New Excursion Owner - oil question

Hello,

thanks to all of you for the help I have already found in this forum!

I just bought a 2000 Excursion Limited, 4x4 V10 a few weeks ago.
I would like some professional opinions on what I should be doing for oil?

I switched my 1991 volvo 740 turbo over to synthetic at 190,000 and it now has 245,000 with no problems. I like the idea of synthetic, but am not sure if it is right for the X.

Here is the deal - I bought the X with 207,000 on it, but it has a new transmission (installed by FORD dealer) 11,000 miles ago, and the engine was rebuilt at 185,000 (also by ford). the head was replaced at that time as well. My question is if I should (or if it is a good idea) switch over to synthetic, and if so is there any procedure to go through or things I should be concerned about? The mileage does not seem to be what it should on this beast - 9mpg? I got almost 12 towing the volvo back from MA, but am consistently at 8.5 - 9 now around town unladen. Thanks for the look and the help in advance guys!

Aaron

Switching to synthetic at this mileage is fine, and there is no special procedure. Drain the old oil, put in a synthetic of the viscosity listed on your oil filler cap or in the owner's manual, and use a good filter. The old worry that synthetic causes leaks on high mileage engines comes down to seals that were already bad; a fresh Ford rebuild should not care. Watch for drips for the first few changes, and that is it.

On mileage, there is no official number to measure yourself against. The Excursion's gross vehicle weight rating is over 8,500 pounds, which put it outside the EPA fuel economy ratings, so it never got a window sticker figure. A heavy 4x4 V10 doing short trips around town in single digits is not a sign of a fault by itself. What would be worth checking is whether it changed: a dragging brake, a stuck thermostat (an engine that never warms up burns more), low tire pressure and a lazy oxygen sensor all cost fuel on these.

Dana