Oil and filter recommendation for 2002 bird

A

Adboy

Member
Gold Member
Last seen
Joined
Sep 3, 2020
Thunderbird Year
2002
Just bought this car. 112k miles. No service records. Want to change oil and need advice.
 

This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. As an eBay Partner, and Amazon Associate I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

Wix, Mobil 1 and Bosch filters provide the best filtration efficiency in the latest ratings. As far as oil goes the original oil specified is the Ford oil which is a semi synthetic.

But I would suggest you use a good name brand quality full synthetic oil in either the same weight recommended by Ford or
I see some recommend 5W30 which would work fine in a older engine with presumed some internal wear. Quaker State and Pennzoil full synthetics come out on top in friction tests, Mobil 1 is down the list a bit, Amsoil is usually up there, Royal Purple not as good, but since all these oils generally far exceed the engines actual needs, its your choice really. Many continue to use the Motorcraft semi synthetic and its a good oil too.

Oils for cars over 75K miles have additives in them to thicken the viscosity a bit when warm to help compensate for internal wear.

Since you have no service history, after your oil change watch the oil level and see how quickly it gets dirty. Any good synthetic oil will clean sludge out and get the oil dirty faster than normal, so watch it and if needed, change it early. My oil at 3000 miles has changed color but still is not dirty..

My 2002 has 68k miles and drives pretty much perfect. If you are unfamiliar these cars have a few quirks, the 2002 has a hydraulic fan system that could be problematic, and the coil over plug coils. There is lots of info on both on this site. Welcome!!
 
Adboy said:
Just bought this car. 112k miles. No service records. Want to change oil and need advice.
Click to expand...
My mechanic recommended I stick with the original blended motor craft oil in my 25koriginal miles ‘02 bird. Recently went to change oil & only had full synthetic. Car runs better, better mileage and no leaks. Still use original motor craft filter & still change it every 5000 miles or 6-8 months.
 
My car has only ever had oil changes by the Ford dealer who sold it prior to my purchase, so it has always had the semi synthetic motorcraft oil and a motorcraft filter. While each oils formulation is a little different, all are compatible with each other and so there is no worry if you decide to switch to your favorite brand.
I use "RAT540"'s oil test reports to verify which oils do the best in protecting from any sort of rub scenario in a metal to metal contact, currently in his last series of tests Quaker State Ultimate Durability full synthetic (green bottle at Walmart) came out in the exceptional category. mobil 1 full syn and amsoil and penzoil were also up there. Mobil 1 dropped of into good category when it got hot. So I'll pick probably the Quaker State.
 
You can use any name brand synthetic 5W-30 oils and name brand oil filter.
I would suggest a transmission oil and filter change too. Plus change the coolant and power steering oil. The brakes need to be inspected and a change of brake fluid is needed.
also check the spare tire to see how old it is, if over ten replace it or at least let the air out of it so it does not explode, please.

have a knowledgeable mechanic inspect the shocks and struts to see if they have been replaced. If they have not been it would be a good idea to have them replaced so you can enjoy the ride. use only Motorcraft parts for the shocks. You will not regret it.
 
Adboy said:
Just bought this car. 112k miles. No service records. Want to change oil and need advice.
Click to expand...
I use Mobil 1 & Lucus oil treatment with Bosch oil filter. I have been since I bought my car. It has 31,000 miles when I bought it & now has 165,000 miles. Still drives like new.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top