI.

None of this seems to occur for every example, but it seems to be a risk. Personally, I change the oil every 6 months, in the spring and fall, which lines up around 4-5k miles on both of our vehicles.

As far as semi synthetic, it's probably fine, but the owners manual also lists ford's full synthetic as an option. I use castrol 0w40 for my own reasons and it's common sale price in the 3.5TT. The van gets whatever 5w30 synthetic I can get on sale in the 6 months before the change. Running NAPA 5w30 right now for the winter.
 
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If you follow the owners manual, all will be well.

Anything more than that isn't going to hurt anything but it probably isn't going to make the engine last any longer either.
 
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By the way for your relative's new Ford Ranger 2.3 Ecoboost, as I just posted on Rebates forum, Rock Auto has WIX 51348 oil filter for your truck on sale for only $1.61 apiece in a 12 pack. It is identical to the NAPA Gold 1348 that is $8.15 each.

It also fits my Gen 1 Tundra V8 so I bought a 12-pack myself just now.
 
Originally Posted by GumbyJarvis
I'd look for a Full Synthetic ACEA A5 5w30 that also meets Ford Spec.

Edit: Actually I'd just mainly look for the A5 spec, with the Ford spec coming secondary.


+1

M1, PP, Edge black bottle In 5w30 are the easiest A5/B5 oils to find.
 
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Originally Posted by GumbyJarvis
I'd look for a Full Synthetic ACEA A5 5w30 that also meets Ford Spec.
Edit: Actually I'd just mainly look for the A5 spec, with the Ford spec coming secondary.
If it's dexos1, that mostly overlaps A5/B5 anyway. The ACEA A5/B5 (and C5, etc.) tests include a turbo cleanliness test CEC L-111-16 (EP6CDT) added 2 years ago that dexos runs in addition to GM's own GMTC test which is probably tougher anyway. It has some value to have dexos run both their own GMTC and ACEA's CEC L-111-16 (EP6CDT) since the different DI-turbo engines are used.
https://dexostrc.org/pdfForms/dexosTestRegistrationManual.pdf shows the ACEA tests included in dexos.

Running an ecoboost Ranger or any other turbo animal out there should benefit from all these engine tests to prove the oil. Best turbo protection is proven from dexos1, if you don't want to pay for the fancy German spec oils to increase performance even more.
 
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