The difficulty of an oil change has, IMO, been largely overrated. Better stated, almost the entire oil change trauma is in entrusting the car to someone who won't damage it. The oil change itself is straightforward - for someone willing to glance through the service manual recommendations. Lifting the vehicle is probably the most worrisome part. Most shops/dealers now employ 2-post lifts and some care needs to be taken to position the arms exactly over the specified lifting points. Jay's pads very much help this process as they are correctly shaped and they have a tab that locates them properly at the jack points.
If possible, I'd recommend a shop with a 4-post lift. With a 4 post, you have easy access to remove the pans and you simply don't have to deal with the jacking points. Having recently changed the oil myself, I'd make sure to watch/advise on the following points - especially the last one.
1. Change the oil filter first from the topside of the engine. Make sure a new o-ring is used on the screw cap.
2. Oil must be drained from the reservoir and the two drain bolts on the cast "pan". 3 drain plugs total to be removed. (Completing the filter change first allows the oil in the cartridge area to drain down to the "pan".)
3. Fill with 5-50w full synthetic. 9.5 quarts. You can use motorcraft or Castrol Syntec. (Castrol Syntec exceeds ford's requirements and can be purchased at Pep Boys ~$6/qt.)
4. When re-installing the bottom cover plates, make sure the mechanic hand-starts each screw to mitigate any chances of stripping.
5. After re-filling, and as a dry-sump system, it should be primed BEFORE starting the car. (I'll bet this step is skipped a lot.) You need to turn the key all the way to the "on" position, hold the accelerator to the floor, and crank the engine for a full 20 seconds. The car will not start as long as the pedal is floored. watch you Oil pressure gauge while doing this. You will see that it takes 10-15 seconds of cranking before the first sign of oil pressure.
Make sure you watch or tell you mechanic these steps. This isn't intended to be a substitute for the Service Manual instructions as it is just a summary.
