First oil change for the Coyote

Ok, you’re thinking, “hey, you haven’t driven this thing yet, why are you changing the oil”?

Long story short, we’ve been working on getting the Coyote to fire properly since April, yes that’s about 6 months too long. We get spart, air, fuel but the engine runs lean on bank #2 (driver side) all the time. Everyone has inputs, and we’ve tried them all. But alas, I’m at the end of guessing so tomorrow I’ll be taking the car up to Shaun at AED Tuning. He’s been awesome over the phone, but since he’s 12 miles away and the local (west coast) expert on Coyotes, I’m letting him do some hands-on troubleshooting as this remote tune stuff with LUND only goes so far.

So why change the oil? Well, all these startups, and not firing correctly, we noticed the oil getting a pretty strong gasoline smell which can it reduce the viscosity of the oil, meaning that the viscosity may be too low to create an oil film capable of withstanding heavy loads and speeds in some parts of the engine. This results in friction between the metal surfaces and wear of the parts. Hopefully we can figure out the issue at AED, and then do a dyno tune. May as well have fresh oil to keep the engine happy!

So, what did I use for the oil change? With the Gen3 Coyote and the Moroso oil pan, plus a new filter, it requires 10 1/2 quarts of oil. Here’s my list:

(1) Mobil 1 M1-113a Extended Performance Oil Filter
(2) Mobil 1 Advanced Full Synthetic Motor Oil 5W-20, 5 Quart
(1) Mobil 1 5W-20 Advanced Synthetic Motor Oil – 1 Quart (for that extra 1/2 quart)
(1) Moroso- 97010 Copper Crush Washer

Not a hard process at all, at least without the body attached. Jacked up the front of the car, position the 16 Quart Oil Pan as you’ll need a pan big enough to catch the 10.5 quarts in the engine. Then I used a 3/4″ socket to loosen the oil pan plug (which is magnetic!). Then let it drain, it will take a while!

The oil filter was a total mess to be honest, my whole forearm got covered in oil. It’s been a while since I’ve done my own oil change, but dang the Coyote holds at least a quart in the front of the engine. Be prepared with some Scott Blue Shop Towels in a Box!

Once I wiped everything up, I sealed the oil pan with a new copper washer, installed the new filter (with a little oil around the gasket), and then got to refilling the oil. I used a Flex Funnel with Hose as the Coyote filler location will be a tough spot once the body is on. I checked the fill level at 10 quarts and yep, just comes up to the bottom of the hash marks on the dipstick, so I added the other 1/2 quart and it was perfect.