5W-30 instead of 5W-20

[TobyU]

I use 5w40 (Rotella T6 Diesel Synthetic)

that's probably one of the best oils to use and this and many of the Ford modular engines Halo people will lose their minds and tell you you can't put a 40 weight into a 4.6 or a 5.4.
Now with the newer variable valve timing there can be some issues. This is another reason why it's quite a shame and I don't like the variable valve timing it should be able to adjust the timing completely independent of how thick, thin or dirty the oil is.
People will go on about the return holes on the Modular Fords and say it will cause problems but I can guarantee you 5w 40 T6 Rotella will get anywhere in an engine just as fast as any conventional 5w 30.
Rotella T6 is a great oil and I do love it but I will say I have had a couple of issues where it is a higher detergency and can leak more then a comprable other brand full synthetic.

 

[Rusty90272]

At all times trust your Ford Engineers. If they say,"5-20W" just go with what they say.

 

[TobyU]

Absolute bad idea.
Engineers number one concern or design parameters is not engine longevity or the lowest possible number of repairs on an engine and the life that you owned it. There are many other factors they have to consider and they often have to make a compromise. You don't have to make this compromise.
Even when engineers and designers know exactly what's best for an engine and even what's best to make them out of, often other decisions end up being the final say. Then, a few short years down the road we have failures of parts because someone skimped on materials etc.

 

[TobyU]

Absolute bad idea.
Engineers number one concern or design parameters is not engine longevity or the lowest possible number of repairs on an engine and the life that you owned it. There are many other factors they have to consider and they often have to make a compromise. You don't have to make this compromise.
Even when engineers and designers know exactly what's best for an engine and even what's best to make them out of, often other decisions end up being the final say. Then, a few short years down the road we have failures of parts because someone skimped on materials etc.
So whether or not the engineers actually know the best, or tell you the best, you aren't even close to having a guarantee that by following the owner's manual will be the best for your engine or vehicle.

 

[TobyU]

Absolute bad idea.
Engineers number one concern or design parameters is not engine longevity or the lowest possible number of repairs on an engine and the life that you owned it. There are many other factors they have to consider and they often have to make a compromise. You don't have to make this compromise.
Even when engineers and designers know exactly what's best for an engine and even what's best to make them out of, often other decisions end up being the final say. Then, a few short years down the road we have failures of parts because someone skimped on materials etc.
So whether or not the engineers actually know the best, or tell you the best, you aren't even close to having a guarantee that by following the owner's manual will be the best for your engine or vehicle.

 

[chuck s]

No guarantees of of course. So the better advice is to ignore the Ford engineers who have data and experience on probably millions of engines and stick with random advice from the "beer garden engineers" who inhabit the internet -- and a tavern near you -- and who are smarter, of course, based on their experience with perhaps dozens of engines.

-- Chuck

 

[max78]

No guarantees of of course. So the better advice is to ignore the Ford engineers who have data and experience on probably millions of engines and stick with random advice from the "beer garden engineers" who inhabit the internet -- and a tavern near you -- and who are smarter, of course, based on their experience with perhaps dozens of engines.

-- Chuck

I find it funny that you think engineers are the ones who have all of the say at the end of the day. . . Marketing and management win every time.

Do you really think any engineer would come up with the idea of a lifetime transmission fluid. Define lifetime, for the automakers that's just past the warranty period.

Engineers are given criteria to design around and they do a great job, but that criteria is HEAVILY influinced by marketing and it only needs to last as long as the warranty period. They will stretch oil changes to 15k miles because its something marketing wants, then the engineers will make it happen. Try not to confuse that with designing something to fail, because that is not what happens.

To blindly claim all engineers know best and that everything in the manual is directly from the engineering department is silly.

 

[TobyU]

I find it funny that you think engineers are the ones who have all of the say at the end of the day. . . Marketing and management win every time.

Do you really think any engineer would come up with the idea of a lifetime transmission fluid. Define lifetime, for the automakers that's just past the warranty period.

Engineers are given criteria to design around and they do a great job, but that criteria is HEAVILY influinced by marketing and it only needs to last as long as the warranty period. They will stretch oil changes to 15k miles because its something marketing wants, then the engineers will make it happen. Try not to confuse that with designing something to fail, because that is not what happens.

To blindly claim all engineers know best and that everything in the manual is directly from the engineering department is silly.

That's what I said.
No one should ever blindly or totally follow any advice whether it be the manufacturer,the internet, their favorite mechanic, or their best friend who builds engines. You can't just take whatever advice you get. You need to spend some time and do the research and see what people say and note any at all facts you can find to back it up. It's not like you have to spend days of painstaking research to do this. But we spent hours and hours on Facebook and forums like this talking about stupid crap that really doesn't matter like the features on the new vehicles or the price or whatever when we could just as easily be researching and watching videos that tell us specific things about common failures and people's experience in is in limiting these failures.

But let's face it, for most people it really doesn't matter. Most people are much more concerned about the features or Wi-Fi or how many USB port plug-ins it has because they're going to trade the vehicle in or sell it in three to five years anyways so it's not going to have many of the failures that some of us are trying to prevent that buy used vehicles and keep them for many years afterwards or keep vehicles for a long time if we buy the new.
This just continues to make the problem worse. It's amazing that leasing hasn't totally destroyed the quality I'm older cars but like I said before we're coming out of a golden age of automobile durability especially in engines. If people bought cars expected to drive them for 10 to 15 years until the wheels feel off people with the man higher-quality and more longevity. However, with so few people actually keeping the same car over 7 years whether they buy it new or used, it changes the whole ball game.

 

[Papaboo]

Take a look at Amsoil Signature synthetic oil and the test results against Mobil One, Royal Purple.
Then make your own decision as to what you will put in your engine. I've used it in all my boats, son's motorcycles and all our vehicles with great results. My 2014 Expedition Limited has 75K miles and doesn't use a drop of oil between oil changes, once a year with the signature Oil you can do once a year or 25,000 miles. I do once a year.

 

[Aden_us]

Did a search, no results. Last oil change I used 5W-30 (Mobile1 FS) instead of the 5W-20 in my 2007 expy that I have used since day one per Ford's spec. Expy now has nearly 188,000 miles on it. I changed after researching the issue & figured with the higher mileage it wouldn't hurt & may offer slightly better film protection. I live in SC near the coast, summers are scorchers & never gets too cold.

I replaced the VCT solenoids a year or so ago, but cam phasers/timing components are all original. My question is, does anybody else run 5/30 instead of 5/20?

My vehicle's mileage is 85k. I used mobile 1 5w 30 yesterday. I am very pleased. I think 5w 30 makes sense after 60k, but it is healthier to run idling for 1 minute in the morning.

 

[JExpedition07]

Ford has always added to the Mustang owners manuals and supplements to use either 5W-30 or 5W-50 for track use and to forgo the on road recommended 5W-20. Engineering specifically has stated in the manuals for the modular engines 30 weight is fine, that goes for both 3-Valve and 4-Valve engines with VCT.

 

[Michael McC]

I see a lot on this thread about oil brands.

About 10-15 (maybe 20) years ago there was a study done on NYC cabs varying oil brands and oil change intervals. Bottom line was that it didn't matter which oil brand you used, as long as you changed it often.

I buy the cheapest full synthetic I can find (lately O'Reilly's in-house brand), and change it myself every 7,000 miles or so--sometimes 10,000 miles. Costs about $30. Did the same thing with my 5.4 and it did fine for 140,000 miles. I'm not keeping a car much longer than that, and I've never had one that wore out. Is there any evidence that one brand is better than another? I'm asking for evidence, not anecdote (and I know my experience is an anecdote, but the NYC cab study is evidence).

 

[Plati]

2003 XLT 5.4 4x4. 185K 6K oil changes conventional 5W20 Valvoline. Runs like a bear, but hasn't shit in the woods yet.

 

[chuck s]

No need to change it often. Just follow the manufacturer's specifications.

Here's the report of the Consumers Union tests from 1996 (darn near 24 years ago) -- been a while!

Even in the severe driving conditions that a New York City taxi endures, we noted no benefit from changing the oil every 3,000 miles rather than every 6,000. If your driving falls into the "normal" service category, changing the oil every 7,500 miles (or at the automaker's suggested intervals) should certainly provide adequate protection. (We recommend changing the oil filter with each oil change.)

Ford specifies 10,000 miles or 12 months or the maintenance notification on the dashboard -- which ever comes first.

http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/xs11-info/articles/51-consumer-reportstruth-motor-oils-july-1996.html

-- Chuck

 

[Blksmk]

I changed to 0 w 30 due to minus 55 below, noticed no more ticking

 

[ExplorerTom]

At all times trust your Ford Engineers. If they say,"5-20W" just go with what they say.

That would be great of engineers actually got the final say in stuff. But it’s the accountants and marketing staff that get the final say.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I'm sure I've said this before, but the truth is we don't really know what the engineers recommend because anything they recommend is filtered through the execs and bean counters before it reaches our eyes and ears.

A friend of mine is a software engineer for a company that provides the brains behind self-driving vehicles. Last year they had several incidents where the vehicles crashed after heading off like they had a mind of their own. The software engineering team recommended that all of the vehicles using the software temporarily be taken out of service so they could rewrite huge chunks of code, which would take them weeks or months to complete. The bean counters weren't having that as it would have resulted in a huge loss of revenue, so they kept going back to the engineers asking "What else?" (as in "We don't like your recommendation, so keep making new ones until we hear one we like." Finally, the engineering team told them they could roll back the software to the previous version and hope the problem that caused the crashes was in the last update. Done! So the vehicles went back out on the road and the company assured their clients that their engineers took care of things.

 

[chuck s]

There's always money involved. Just ask Boeing.

As for 0W-20 it's "common knowledge" (meaning I saw this in the Internet) this grade of oil was selected to meet fuel economy requirements. I recall a White Paper from Blackstone Labs (oil analysis lab) that they found no wear differences with 0W-20 and 10W-30 in Ford engines, so there's that data as well.

And as far as conventional vs synthetic motor oil is concerned my wife's car's oil change schedule is cut in half unless she uses synthetic. Specific to the optional engine in her car. Right in the owner's manual. Dealer says it doesn't matter. Who ya gonna believe? ?

-- Chuck

 

[Blksmk]

Only reason I got 0 w 30 was on sale, and we hit a -68 for 5 days, low and behold. My battery froze lol but I got fresh oil in it! Lol

 

[Machete]

My original manual say 5-30wt. So that’s what I use. I ignore the CAFE update suggesting 0-20wt for fuel mileage.

I used to use motorcraft synthetic until I learned ConocoPhillips makes oil and Ford rebrands it.

I also learned the additive package in Motorcraft oil is less than Kendal 1 synthetic also made by ConocoPhillips.

Kendal 1 Titanium has much more additives and in larger amounts plus its half the cost of MC oil.

When I switched it could tell a difference in normal engine noise. Much quieter w Kendal.

The 3v 5.4’s are notorious for VVT failures most having to do w oiling issues.