06 XLT Supercab, 3.0 auto.. Sonic Blue of course!

Child support is done and paid off. So is the IRS. The two things I hate most in this world are, Ex Wives, and those guys that take the rest on my paycheck!

At 48 years old, I finally bought my first new vehicle. I wanna treat this baby right! Ill start with oil. I have less than 400 miles on the truck and plan to change it before the 500 mile mark. Is it too soon to use a sythentic like Mobile1 or RP? The owners manual calls for 5-20. But I live in Houston Texas. It gets hot. Very hot!!

I have more questions, but Ill save them for later, and thank yall very much.

 

welcome dude..congrats on the debt being paid..

probably belongs in introducing section

 

Uh, thanks dude! But I was asking a technical question with more to follow. Not introducing myself.

Thank you for your help. Have a nice day!

 

Got a warranty?? I would suggest running what the manufacturer recommends, Supposedly newer vehicles are more efficient that's why they use lighter oil, also helps fuel economy.switching to synthetic would be agood idea though.

 

Agreed, I would suggest running conventional oil while under warranty and following the manuals suggested intervals.

 

I got the 6 year, 100k warranty. Please dont tell me Im stuck in Valvolineland? LOL

 

Welcome to the site, I've never owned a brand new vehicle in my life....wonder what that feels like...

Congrats on your new truck and nice color choice!

EDIT...I'd better acknowledge your tech question so that your post is in the right place...lol. Go synthetic

 

awesome man congrats!

i ran the conventional oil till 3000 miles then changed to mobil 1 synthetic, ran that till 10k without and change then i went to 20k and have been changing my oil every 10k, i have 70k miles now without any issues.

i would recommend changing AFTER the first recommend change, run the oil you have till 3000 miles atleast.

i think the manual says ever 5000.

hope you enjoy your new ride!

 

i'd have to agree on letting your oil stay till 3000 miles and then switch....i would change every 5000 miles after that with synthetic...

 

congrats on the new Ranger and the debt paid off! it's a good feeling when you got those loads off your shoulders! felt good for me when I wrote the final monthly payment check for my Ranger this past February.

Synthetic oil won't void your warranty and neither will a few mods. Mobil1 is a very popular choice as it is fully synthetic and it's readily avaliable at the local parts stores. If you want to use 5w30 instead of 5w20, there is no harm in doing so. Beware though, if something were to go wrong with your truck and you take it to the dealership, they blame it on anything that is not factory spec'd. It's rare that happens nowadays though.

Want to keep it looking clean inside and out? I like to use Meguiars products. Pretty much they make and sell everything you need to keep your ride looking good and protected. No, I'm not a seller or distributor, just a loyal fan of them. Good luck man and congrats! -Mike-

 

Thanks guys. I knew it was best to ask the best! :)

 

Can I throw another question out thats on a little different subject? Is there a site where I can punch in my VIN and find out exactly what I have? LOL I know I have an aluminum D/S. I know the rear axel is bigger than my 96s was, but Im not sure if its an 8.8, and................

Im really interested in the transmission. I have been through transmission hell with the 96. I sure hope this one is better.

 

Some info here on Diffs, axels and gears

http://www.rangerpowersports.com/tech/?p=76

Or here

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Axles.html

 

Welcome to the site and congrats on the new purchse! I too have an 06 in Sonic blue!

I would say check your door code and then compare it to the websites listed above.

 

eh i think the rangers now run a 55r5? tranny? anyways, i dont think they changed it since 04 to 06, and to get u started, at 5500 miles my tranny basically took a dump and hasnt been 100% since. Also, a quite a few people around here have had tranny problems as well. I geuss the new auto tranny in the rangers is a pretty cheesy pos unit.

I too have had transmission probs with vehicals, so ur not the only one.

 

5R55E is the tranny code.. They are widely used in the Ford Motor Co. and I havent had a single problem with mine yet. But then again I barely turned 2500 miles.

 

go syn after breakin. You will notice a slight improvement in mileage. Im guess between 5 and 10k. I have beaten my truck since new. I ran dino till 30k (5k change interval) and went full syn. I currently run 15k oil changes with fresh filters at 5k. I have 115k on my 99 the engine has not missed beat since new.

 

wait till the second oil change and then switch to amsoil synthetic oil... its the best stuff and the only oil that goes in my 3 vehicles... my 30 year old mercedes runs MUCH smoother on amsoil

 

Congrats on the new truck! If it were me, I'd go ahead and switch to Mobil 1 and use the 5w-20 the engine calls for. From there, I'd change the oil and filter every 5000

 

Check out this site:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

 

I run Quaker State Advanced Q for 4x4 & SUVs cause I like to offroad and I change my oil and filter every 3000 miles. It gets expensive at $35 (oil=$20, change=15) a pop, but it's crystal clear everytime it comes out!!

But this past oil change I was low between 1/2-1 quart... I'll have to see what's going on there.