The fordmods 'search' feature is not perfect yet, so sorry if this has been covered before.
My BF1 Fairmont Ghia has the Barra 190kW engine. Ford schedules servicing every 15,000 km, including lube oil change. I just thought that SEEMS a bit too long between changes although I assume Ford knows what it's talking about.
I was thinking say every 7,500 km. Any thoughts?

do mine myself every 5k , oil and filter cheaper than an engine rebuild

Oil every 5 and filter every 10.

Why put new oil through an old dirty filter ??? And unless it's a race car, or has already f**k internals, you're wasting still good oil (just cause it's black doesn't mean it's gone bad).


Ford increased the sump size for the B series, to stretch the service interval to 15,000KM. Nothing wrong with that for a normal car, in normal conditions. If yours in modded and/or driven hard frequently, then half intervals (7,500) are recommended (they're even present in the handbook). If you're using a fully synthetic oil, there's really no need to change more frequently than the 15,000 mark (lots of hard driving, or really dusty conditions aside).

My GT-P gets fresh 0-40 fully synthetic (and filter) every 7500, but I drive it hard all the time, and take it to track days frequently. It also gets new diff and brake fluid more frequently than recommended too. But it takes a punishing.

If the oil is black, then it has contaminates in suspension, that is what oil is suppose to do, if it black, change it, its way cheaper than engines, eh?

oil analysis is the only real way to know when you shoulb be changing your oil.

BF falcons don't hold 7.5L of oil. earlier model falcons hold 5L of oil and changes are recomended every 10 000km, so the small increase with the BF can't push it out to 15 000km.

personally, with out oil analysis i wouldn't go past 7500km. i do my cars at 5000km with a filter every time.
I'm also looking into fitting quality bypass filters on the AU and on the turbo diesel patrol.

I also do my cars every 5 thou, oil and fitler. Lets face it, whats another 8 bucks for a filter compared to engine longevity.

i also change my oil and filter every 5000 kms on the odd accasion ill leave it untill 7500km.
or 6 months..

Has anyone actually had their old oil analyzed? What sort of things would we be looking for?

The Dark Oil Myth
Dark oil does not indicate the need for an oil change. The way modern detergent motor oil works is that minute particles of soot are suspended in the oil. These minute particles pose no danger to your engine, but they cause the oil to darken. A non-detergent oil would stay clearer than a detergent oil because all the soot would be left on the internal engine parts and would create sludge. If you never changed your oil, eventually the oil would no longer be able to suspend any more particles in the oil and sludge would form. Fortunately, by following the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval, you are changing your oil long before the oil has become saturated. Remember, a good oil should get dirty as it does it's work cleaning out the engine. The dispersant should stop all the gunk from depositing in the oil pan.

Virtually all modern multi-weight oils are detergent oils. Detergent oil, cleans the soot of the internal engine parts and suspends the soot particles in the oil. The particles are too small to be trapped by the oil filter and stay in the oil until you change it. These particles are what makes the oil turn darker. These tiny particles do not harm your engine. When the oil becomes saturated with soot particles and is unable to suspend any more, the particles remain on the engine parts. Fortunately, with the current oil change intervals the oil is changed long before the oil is saturated.

Oil Analysis, checks for contamination, particles, and then checks if the oil still meets it's design requirements (viscosity, modifier additives etc.)

Check the fine print in the owners manual. Doesn't matter what brand of car, they are usually very similar in their wording. Things along the lines of " Door to door delivery, taxi, or very short trips, the engine oil should be changed more regularly".......
My wifes car takes about 7 to 8 months to do 5,000km, and the oil is absolutely stuffed by then, its very dark. The engine is in excellent condition, as is the rest of he car.

It has nothing to do with the colour of the oil, its all about the viscosity.

The viscosity has nothing to do with change intervals either....

try owning a diesel, if you changed it everytime it went black you would go bankrupt. data_mine hit the nail on the head. It depends on how you treat the vehicle & how long you expect it to last.

If you can afford an oil analysis before every change then by all means go for it...

The whole purpose of oil is that it sticks to the crank bearing, valve springs, push rods etc thats why the viscosity matters. In simple mans terms if it is runny like water it aint gonna stick to stuff and lubricate it. So that means the viscosity is all that matters! Who cares if its dirty lol as long as it lubricates!