Engine oil is the lifeblood of your car—it lubricates important engine components, keeps your engine’s temperature in check, and prevents damage to its parts, prolonging the life of your car. It’s crucial that your car gets regular oil changes to make sure your engine is performing at its best, and thankfully, you can do this job at home.

Before you do though, you’ll need to know a few things about your engine, such as its oil capacity, what type of oil it needs, and how often you should change its oil.

Whether you’ve lost your Ford 5.4 owner’s manual, or just want a breakdown of these need-to-know engine specs,

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Ford 5.4 engine oil capacity

First thing’s first—before getting started on changing your Ford 5.4’s oil, you’ll need to know what its engine oil capacity is.

The Ford 5.4 has an oil capacity of 6 quarts, which is around 5.7 liters.

It’s important that you don’t confuse your 5.4’s oil capacity with another key engine measurement—its engine displacement. The engine displacement tells you how much room your truck’s cylinders occupy, which (unsurprisingly) is 5.4 liters.

Because these engine measurements describe two different things, they can’t be interchanged. Ensure you keep these two measurements separate so that your truck gets the right amount of oil when you change it!

What kind of oil does a Ford 5.4 need?

Now that we know your Ford 5.4’s oil capacity is 6 quarts, we can cover what type of oil your Ford needs to function properly.

The Ford 5.4 runs optimally with fully synthetic 5W-20 oil, but you can also use 5W-30. In fact, 5W-30 is sometimes the preferred oil type depending on the year your Ford was manufactured.

The numbers listed in this type of oil represent the oil’s viscosity, or thickness, at different temperatures. The “W” stands for winter, meaning that this oil does well in cold temperatures.

The number 5 right before the “W” tells us this type of oil has a low viscosity when your engine isn’t running. Finally, the number 20 means that this oil is also pretty thin when your car is running.

So if you’re using 5W-30, the 30 means your oil is slightly thicker when the engine is running.

A thinner, fully synthetic oil flows through your engine easily, creating less wear and tear. Fully-synthetic oils are great choices for high-performance engines, and they also last longer, so you can get away with more time between each oil change compared to conventional oil users.

There are tons of great options for fully synthetic 5W-20 or 5W-30 oil at your auto shop or online, which can make it tough to choose. We’ve narrowed down our favorite choices for your Ford 5.4 below.

For OEM lovers: To strictly follow your owner’s manual, use

Ford Motorcraft 5W-20 Fully-Synthetic Engine Oil

For high-mileage trucks: If your truck has surpassed the 100k mile mark, opt for

Valvoline Advanced Full Synthetic 5W-20 Engine Oil

For a 5W-30 option: If you have a Ford 5.4 from a year that prefers 5W-30 over 5W-20, use the

Mobil 1 Advanced Full Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oil

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How often to change the oil in a Ford 5.4

Now that we’ve covered the Ford 5.4’s oil capacity and the type of oil it requires, we’re just missing one detail—how often should you change your Ford 5.4’s oil?

Because your Ford 5.4 functions best on fully synthetic oil, which breaks down slower than conventional oil, you only need to change your truck’s oil every 7,500-10,000 miles, or about once per year, whichever passes first.

Keeping up with regular oil changes ensures that your truck’s engine is functioning with clean and fresh oil at the correct level, prolonging your engine’s life and keeping your driving experience smooth!

Sometimes, you’ll need to replace your truck’s oil earlier than the recommended timeframe. Watch out for these common signs that it’s time to replace your engine’s oil:

If your engine oil appears dark brown or black

Engine oil doesn’t feel or look smooth

Weird sounds coming from your engine

Bad smells, particularly if it smells like oil, smoke, or burning

Changes in your truck’s efficiency

You should keep tabs on your engine oil’s level and quality by checking your oil every other time you stop for gas.

How to change your oil and oil filter

Either once a year or after the 7,500 to 10,000-mile mark has passed, it’s time to change your Ford 5.4’s oil. Before you get started, gather the following tools and materials:

Funnel

Rags

Oil filter

Oil collection pan

6 quarts of 5W-20 or 5W-30 full synthetic oil

Turn on your truck’s engine for approximately 5 minutes or until it reaches operating temperature. Then you can shut off your engine, carefully pop the hood, and follow these directions:

Place the oil collection pan under your truck. Unscrew the oil drain plug and drain all of the old oil into the pan.

Take the current oil filter out and put a new one in.

Screw the oil drain plug back on, ensuring it’s tight to prevent any leaks.

Take the engine oil cap off, which you’ll find under your truck’s hood.

Using your funnel, add 6 quarts of full synthetic 5W-20 or 5W-30 oil to the reservoir. Check for any leaks from the bottom of your truck while you're filling the reservoir with new oil. Consult your owner's manual to find out whether your 5.4 needs 5W-20 or 5W-30.

Have a look at the oil dipstick to make sure your oil level is correct. Add more if you need to, but be careful not to overfill your engine.

Now you can turn your Ford’s engine on for a few minutes to allow the oil to circulate throughout your engine. If your engine oil light was on before, it should be off now if you’ve followed the steps correctly.

Drain the old oil from the collection pan into a sealed container and bring it to a recycling center to make sure it’s disposed of properly. Throwing it away in your garbage or dumping it outside is dangerous and strictly advised against it!

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Don’t forget regular insurance policy maintenance

Keeping up with routine maintenance tasks, like changing your truck’s oil on a regular basis, is a great way to keep your car running for years to come. But did you know that your insurance policy requires regular maintenance too?

Experts recommend that you

revisit your insurance policy every six months

to guarantee that you’re getting the best rate. If that sounds like a hassle to you, have no fear—

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