340,000 miles, Change oil to 5W-30?

[TobyU]

Bought a quart of Lucas, should I add the whole bottle?

You shouldn't add any of that think Motor goop honey. Things like Lucas and STP and motor honey are only to dr. problems for oil leakage and consumption or smoking.
As others have said you've had a good track record so there is some good logic was staying with what you've been doing but, if you would watch somebody like from FordMocoLoco who works on these almost every day, you would see there are many people who recommend going to a 5 W 30 for a 3 valve Ford.
I'd much rather see someone go to a slightly heavier weight of high-quality oil then to start adding additives or thickeners.

 

[chuck s]

Pull an oil sample and sent it to Blackstone Labs. Bottles and mailer are free and I think the test is $25. This will show what metals and other stuff are in the oil and predict failures.

-- CHuck

 

[Swede252]

I’m at 100500 now and used 5/20 in it up to 70K. I noticed a slow but steady VVT noise increase. From the first time I changed to 5/30 it has reduced the volume of that noise, and I have not seen any “slight” smoke at startup. I do not notice any oil burn or loss. I changed the oil between 3.5 to 4.5 K.

5 = the oils flow rate.
20 or 30 = the oils protection rating.
It will always flow at 5w.
Also any 5w is semi synthetic blend even if it says conventional, that’s how they get it to 5w weight.

At over 300k ALL I would think of IS 5w/30 plus always use the Motorcraft filter. I do occasionally add some Lucas Oil treatment for the oil change before summertime. I assume that your VVT timing set has been changed at some time long ago and would need to be done again if the noise is evident.
Good luck with the truck, and my thoughts and experience are yours to consider, I can’t speak for anything else.
JS from PA

 

[chuck s]

5 = the oils flow rate.
20 or 30 = the oils protection rating.
It will always flow at 5w.

Huh?

-- Chuck

 

[JasonH]

I second the Blackstone used oil analysis. Without knowing more, I would say go 5W-30 for winter and 10W-30 for summer. Reason being, there's very little difference at warmer temps between 5W-30 and 10W-30 during cold start , but the 10W will have an easier time staying within spec and the 30 will provide more protection at operating temp. The manufacturer recommendation for 20W oil was made for fuel economy reasons, not engine longevity. It improves fuel economy for a fleet, but makes little difference to fuel economy of individual owners. Congrats on running the engine out to that many miles. It's great not having a car payment!

 

[chuck s]

For those who (apparently ) do not understand multigrade oil and how oil lubricates I recommend Motor Oil 101.

-- Chuck

 

[rjdelp7]

Ford issued a TSB on 5w30 in a 5w20 requirement engine. It is acceptable, but will impact mileage .3%. 5W30 is used in almost all Ford vehicles 'outside' the US. In Australia and Canada only 5w30 is recommend. The second number 20/30 is viscosity 'hot'. The 5W is how is flows cold. I have been using Mobil 1, 0W30 in my 4.6l. It's technically the same but flows quicker. My other vehicle has the INTECH 32V. I switched to 5W30 and it runs perfect. Lucas makes the oil too thick and can starve the top end. Its not good in Ford engines.

 

[bobmbx]

Again, don't do anything different. Don't worry about it, either.

 

[TobyU]

Ford issued a TSB on 5w30 in a 5w20 requirement engine. It is acceptable, but will impact mileage .3%. 5W30 is used in almost all Ford vehicles 'outside' the US. In Australia and Canada only 5w30 is recommend. The second number 20/30 is viscosity 'hot'. The 5W is how is flows cold. I have been using Mobil 1, 0W30 in my 4.6l. It's technically the same but flows quicker. My other vehicle has the INTECH 32V. I switched to 5W30 and it runs perfect. Lucas makes the oil too thick and can starve the top end. Its not good in Ford engines.

Agreed on Lucas and any oil thickeners.
The 20 or 30 is not only hot. It is the viscosity. They do publish specs at different temps like 0 and 100 but a 30 viscosity protects like a 30 in real world terms. The 5w is the cold flow . It means it flows like a 5 weight when cold. A 10w would only flow like a 10 when cold and a 20w only like a 20 which doesn't flow really well at all when really cold but it still protects like a 20 or 30 hot or cold.
Most will agree and many will back it up with evidence at least on a few test subjects that a 30 will protect and leave less scuffing than a 20...and a 40 even better in most cases.
Notice that Europe uses a ton on 4w-40 and we don't? Wonder why?

 

[chuck s]

Read the link at Post #16. The explanations are all there and understandable. Yeah, it takes 10 minutes to go thru all the "chapters", and a lot more information than a 12 second read of an internet post.

-- Chuck