Engine Oil Change
2017 Ford F-150 - 3.5L V6 EcoBoost / D35
Not bad. This is a driveway Saturday-morning job on your 2017 F-150 3.5L EcoBoost, assuming you don't mind an oil geyser and a plastic drain plug that demands respect. Thirty to sixty minutes, depending on how much you're fighting the underbody shield and whether the filter wants to cooperate.
How Rough Is This Going to Be? Know what you're getting into.
Your truck has a composite (plastic) oil pan with a yellow twist-lock drain plug that's basically a fire hose when you open it. The plug quarter-turns and locks by tab detent—no torque wrench, no pliers, no drama if you leave it alone. The filter drains through dual spouts front and rear, so oil goes everywhere depending on how your truck is parked. You'll need 6.0 quarts of SAE 5W-30 meeting Ford spec WSS-M2C946-A/B1, a Motorcraft FL-500S filter (the silicone anti-drainback valve matters for your cam phasers), and a drain pan that's at least 10 quarts with a wide mouth. The underbody splash shield comes off with four 8mm fasteners. Stock 4x4 clearance usually means you don't need to lift.
Save Another Trip to the Parts Store Clips, seals, fluids, and the little stuff people forget.
Brake cleaner for the dual filter drip spouts—oil sitting in there will find its way onto your driveway three days later and you'll think you have a leak. A shop rag to wipe the filter gasket surface and verify the old gasket came off with the old filter. And the Oil Life Monitor reset via the steering wheel menu (Settings > Advanced Settings > Vehicle > Oil Life Reset, hold OK until 100% pops up), or you'll chase a service light for weeks.
Here's Where It Gets Greasy The procedure, pain points, and common ways this job fights back.
Using a wrench or pliers on the plastic drain plug wings and cracking the retention tabs—that's a $500 tow bill waiting to happen. Forgetting to check that the old filter gasket actually came off the engine block (double-gasketing is its own special hell). Dumping 5W-20 into it because you grabbed the wrong jug—your EcoBoost is 5W-30 only; the 3.3L/5.0L are 5W-20, and it's easy to mix up in a parts store. And absolutely spray out those filter drip spouts with brake cleaner or watch phantom oil leaks haunt you for a week.
Procedure
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1
Vehicle setup
Ensure truck is parked on level ground, engine is warm (shut off), and parking brake is engaged.
Engine oil and exhaust components can be scalding hot if the engine recently ran at operating temperature.
Lifting is usually optional on stock-height 4x4 F-150s due to generous ground clearance.
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2
Oil filler cap
Remove the engine oil fill cap and loosen the dipstick slightly from under the hood to promote smooth draining.
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3
Underbody splash shield
Remove the 4 fasteners (typically 8mm) securing the flexible fiber underbody splash shield under the engine and lower the shield.
Set the shield and fasteners aside where they will not get covered in draining oil.
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4
Oil pan drain plug
Position a large drain pan slightly rearward and laterally aligned with the oil pan drain port. Carefully turn the yellow plastic drain plug counter-clockwise ~120 degrees and pull back slowly, or hold it partially over the orifice to modulate the heavy stream.
The composite pan drain opening is large and has no threads to restrict flow; oil shoots out with high volume and velocity, easily shooting 12-18 inches horizontally if the plug is completely removed instantly.
Hold the plug in place while disengaged to let the initial head pressure drain into the pan in a controlled stream before pulling it away completely.
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5
Oil pan drain plug
Inspect the yellow plastic drain plug O-ring for nicks, tears, or flattening. Clean the plug and port mating surface thoroughly. Reinstall the plug into the oil pan opening and turn clockwise ~120 degrees until the locking tabs snap firmly into the detent stop.
Do not use pliers or excessive force on the plastic tabs, which can crack or shear off the retention ears.
If the vehicle has a metal pan retrofit, install with a new crush washer and torque the 15mm bolt to 20 lb-ft.
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6
Oil filter area
Reposition the drain pan underneath the oil filter drain troughs (located below the horizontally mounted FL-500S filter above the front crossmember).
Ford designed a plastic catch channel under the filter with both front and rear spouts. Oil will drain out of both ends depending on vehicle rake.
Place the catchment pan or a secondary catch basin to cover both the forward and rear drip spouts of the filter channel.
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7
Oil filter
Loosen the FL-500S oil filter counter-clockwise using an oil filter wrench if necessary, then spin it off by hand. Allow residual oil in the filter mounting boss and tray to drain completely.
Verify that the old rubber gasket came off with the old filter and is not stuck to the engine block mounting surface.
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8
Oil filter mounting boss
Clean the engine filter mounting pad and the plastic drip tray using a shop rag and brake cleaner. Apply a film of clean engine oil to the rubber O-ring gasket of the new Motorcraft FL-500S filter.
Spraying the plastic catch tray with brake cleaner prevents residual oil from dripping on driveway concrete hours later.
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9
Oil filter
Thread the new FL-500S filter clockwise onto the mounting boss by hand until the gasket contacts the base, then tighten an additional 3/4 to 1 full turn by hand.
Do not overtighten with a filter wrench; hand-tightening prevents gasket distortion and thread damage.
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10
Underbody splash shield
Reinstall the underbody fabric/fiber splash shield using the 8mm fasteners.
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11
Engine oil fill
Insert a funnel into the engine oil fill neck and pour in 6.0 US quarts of SAE 5W-30 engine oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C946-A/B1 / WSS-M2C961-A1. Reinstall the oil filler cap.
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12
Engine system leak check
Start the engine and run for 1-2 minutes while checking underneath for any leaks at the drain plug and oil filter. Shut off the engine and wait 5 minutes for oil to settle into the pan.
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13
Engine oil dipstick
Pull the dipstick, wipe clean, reinsert fully, and withdraw to verify the oil level is within the crosshatch / between the two indicator holes.
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14
Instrument cluster / Oil Life Monitor
Reset the Intelligent Oil Life Monitor via the steering wheel instrument cluster controls: Navigate to Settings > Advanced Settings > Vehicle > Oil Life Reset, then press and hold the 'OK' button until the display confirms 100% reset.
Gotchas
- The factory composite oil pan with the yellow twist-lock plastic drain plug discharges oil with explosive volume and a wide horizontal arc when pulled. If you jerk the plug out quickly, oil will miss most standard drain pans and shoot across the floor or splash violently against the sway bar.
- The built-in plastic oil filter drip funnel under the FL-500S has dual spouts (front and rear). When the filter is unthreaded, oil flows forward onto the front crossmember and backward over the steering rack/sway bar depending on truck incline, requiring catch positioning underneath both ends or thorough brake cleaner spray-down.
- The 2nd Gen 3.5L EcoBoost engine relies heavily on oil pressure for the variable cam timing (VCT) phasers and timing chain tensioners. Direct/port injection turbo engines are prone to fuel dilution; adhering to 5,000-mile synthetic oil intervals and OEM FL-500S filters with silicone anti-drainback valves is critical to prevent cold-start phaser rattle.
Common mistakes
- Using pliers, wrenches, or screwdrivers on the yellow plastic twist-lock drain plug wings, causing the plastic retention tabs to crack or distort and leading to catastrophic oil loss while driving.
- Failing to clean the dual drain spouts of the filter drip trough after removing the FL-500S filter, resulting in false oil leak diagnosis when trapped oil drips onto the driveway days later.
- Double-gasketing the oil filter by failing to verify that the old O-ring gasket detached with the old filter.
- Putting 5W-20 oil in the 3.5L EcoBoost (which is specified for the naturally aspirated 3.5L/3.3L/5.0L engines) instead of the required SAE 5W-30 spec.
It's a Good Idea To... Greasy tips and useful while-you're-in-there advice.
Hold the drain plug partially in place while disengaged and let the initial pressure bleed into the pan in a controlled stream before pulling it away completely. That composite pan opening is huge and has zero flow restriction—you'll have oil halfway across the garage if you rip it out all at once. Also: pre-lube the new filter O-ring with clean oil, thread it hand-tight until the gasket touches the mounting boss, then tighten 3/4 to 1 full turn by hand. Do not use a filter wrench for final tightening or you'll crush the gasket and create a leak you didn't plan for.
You Already Have a Screw Loose. Your Car Shouldn't. Final checks before you call it done.
Job's straightforward if you respect the plastic plug and the filter's dual-drain geometry. Oil level should be dead-center on the dipstick between the two holes after a 5-minute settle. Run it 1-2 minutes while you eyeball underneath for any dribbles at the drain and filter. Reset the Oil Life Monitor in the cluster before you convince yourself the system is broken. You're good.