Proper oil

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Cooper

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Synthetic is better oil but its not necessary. Just remember once you go synthetic you shouldn't go back to conventional oil.
 

JuniorExp03EB

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walmart by me sells motorcraft oil. other than that i like to use mobil 1 full synthetic.

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1955moose

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Cooper, what your stating is totally untrue, look it up! Semi synthetics are a blend of both. If your inclined to, you can bounce back and forth all year long, although if you go from a total synthetic, and go back to a total Dino oil like regular Castrol/Pennzoil, be sure to drain as much as possible. Full synthetics don't mix well with the Fred Flintstone oil. I used Regular Castrol 20/50 weight in all my vehicles from 1971 onward. Motorcycle and cars/trucks. On the bikes I never went beyond 2k due to gearbox shearing of the oil. In hindsight I should have run a motorcycle oil like Torco, or Yamalube, but I was stubborn, and uninformed in those days. When's the last time your 18 year old listened to any of your advice?

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Cooper

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Excuse me for giving him complete lies on purpose. But I assumed he was referring to Full synthetic since he did mention word "semi"

Again Synthetic oils are better as it coats your engines parts fasterand better, specifically in colder climates. There are youtube videos comparing them.

But I think many would recommend going one way or the other.

Keep life simple.
 

Plati

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Lots of opinions about engine oil, unlike religion & politics (sarcasm).

Couple few things EVERYONE agrees on:
- check your oil occasionally and makes sure its between the lines (or full)
- if its getting dark & dirty , you should change it
- change your oil & filter on a regular basis
- dispose of your old oil properly
- use good quality oil that at least conforms to OEM specifications (in owners manual)
- the Buffalo Bills will win the Super Bowl this year
 

TobyU

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Old school rules were synthetics cause or increase leaks and don't switch back and forth.

80's and up rules were also that you HAD TO change your oil ever 3 mo or 3000 miles.
We know now all were wrong.

Some people even still argue about not even switching brands!!

It won'r make any marginal difference.
Use what's on sale or use what container you think is prettiest (or gives you a free hat or hot wheels like Castrol did a few years ago)

Now I will say that a full synthetic can see increased consumption for the first 2-3 changed but then subsides. I have had two vehicles, one with 87K and one with 230K that started leaking after syn but one was after only one cheap Rural King brand and maybe it was it's time to leak. Haven't switched to HM to see if it will seal up.
The other was 86K V-10 and put Rotella T6 5w-40 which is known to be VERY detergent and cleaning. It started leaking on driver side oil pan and dripping onto left pipe.
I went back to other 10w-30 syn and blends and later some HM and it got better but never really quit completely.
Come to find out the original owner must have never changed it.
It was almost 3 qts low when I picked it up after buying on ebay in another state.
Ran low a lot. The inside was coked up. Not sludged. Hard black thin burnt peanut brittle stuff in valve covers.
It lost oil pressure and locked up 7 years later at 133,600.

Put a used one it is and still running perfect.
I've seen frog crap looking thick slime in engines but never anything this hard. Took a screwdriver to scrape it off or valve covers.

It gave me earning the week before when I started it went about 12 blocks too dinner.
Oil light came on as I pulled into parking lot. I shut it off and checked oil (because oil pan leaked) and it was 3/4 to full mark.
Sat for 1.5 hrs and was fine back home but when i turned into drive it flickered on again.
Then cam on again as I stopped..
I thought -Has the pickup tube fell off the oil pump??

Heard no noises- no vavle lash adjuster rattling.
Decide to put new sending unit and fresh oil change.
Put Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30.
Drove it for 6 hours the next weekend and 2 hrs after that. First was slow local roads adn second only on freeway for one exit.

Next week it went 12 miles and idled for 20 mins and was fine..Got on freeway and made it 20 miles and lost oil pressure squealed like belt and locked up.
I wasn't there. Friend was driving.

If I would have known how bad it was inside I would have used engine flush 2 qts (since large oil capacity) and done it twice and MAYBE I might have saved it from destruction. Maybe not.
The screen in the pick up tube had lots of holes clogged with black carbon looking stuff.

Oh well. Water under the bridge now.

But BRANDS or TYPES....don't matter much. JUST CHANGE IT SOONER rather than later or not at all.
 

TobyU

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The short answer is yes and even better is to make sure the donut label says 'SN plus'.
Actually, I think it would be much better if you had some oil labeled SL but that's not going to happen. It'd be better for everything except be very long term life of your converters. That is the ONLY reason s in oil was invented. It was not to give your engine more life.
It's always kind of a paradoxical statement when people say engine oils have improved over the years. It's true, that in some ways they have but mainly only because they became vastly inferior in other ways because of changes that might really not have been necessary and then they had to counteract the problems I'm making additional formulation changes.
Be glad you don't have a flat tappet camshaft like cars had 4 almost the first hundred years. Those will not tolerate SN oil.
 

rjdelp7

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Use synthetics for extreme heat/cold, towing and severe service. It flows better/fast in extreme cold. You can go longer between changes. There are different synthetic 'tiers'. Mobil 1(tierIII) is not a true synthetic. Its made from base stock. Tier5 is true synthetic. Royal Purple and Red line are tier5. Ford industry standard is syn-blend.
 

Wegner44

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I've used The synthetic blend at the Ford Dealer since only 5000 miles on mine. I now have 185000 on it. I've been very fortunate in that I don't have any leaks nor do I worry about burning oil in between changes. I change it every 5000 miles and it been a very good vehicle. I hope others have been as fortunate.
 

TobyU

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It is often not the best for your engine to run but the owner's manual says. Even the manufacturers have often superseded the recommendations for vehicles after they were made. The manufacturer is not concerned with your engine lasting 250,000 miles. They are absolutely not. Their only concern is twofold. Getting out of the warranty. And not feeling considerably sooner than the competition. If all of a sudden all car manufacturers but one had engines that only lasted 80,000 miles, the engine manufacturer that had one that lasted 250 would change their engine and use cheaper materials so it would not last so long. This is simply how the business works.
Even if the manufacturer knows what's best for the engine, which if you believe that you give them too much credit, they often can't recommend the best due to other parameters they have to meet.
 
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