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SUVs Ford Freestyle Ford Freestyle Care and Maintenance
227 messages, Last post on Aug 19, 2009 at 7:52 AM
You are in the Ford Freestyle Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Replying to: barnstormer64 (Jul 27, 2005 5:56 am) barnstormer64: Too bad we can't get the U.S. product above which is made by Conoco Philips.Does yours show it meets Ford spec WSS-M2C930-A rated API SM with the ILSAC GF-4 designation? Our Motorcraft 5W-20 sold at Ford dealers still show the API SL rating to meet Ford spec M2C153H for 2001 model year 2001 and newer Ford vehicles. Ford specification requires better test limits than what ILSAC allows for in their published standards. I've also learned that the GF-4 standard replaced the Sequence IIIF test with the Sequence IIIG test, and the IIIG test has even better viscosity thresholds than Ford originally allowed for in the 153-H spec. As I understand it, GF-4 was intended to improve emmisions by reducing the amount of the zinc additive in oils, among other things. So it looks to me like Ford simply updated their 930A spec for 5W20 oil to reflect the revised, and tougher, tests in the new GF-4 standard, which net, probably results in a better quality oil for us consumers. The strange part of this to me is that our Motorcraft oils are made by Imperial Oil of Canada (not stated as a semi synthetic) and their own Esso Extra 5W-20 already shows a API SM rating and GL-4 on their website but not sold in WalMart or our Canadian Tire stores.I believe they're available in Esso's bulk oil facitities.Not sure whether Esso formulates this differently. Another thing that hit me was I took our Freestyle to the dealer for an oil/filter change as it just went over the 1st 1000 mile mark. The dealer adamantly refused to do this as they claimed it was too wasteful and best to follow Ford's schedule at 3000 miles.Did not make a big issue of that since it was going to be a complimentary oil change and they said to bring it back at 3000 to get the free service. That's ok with me as it gives us some extra time to find out anything else that needs fixing . As it turned out I changed the oil anyway when I got home with the Motorcraft 5W-20 I bought from the parts dept and while doing that I noticed some slight oil seepage from the edge of the CVT oil pan. Numerous 8mm bolts to check and a few were tightened a wee bit. No further leakage and that's the only "defect" I found so far. Love the Freestyle. |
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Replying to: bruneau1 (Aug 05, 2005 10:50 am) I often wonder if this TOP TIER qualification is not some kind of advertising gimmick and that these members have to pay some form of royalties to use the name.I also read somewhere that Mobil and many other big names are NOT on the list. Most gasoline suppliers sold here appear to get their gas from a common source and that each supplier blends in their own additives. I buy my gas wherever I can get it cheaper as prices of late can fluctuate by up to 20 cents/litre and this happens almost every other day. Mostly I get mine from the independents eg Costco, supermarkets,etc, but my criteria is that they have to be clean looking and well maintained. Never had any bad gas problems. The only time I had bad gas was in a top name station in California (run by some unsavory looking characters) which was undercutting everyone else and not very well maintained. Took a chance and should have known better.
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Replying to: willie19 (Aug 05, 2005 2:35 pm) |
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Replying to: bruneau1 (Aug 07, 2005 8:15 am) I'm sorry for sounding biased but I believe generally speaking our Canadian gas is better quality than U.S. gas. That's just my experience and some like Arco's which is oxygenated , may burn cleaner, but it sure produces lousy mpg.I think folks here are more cost sensitive over gas prices and if a certain station sells bad gas they're toast as far as getting any further business. BTW what kind of mpg are you getting now with the Limited FWD which as you know was what we wanted in the first place.The wife's Ltd AWD just went past the 1000 mile mark and the computer records about 19 mpg U.S. gal overall.I try to use different excuses to add some extra miles for the mpg's to improve but this will take some time.She won't trade with me for my 2001 Explorer Sport Trac. 
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This can happen anywhere and sometimes even from a Top Tier supplier. http://www.komotv.com/stories/36995.htm |
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Replying to: willie19 (Aug 07, 2005 11:26 am) |
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Hey thanks,bruneau, for the feedback.Looks like the wife's AWD is not doing that badly compared to your figures, especially since the 19 mpg I stated was left to accumulate since day 1 and comprised of about 85% city/15% hwy for the 1st 1K miles of fairly conservative driving. Over here in the B.C. westcoast our freeway (note singular) is pretty pathetic so your kind of aggressive driving is not recommended and that's too bad because I can't fully enjoy the full power of the CVT on long stretches like you can with the super U.S. Hwy systems in your area ( I'm guessing Boston,Mass.?). After reading your post I checked the tire pressure and they were exactly 35 PSI all around compared to the recommended 32 PSI on the door sticker.However this was taken during the heat of the day right after my wife drove home.The Pirellis ride smoothly and soaks up the bumps very well so we are very satisfied with the present inflation reading. 
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Replying to: willie19 (Aug 08, 2005 3:05 pm)
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Replying to: bruneau1 (Aug 09, 2005 7:59 am) That's even better because I love driving thru Oregon on I 5, beautiful road and great scenery with the rolling hills and pastoral setting.The only problem is that the Oregon Hwy Patrol seem to be all over the place as well as using overhead spotting planes. Love to shop in Oregon. Great prices and no State sales tax. Wow you must have saved a bundle on the FS Ltd FWD, what a deal !! Not only do we pay a higher price for our FS ltd AWD we are overtaxed with GST and Prov. sales tax. 
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Replying to: willie19 (Aug 07, 2005 11:26 am) Fill'er Up: Feed Your Ford Quality Gas All gasoline is not created equal. "Poorly made gasoline can leave harmful deposits in your engine, which can cause mechanical problems, adversely affect performance and increase environmentally harmful emissions," says Jim Simnick, associate research engineer for BP. That's why Ford Motor Company recommends engine-cleaning gasoline, such as Amoco or Arco gasoline from BP, that's formulated to bring out the best performance. BP offers fuels with cleaning additives that keep your engine clean and deposit-free. So there's the word from Ford, though it sounds like a marketing partnership to me.  I tried to post a link to the article, but you have to register with myford.com first.
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