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MK3 2012 Focus - Oil Change 101

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473K views 1.1K replies 217 participants last post by  CosworthFocus  
#1 · (Edited)
Just did my first oil change on the 2012 Focus. Thought I'd help those who haven't done it yet.

What you'll need: 15mm wrench, T30 torx, 1.25 gallons of 5W-20 Oil, Oil Filter ( FL-910S )

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Raise the car. I used a floor jack at the front driver jack point (see manual), then braced with a jack stand to prevent getting killed. I think ramps would be easier.


Remove the felt panel by removing the 8 torx bolts. If you remove the bolt shown at the red arrow last (front center of car), the panel will stay up nicely. Supported by the notches shown with the yellow arrows.
Don't bother considering cutting a hole in the felt panel to get access to the oil filter. You'll need to remove the panel to get to the drain plug anyway. It comes off easy enough.

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Change the oil filter and drain the oil. I didn't need an oil filter wrench because the oil filter is VERY accessible and could grab it with two hands. When replacing the filter, wet the rubber gasket on the new filter with oil, wipe away any dirt on the gasket surface of the engine and screw the new filter in until it touches the gasket surface. THEN screw by hand 3/4 of a turn more. Don't forget to put the drain plug back in (20 ft/lbs per Ford shop manual - Oil pan drain plug/Part# 6730/ Torque 27 Nm (20 lb-ft)).

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Put 4 quarts of oil in, start the engine and check for leaks. Do this before lowering the car. 4 quarts will fill it enough to measure halfway between the two holes on the dipstick. If you want to avoid some of the start-up clatter, crank the engine for a few seconds with the accelerator floored. Gas is shut off when you do this but the oil pump should fill the filter. After making sure you have no leaks, replace the felt panel, lower the car and top off the oil. Mine took exactly 4.5 quarts to reach the top of the hash marks on the dipstick.

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Resetting the oil life monitoring system
1. Turn the ignition key to the on position. Do not start the engine.
For vehicles with push-button start, press and hold the START/STOP
button for two seconds without pressing the brake pedal. Do not attempt
to start the engine.
2. Press both the accelerator and brake pedals at the same time.
3. Keep both pedals fully pressed.
4. After three seconds, the Service: Oil reset in prog. message will be
displayed.
5. After 25 seconds, the Service: Oil reset complete message will be
displayed.
6. Release both the accelerator and brake pedals.
7. The Service: Oil reset complete message will no longer be
displayed.
8. Rotate the key to the off position.
For vehicles with push-button start, press the START/STOP button to
turn the vehicle off completely.

As of 2/20/2012...
5qts. Motorcraft 5w-20 Synthetic Blend - 21.99
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_5W-20-Synthetic-Blend-Motor-Oil-Motorcraft_8030012-P_N3291M_T|GRP2046_____
18.33 at Walmart
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Motorcraft-Synthetic-Blend-Motor-Oil-5W20-5qt/16940217

5qts. Mobil1 5W-20 Synthetic - 36.99
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_5W-20-Full-Synthetic-Motor-Oil-%285-Plus-Quarts-Jug%29-Mobil1_10069913-P_N4019G_T|GRP2046_____

FL-910S oil filter - 3.97 at Walmart
 
#4 ·
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#7 ·
Great tutorial :) Now I know what tools to get out before I tackle the job.

Has anyone ever used Mobil 1 in their 2012 Focus just yet? If so, will it work fine with the engine? I'm still debating what kind of oil I should use when it's due for another change.
 
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#9 ·
Sorry question here from the mechanically challenged: Drain first then swap filter?
Also when checking for leaks should i rev the engine a bit or just let it idle? And how long to test for leakage?

Also do you recommend preloading the filter since its sitting with hole up?
Is there any reason that they can void the warranty for self oil change? (besides making stupid mistake like forgetting the drain plug), I plan to buy filter from dealer.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I always drain first, just in case a full oil pan would make a bunch of oil come out of the filter hole. Probably just a habit.

I don't think it's necessary to rev, but shouldn't hurt as long as you allow enough time for the oil to get up to pressure before you do. As for how long to check for a leak, at least 1 minute.

I think I'll preload next time and see if the initial engine noise is not so loud. This time I didn't preload and was a little uncomfortable at how much noise the engine made before the oil filled the engine. Try it both ways and do what you like.
EDIT: Next time I'm going to crank the engine for a few seconds with the accelerator floored. Gas is shut off when you do this but the oil pump should fill the filter.

Keep your receipts and record each oil change in a log. You should be fine.

Anybody else have an opinion on the questions? Please share and explain why. Thanks.
 
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#14 ·
I don't know for sure, but I'd wager it's for sound deadening and aerodynamics. It appears to be the same material used inside the wheel wells. I've seen that this material has been in use by Ford for a couple of years.

I think it's a sheet of plastic with a textured felt covering. Only time will tell on it's lifespan.
 
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#18 ·
Advanced Auto parts has 5 quart Motorcraft 5W20 for 14.99 on their website.
 
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#19 ·
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!PRECHARGE YOUR NEW OIL FILTER WITH FRESH OIL!!!!!!!!!!

Do this to ANY new oil filter you install, even if it's a horizontal mount (and of course put a little oil on the gasket).

One other item is to make sure the old gasket came off with the old filter. I had that happen to me once many moons ago.

But please, charge the filter with new oil before you put it on. Much better and safer than cranking the engine before hand.

Joe
 
D
#20 ·
In the 40+ years I have been changing my own oil I have never pre-filled an oil filter. This included all through high school and college working in a garage where no one pre-filled oil filters

My vehicles all have gone 250-300k miles before I have gotten rid of them and I have never had an internal engine failure.

Certainly not a bad idea but I don't feel the benefit out weights the nuisance factor.
 
#45 ·
Consider yourself a very lucky man. Just think for a minute of the process that the lubrication system goes through, especially after an oil change. Before it lubricates anything in the engine it has to fill the element previous to supplying anywhere in the engine.

And THAT is oil change 101, precharge!!!
 
F
#22 ·
I just did my first oil change (on any car) following this guide. It was very easy although I had a couple of issues. Ordered the oil filter from Advance and went to pick it up. They gave me a 910 and assured me it was the exact same thing as the 910S, the S was just part of their part number, even though I saw one at Walmart and it actually said it was a 910S on the box and filter. Left and bought from Walmart. Next I took the filter off before draining the pan. Either there is always a lot of oil that spills out when removing the filter or that should be after draining. Lastly, the picture of the oil draining doesn't do justice to how far out it sprays at first, glad I had a mat down to catch it otherwise my driveway would have been a mess. Oh, also, I had to take the little brush guard thing off to get the cover off. Not sure how to do it otherwise.
[ffrocks]
 
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#42 ·
As has been previously answered here, the S stands for Silicon ADBV. The silicon version is supposed to work better in the cold than the old rubber ones. Since the filter is located where it is, it doesn’t really require any ADBV because the oil won’t drain back up into the engine. I’m still driving an 08 but may purchase a new Focus this summer. I currently have just over 140,000 miles my 08 and have changed the oil over 25 times on this one. I use the Motorcraft filter and the Motorcraft semi synthetic oil and have never had any problems. I use the same on my other 3 liter Ford which is now around 160,000 miles. I’ll probably be close to 180,000 miles when I get rid of my 08 Focus. The one thing that I do when I change the oil is poke a hole in the filter to keep down the mess when I unscrew it.
 
#26 ·
So I changed my oil yesterday (@600miles) and was shocked at how dirty the oil was with shavings. I was also surprised at how easy it was to change the oil and filter in this car. I used ramps not jacks. I Put in Full Synthetic Mobil 1 5w-20 and I have to say the car runs smoother. Might be philisologicial. Any questions shoot and I will try to answer! Sh
 
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#29 ·
reset it every time you do an oil and filter change...the directions are in the owners manual, its easy...remember, if you don't re-set it, and the onboard computer logs this information (that you've gont a long time without oil changes) the manufacturer could give you a hard time about warranty work on the engine if you ever needed it
 
C
#30 ·
I had these in another thread . . but will toss them in here as well. Great information.

I also, having changed oil in my own cars for well over 40 years, have never pre-charged an oil filter. I think, perhaps at one time, it had merit. But with the new oils we are now using I wouldn't worry too much.

By the way, during a testing protocol of a new sport bike we filled the motor with good synthetic, ran it until it was hot, drained the oil, restarted the motor and pinned it on redline for an hour. The current crop of synthetics are amazing. I use Amsoil, primarily because they sponsor our AMA Superbike team, but all of them are amazing.

I also sent the samples of the factory oil to both Amsoil and Blackstone testing to get baseline readings on the Focus.

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#809 · (Edited)
CourtneyNYC said:
............I also, having changed oil in my own cars for well over 40 years, have never pre-charged an oil filter. I think, perhaps at one time, it had merit. But with the new oils we are now using I wouldn't worry too much. ...........
Click to expand...
The vast majority of folks are oblivious to this issue. People, including professionals and backyard mechanics have been changing oil in the USA for over 100 yrs without pre-charging filters. However after working in the oil industry as a lubricant test engineer....and speaking with fellow subject matter experts who do engine lifecycle testing, I know better and do it religiously. The audible bearing rapping sound you can hear on start-up without pre-charging is metal-on-metal rod and main bearing contact with crank journals, caused by the lack of an oil film cushion. This increases wipe & journal wear and causes bearing pound-out. These are not things you want to voluntarily do when it's PREVENTABLE. This is why Ford put an S suffix on your oil filter part#, by the way. The non-silicone drain-back valves on older design filters cause the same issue (oil drain-back and starvation upon start-up). Horizontally-mounted filters can drain back up to 60% of their contents when parked for extended periods with a leaky oil drain-back valve and engineers decades ago deemed this to be totally unacceptable. Venture to guess why? Imagine what 100% drainback does. This is the situation you CREATE when you install an empty filter. Engine life is being reduced by a significant percentage each time, period. Accelerated cold start wear without this issue is bad enough. You can accept that risk every oil change start-up, I won't.

PS: I think filters are being reduced in size to partially address this issue. A bigger filter is wonderful thing but they will reduce engine life if you fail to pre-charge. With an empty FL-1A filter (the most popular biggie filter in the world), bearings after each oil change may take a merciless beating for up to 10 seconds.

It takes about a minute to top off a vertically-mounted filter before screwing it on, zero mess, zero fuss. Filters installed at an angle (not vertical) are a bit trickier to install without a mess..but my brain seems to be able to handle it lol. If it sits at a 45 degree angle, fill it a bit over half way. If it's horizontal, fill it a little over 1/3 full.

Lower viscosity synthetic oils and tighter bearing clearances on modern engines don't alleviate this issue at all. If anything, the wiping affect (surface wear) on bearings due to starvation is WORSE than decades ago. Today's 5W-20 syn oils are not better for the engine than 20W-50 dino when the engine is running without oil pressure due to the filter being empty. [gunfire]
 
Z
#31 ·
@2012sel - Thank you for this tutorial and all the pics...it was very helpful.

Is synthetic just a matter of preference over regular oil? Or for anyone who REALLY loves their car should it be a no brainer? Also, if going with synthetic, does the oil life system monitor know that synthetic is being used and adjust the time until the next change accordingly?
 
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#34 ·
I had 650 and switched. I could have gone longer but the oil was dirty and full of scraps. Put in full syn and will change it again around 7000 miles. I do many short trips in cold weather
 
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#38 ·
Not that I doubt your ability to use any ol' car website's (Advanced, Autozone, O'Reilly) search feature, but:

PureONE: Part # PL1024
Mobil 1: Part # M1-102
 
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