I'm about to get some running-in oil (a mineral monograde such as Castrol XL), since my ST is due in two weeks time

How many litres does the sump need, from drained? I guess I should order a couple of oil filters, too, while I'm at it (think I will do it myself, unless dealears get picky...)

Not sure it's a very good idea to put running in oil in your ST. Running in oil is predoiminantly designed for older engines, where tolerances aren't upto scratch. Would think you are better off buying some standard Ford oil & changing it after a couple of 1000miles. From experinence i would say you are likely to do more damage than good by running non-std spec oil.

Couldn't agree more. Regular changes of the standard stuff (to get rid of any minute swarf that is more likely to apper in the earlier days) will stand you in much better stead. Engines these days are built with a particular oil grade in mind, deviating from this can do a lot of harm, even if you consider the oil to be better quality.

OK - the reason I thought this would be the way to go is because two engine builders whom I know suggested that it is their standard practice . . . on the other hand, they deal mainly with engines for racing.

One or two "extra" standard oil changes would seem a bit safer to me, admittedly.

You can,t go wrong changing your oil after 500miles say.You could even send a sample off to be analised and you,ll know if you,ve any unusual wear,this can be done at any oil change.But it may not be necessary because my Galaxy has a magnet in the oil system which removes the metal particulates,so nothing gained.Also it is more of a problem with older engines that don,t have the same tolerances as new ones.I,d still change the oil and filter though,I did.

Wow, 500miles is a tad keen!

Ryan - running in oil is used on engines like the Mini 'A' series etc.. I personally think with a monograde you'll do a lot more harm than good. Too higher grade (viscosity) you'll be blowing seals out as the pressure will be too high and too low it won't lube properly hence why multi-grade oils are specified.

I personally (being a keen student of the school of running in cars) would change my oil at 1500 miles (there's no point doing it sooner as you are still running it in as components will still be bedding in) and then again after 6000miles. The thing to remember is that this is a NA 2 litre engine orignially designed for reps to cane up and down a motorway, it's not a highly tuned/stressed unit.

usualy, its best to run an engine in on mineral oil then switch to f/s oil after say 2k miles! this is classed as optimum for modern engines!
running f/s oil from brand new take for ever as the oil is SO GOOD that there is very little wear-which is what u want went running in!
dont run really crap oil in it though!

i mean you do want a small amount of wear which is what bedding in is!

Is the temp gauge in a car telling you how hot the oil is, or the water?

Cheers

water - i think its the Focus ST that has the extra dials including an oil temp gauge.

Yup. Rule of thumb is to give it another 5-10mins after the water has reached normal operation. That might sound like a drag but believe me it's very good, my Cosworth used to take over 30mins from start!! Thing is if the oil isn't up to temperature then it's viscosity is higher (thicker) meaning the oil control rings on the piston are having to work a lot harder and it means it doesn't circulate so freely thus doesn't lube so well (the oil pressure also rockets, and the relief valve can only do so much). It's very important that it's at operating temp if you value the longevity of your engine. It's why you see a lot of smokey tailpipes etc.. on relatively new (usually company) cars that don't get respected.

I'll stop preaching now!

Modern engines are factory run in arnt they??? to save them costs on warranty when people blast strait out of the dealers on full throttle
I thought only the brakes and tyres really benefit from a bit of gentle use
I have never run in any car but then they always go at 3 year or 36K

As for the magnet, the block and head are alloy (non magnetic) sou you would only collect bits of the crank and cams I think all engines now have a magnet in the oil system its a cheap and efective particle catcher
I ran the XR 2.9 4x4 on mobil 1 FS oil since then I have never bothered Just the stuff Ford put in at service time
The hand book has the capacity in the data section at the back it usaully includes the oil filter too.

Sorry bud, but I have got to retort to that. Please don't take this as as crticism, it's certainly not meant that way.

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Modern engines are factory run in arnt they???

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Most definitely not. Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche don't run theirs in so be sure that major manufacturers don't either. Indeed I know for a fact that they dont.

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As for the magnet, the block and head are alloy (non magnetic)

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An alloy can still be ferrous, depends on the 'mix' of metals (the definition of an alloy is a mixture of two or more metals). What I think you mean here though is to say they are made of Aluminium (non-ferrous). Aluminium blocks often have steel liners fitted to the bores though as a result of the poor heat and wear qualities of Aluminium, meaning there is still ferrous metal coming into contact with other ferrous metal - the piston rings. The block and the head are only the packaging though, the internals that works against each other will all be cast iron / steel (big/small ends, bearings, journals etc...) so the magnet would help ever so slightly. At the end of the day any wear would be so microscopic (not like in the old A-series days where the sump plug was magnetic and the gearbox contained in the sump so you'd get great chucks of metal appearing) that a magnet would serve no real purpose as the 'fragments' will stay caught up within the oil.

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I ran the XR 2.9 4x4 on mobil 1 FS oil since then I have never bothered Just the stuff Ford put in at service time

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Fully synthetic is good but if you are using the wrong viscosity oil for the engine (Mobil 1 is 0-40W) then you will do more harm than good I'm afraid. It's a common misconception that putting in any expensive synthetics is good for an engine. Ask Harry Potter on this forum about it as he has done some Dyno testing comparing Castrol GTX and Mobil 1 on an engine and the effect it had on the wear rate (bearing in mind that GTX was rated correctly). It was shocking/surprising stuff I can tell you.

no not taken as crticism. Just what I thought. I guess there is a cost involved in running engines at all Fuel must be one of them Time the other. I was always under the impression they were factory run in Dont know where i got this myth I seem to have "known this forever" But like I say I am now in the position where I can change the car at such frequent intervals it makes no difference to me either way. It either lasts till I change or goes back on warranty. All the dealers seem intrested in is Miles and looks. My cars always look as new when traded so I don't bother. Not actually thrashed to death but not run in gently either. If I had to keep one for 200 years i may be more careful and get 50k miles out of it. Do Fords last for 50K???

My Escort TD did 220000KM with zero problems.And still looked as good as new.

lol, my Puma has done 92325 he he, and Ive got it until September so will have done 7k more - so 99325

It wasn't quite GTX, but it was against Mobil 1 0W-40 oil. Although i didnt do the test myself, i understand the engine was not very keen on the Mobil 1; just too thin.