Recommended oil for 2014 5.4L 3V Triton

[rollinstone]

My Expy lives in the Pacific Northwest where average temperatures in summer usually stay in the 70s with occasional jumps up into the 90s for a couple of weeks. FordTechMakuloco in his YouTube video "This is Why Maintaining the Ford 5.4L 3V Triton Engine is So Important" 5 years ago, he stated that we should be using 5W-30 and not the owners manual recommended 5W-20. He says that the 5W-20 is for CAFE standards reasons. First time I've heard this. I've been doing regular 3000-5000 mile oil/filter changes and using 5W-20. The odometer reads north of 77K. I tow a 3500 lb trailer about 6000-8000 miles per year in northwestern terrain...spring/summer/fall. Thoughts?

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Go with the oil weight you feel comfortable using. I switched to 5W-30 after I did the timing chains and roller followers at ~150k miles in 2021. Other than a slight decrease in mileage nothing else is different. I live in Memphis where it's significantly warmer than WA state most of the year and don't do much towing.

5W-20 is used in North America to meet US CAFE and Canadian equivalent fuel economy requirements. The 5.4 3v is speced for 5W-30 in the rest of the world.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

Some use 5W-20 and others use 5W-30. It truly isn't goiing to make any difference in the longetivity of your engine. Do your oil changes on time and check the oil often to ensure it doesn't run low.

 

[Timo2824]

I run 5w-40 in my modular engines and Ecoboost, I didn't notice any drop in milage. Thicker oils help with ring seal and I haven't noticed any bad side effects on any of my engines, currently have a fleet of 10 engines of various sizes and run hours/milage. I don't think 5w-xx matters much for normal usage, changing every 5,000ish miles is definitely better than trying to run extended oil change intervals though.

 

[JimmyM]

In my 2011 (185kmi) I use 0w-40 synthetic. No cam phasers/chains ever replaced. Changes every ~6000

 

[chuck s]

I recall (meaning I might have dreamed it) a White Paper by Blackstone Laboratories a few years ago that showed no wear differences using 0W-20 vs 10W-30 in the 5.4 V8 engine.

-- Chuck

 

[cekkk]

DW's 2013 has 55,700 miles on it. I've kept 5W-30 in it when we lived at 9,000 ft in the Rockies where she actually put on all of her miles as we were very rural with the nearest gas station 20 mi away and the nearest hairdresser over 25 miles away. I used the same oil when we went to Southern California and continue to use it now when we are in the Mojave. My concern is much less about the SAE rating than it is the fact that it's not being driven more than 10 miles a week the last five years. I take it to the city a couple times a year, about 125 miles round trip. Also put my battery tender on it occasionally.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

In my 2011 (185kmi) I use 0w-40 synthetic. No cam phasers/chains ever replaced. Changes every ~6000

Jeez, I would hope not with only 115k miles on the clock.

 

[JimmyM]

Jeez, I would hope not with only 115k miles on the clock.

185k not 115k. But I thought the phasers were a 100-150k mile thing in the 5.4s. It's my daughter's truck now. I'm driving the new sexiness. My '23.

 

[rollinstone]

185k not 115k. But I thought the phasers were a 100-150k mile thing in the 5.4s. It's my daughter's truck now. I'm driving the new sexiness. My '23.

OT, but what are the towing specs on the new sexiness?

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

185k not 115k. But I thought the phasers were a 100-150k mile thing in the 5.4s. It's my daughter's truck now. I'm driving the new sexiness. My '23.

Oh sorry, I thought that km was kilometer. I've seen some people doing phasers at 100k, but I think those are the real lemons. I'm at 210k now with 5W-20.

 

[twodollars]

Just did timing set and followers at 107k. Phasers still ok, did add the high volume oil pump. Pass side head had all the follower wear, driver side still tight.