10W30?

[James Bradley]

My 05 EB Expy has 157K and my mechanic told me I should switch to a 10W40 oil. This recommendation came after I had the oil changed previously with a 5W20 and after around 2K miles the oil disappeared. It is possible the oil change place didn't do a proper job. I had never been to this particular place before and won't be in that area again to have an oil change. I'm currently in the process of regularly checking the oil level to see if there may be a leak but so far nothing. My mechanic says that sometimes the lighter oil just evaporates under south Texas summer temperatures and high mileage. Also I'm having timing chain and cam phaser issues. Waiting for another 2.5K miles when it's time to change the oil again to determine if I will pay the bucks to have the chains and phasers changed. It's a 15 year old suv. Not sure if it's worth dumping a lot of money into something that has old parts that are beginning to break one at a time. I really dohave a love affair with my Expy and would love to keep it. But I've been in a situation before where I was continuously dumping money into a vehicle simply to escape several years of car payments and that got expensive. Any recommendations?

 

[Hamfisted]

If you don't do the work yourself the '05 3V motor can end up being a money pit. It was the first year for that motor, and Ford discovered what all the weak issues were with the '05-'06 years, and came out with update fixes for the follow on years. If you really love the Expy and it's body is in good shape and you want to keep it, you might look at dropping a new crate motor in it and be done with it. The rebuilt crate motors will have all the updates done. It's a tough call, and one only you can make in your situation.

 

[rjdelp7]

Ford has issued TSB, that 5w30 is OK in a 5w20 engine(with reduced fuel mileage .2/gal). My 2000, the oil cap says 5w30. In 2001 the same same engine 'calls for' 5w20. Ford dealerships up until 2016, used 5w20 on everything. The same engines in Austrailia require 5W30. There is another TSB saying 5w20 is OK for use in a 5w30 engine, but may consume more oil. I ran 5w20 in mine, full synthetic and can confirm, it burned a quart in about 600mi. I have not used it since. 10W30 may be good for Texas heat, but I would go with 5w30 full synthetic

 

[lbv150]

That is what my '06 started to be with me too many little things at the end. I bought it used with 130K on it and by 200,000 put a crate reman Ford tranny in it. Sold it 230K and the new owner blew it up with in a month...he opted for a reman crate engine. I found out after I bought it, the first 130k it had a hard life, long oil change intervals and fed 15-40 fleet diesel oil.

 

[Aspen03]

My in laws use 5-20 mobil 1 in their 2003. 252k mi. Chain rattles like crazy on start, consumes quite a bit of oil....most I've personally dealt with when borrowing it a couple years ago was a quart and a half in about 700mi. Highway drive, not towing. Loaded decent with people and gear but under payload for sure. My 03 has had a similar life as to theirs, was bought in and operated in the same state as theirs, had similar drive characteristics from previous owners as theirs (mother in law is in real estate and cared people around the city...probably 70% hwy) and my previous owner commuted from about 25mi west of indy, again hwy for work for a decade. Only significant difference is the in laws have towed their small boat with it a dozen or so times and what oil was used. Previous owner of mine used 10w-30 for about 100k before I got it. In laws 5w-20 since day 1.

No 2 motors are identical but we literally have the same truck, down to the year and almost all options except I dont have advance track and they do. I have LSD, while theirs is open but that's the extent of the differences. Both had regular service throughout, mine a bit more in the hard parts...wheel bearings, calipers, suspension bits, etc. But motor wise no major work has been done to either beyond preventative maintenance and consumables like plugs and coils.

My 03 is whisper quiet and buttery smooth compared to theirs. My mother in law has a hard time believing it's the same vehicle and is annoyed theirs deteriorated as so. Being I have as much data on both vehicles (I have all service records since new on mine, theirs was owned by my wifes grandfather since new and was handed down when he passed a few years later) there arent too many variables other than oil choice and personal driving habits.

Mileage wise I've not taken a hit, in fact this trip to Tennessee yielded the best hwy mpg to date. Granted it had a new fuel filter, air filter, oil, tires rotated and inflated properly, etc. I managed 17.4, calculated by actual fuel consumption when I filled back up for an 85% hwy drive. The off hwy were curvy state roads but no major slow downs...probably averaged 40mph+ at any time on those. That was with 2 adults 2 kids w 30ish lbs ea car seats, 2 dogs and about 250lbs of stuff. My plugs have about 40k on them, coils well over 100k.

 

[lbv150]

My in laws use 5-20 mobil 1 in their 2003. 252k mi. Chain rattles like crazy on start, consumes quite a bit of oil....most I've personally dealt with when borrowing it a couple years ago was a quart and a half in about 700mi. Highway drive, not towing. Loaded decent with people and gear but under payload for sure. My 03 has had a similar life as to theirs, was bought in and operated in the same state as theirs, had similar drive characteristics from previous owners as theirs (mother in law is in real estate and cared people around the city...probably 70% hwy) and my previous owner commuted from about 25mi west of indy, again hwy for work for a decade. Only significant difference is the in laws have towed their small boat with it a dozen or so times and what oil was used. Previous owner of mine used 10w-30 for about 100k before I got it. In laws 5w-20 since day 1.

No 2 motors are identical but we literally have the same truck, down to the year and almost all options except I dont have advance track and they do. I have LSD, while theirs is open but that's the extent of the differences. Both had regular service throughout, mine a bit more in the hard parts...wheel bearings, calipers, suspension bits, etc. But motor wise no major work has been done to either beyond preventative maintenance and consumables like plugs and coils.

My 03 is whisper quiet and buttery smooth compared to theirs. My mother in law has a hard time believing it's the same vehicle and is annoyed theirs deteriorated as so. Being I have as much data on both vehicles (I have all service records since new on mine, theirs was owned by my wifes grandfather since new and was handed down when he passed a few years later) there arent too many variables other than oil choice and personal driving habits.

Mileage wise I've not taken a hit, in fact this trip to Tennessee yielded the best hwy mpg to date. Granted it had a new fuel filter, air filter, oil, tires rotated and inflated properly, etc. I managed 17.4, calculated by actual fuel consumption when I filled back up for an 85% hwy drive. The off hwy were curvy state roads but no major slow downs...probably averaged 40mph+ at any time on those. That was with 2 adults 2 kids w 30ish lbs ea car seats, 2 dogs and about 250lbs of stuff. My plugs have about 40k on them, coils well over 100k.

Great info....one question is unanswered....what was the oil change interval on both trucks?

 

[Plati]

I find these oil discussions very humorous
and the conclusive test's are the best!!

Of course I once was a Test Engineer so I have some background for the chuckling

No disrespect intended.
I'm sure all are convinced of their conclusions.

My personal experience is
400,000 miles on 3 Expy's with 5W20 conventional 6K changes 5.4L
No issues, all engines run like Beasts

** I just recently started running synthetic in my 2014EL 5.4, doubt it makes a huge difference but kinda dumb not to (not that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed)

 

[Aspen03]

My truck was pretty regular 4-5k...plus or minus a few hundred, the longest I saw for mine was about 5400mi and quite a few in the low 4k range so I'd guess if I did the math it would average under 5k. Theirs I dont have precise numbers but my father in law ran his own auto shop until recently and does his own work. We buy motorcraft filters by the case since there are 4 trucks throughout family that use the same one, cheap and always available when ready. He doesn't drive much anynore since they bought a Ram in 2016 and the past several years has been doing 2 changes per year to not let it sit in old oil.

Since I took ownership I just didnt have time back during the holidays due to work schedule and one made it to 5700mi. Other than that I've knocked them out right at about 5k. The one I'll do this winter will probably be at the 4k mark but it's just going to be opportunistic as itll be in for tires and I'll just throw the shop my cousin manages the supplies and have them do it.

 

[Aspen03]

I find these oil discussions very humorous
and the conclusive test's are the best!!

Of course I once was a Test Engineer so I have some background for the chuckling

No disrespect intended.
I'm sure all are convinced of their conclusions.

My personal experience is
400,000 miles on 3 Expy's with 5W20 conventional 6K changes 5.4L
No issues, all engines run like Beasts

No doubt, again no 2 motors are precisely the same so my observations and experience don't really mean someone else would have the same results. It's just the two motors in basically two identical vehicles that have resided in the same geographical areas that I have a fair amount of knowledge as to how they were treated have had drastically different long term outcomes. Could be random, could be oil, could be the dude who put it together in the factory. It's all about data points. I'm home and sitting here so figured I'd offer my input.

FWIW the in laws expy has had a laundry list of problems in its life. Its chewed through like 3 fuse boxes, the radio didnt work at all until I just wired it up on it's own w a switch for them, ac doesnt work, rear windows quit. No power to them, they dont care so I've never dug into it, ac doesn't work, its popped a couple brake lines in its years. It was a very early 03 model where mine was made just before 04 models hit. Could be just as simple as that.

For me, it was already on 10-30, for a vehicle that's had very little issues and a fairly precise maintenance regimen I wasnt about to deviate from how the last 100k of work was performed. That trust has worked out so far. Including the $400 worth of brakes I just slapped on I've spent under $600 in maintenance on this truck in 19k miles. I'm happy w that and expect 10's of thousands of miles more.

 

[rjdelp7]

I find these oil discussions very humorous
and the conclusive test's are the best!!

Of course I once was a Test Engineer so I have some background for the chuckling

No disrespect intended.
I'm sure all are convinced of their conclusions.

My personal experience is
400,000 miles on 3 Expy's with 5W20 conventional 6K changes 5.4L
No issues, all engines run like Beasts

None of the newer Expeditions use 'conventional'. 6,000mi drain interval is for full synthetic and highway driving. I find your post not funny.