What oil are you using

[lricaud81]

What oil are you using Mines a 2020 .. autozone says conventional 5w-30. I have synthetic blend 5w-30 I use for my f150 5.0 that should work too huh. I know the f150 has certain specs I had to look for is it the same for the expy 3.5

 

[BigOleFordFan]

There's many threads/comments/discussions here about this very subject...

But to summarize for you, I believe most folks recommend using a Full Synthetic from Penzoil, Mobil 1, Castrol, Quaker State or other mainstream/brand name for normal, everyday use, not counting off-roading/heavy towing/excessive speeds or things like that of course......

And depending on your driving habits (leadfooter, around-towner only) etc, either 5w-20 or 5w-30 will work fine, but some of it depends on what was used before & how well the vehicle has been maintained....

Did you check your owner's manual to see what it says ? That's usually a good first step

When I bought my '011 back in '21, based on the Carfax report, I knew it had previously had 5W-20 Full Synth Mobil 1 in it, so that's what I've stuck with since then, neveranottaproblemo....

 

[lricaud81]

I just got it about a month ago and it didn't come with an owners manual unfortunately. It'd be kinda nice to use same oil in f150 and expy since I get it auto shipped to me and I can just add another 5qt jug since my f150 takes like 7.7 qts lol. I bought filters in bulk for f150 so I'll prolly do that with expy .
Thats next thing I'll have to find out what filters seem best for this rig

 

[apex96]

LIQUI-Moly Molygen 5w-40. Before switching to LIQUI-Moly I was using Ineos 5w-30. Both are great full synthetic oils. With mileage creeping up on both my expedition and wife’s edge (over 150,000 on a 2020) I made the switch to a slightly thicker oil for peace of mind.

 

[lricaud81]

I'm right behind you with 140,000 on a 2020. I still like the idea of using same for both my rigs tho. Synthetic blend would be good over conventional wouldn't it.

 

[DieselMonk]

I am using either 5W30 or 0w30 Mobil 1 Extended Performance and change it ever 7000 km (severe schedule).

 

[5280tunage]

I do mostly Mobil 1 5W30. Sometimes with our super cold temps I'll do 0W30. I also alternate, usually 2-3 Mobil1, then once in a while a Royal Purple. Same with filters. Honestly I wait or the Mobil1 to go on sale at Sam's Club. it's a great deal probably 6-8 times a year, then I stock up with a couple boxes.

 

[apex96]

I'm right behind you with 140,000 on a 2020. I still like the idea of using same for both my rigs tho. Synthetic blend would be good over conventional wouldn't it.

Synthetic blend will provide better wear protection over a longer interval than a conventional yes. My wife loves to push though a changes to 10k or more sometimes before I catch it and have it changed… due to her long intervals I run the high dollar full synthetic. My expedition is tuned and is the sole reason I run synthetic in it. I prefer 5k oil changes and that’s what I do for peace of mind. Just wish I could get my wife to do shorter intervals… ‍

 

[sjwhiteley]

If I recall from the manual, US market specifies synthetic blend, and the Mexico market full synthetic.

 

[Boosted]

Lots of opinions out there. Probably almost all of them are fine.

Synthetic oil, quality filter and 5K intervals is the basic protocol.

Personally I run Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-30, CarQuest Premium 84502 Oil Filter with a 4-5K mile interval.

I think the real variable in this configuration is the filter, even more than the oil in many cases. I like the CarQuest Premium because it is 99% efficient at 20 microns. The Ford filter is only 95% efficient at 30 microns for comparison.

 

[slow3v]

What oil are you using Mines a 2020 .. autozone says conventional 5w-30. I have synthetic blend 5w-30 I use for my f150 5.0 that should work too huh. I know the f150 has certain specs I had to look for is it the same for the expy 3.5

At the end of the day, the safest, most economical and tried/true is:

Motorcraft SynBlend 5w-30 with a Motorcraft FL500 filter, every 5k or less. Done. Don't need to break the bank.

 

[1111ExpyEL1111]

5W-30 Valvoline Restore and Protect in our 2012 Expy 170k miles and 2016 Expy 110k miles.

 

[42pilot]

My 2020 3.5L has 107,000 miles and I have been the only owner. Every 5,000 miles, I change the oil regardless of what the computer shows. Having worked with oil engineers during my performance engine building years, I was told the additive packages started to break down - on average - just after 5,000 miles (Joe Gibbs Racing - now Driven, and Royal Purple). I also disabled the auto on/off for the motor as this is an insane engine and engine component killer. Anyway, up to 100,000 miles, I used Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 with Motorcraft filter, every 5,000 miles. At 100,000 miles, I changed to Driven Motor Oil DI 5w40. I wanted more viscosity as the engine tolerances expand, keep the LSPI protection and add a bit more friction modifiers. And I still using Motorcraft filters. One last point, this car has never had anything other than Top Tier gas in it which is important for oil (dilution, carbon build up, etc). So, when 100,000 miles rolled around and there was literally nothing wrong with performance or different with maintenance, we decided to keep it for possibly another 100,000 miles rather than jump to a newer, more expensive model. This car has never been to a dealer for work - up to this point, it has been nearly flawless (except for the POS transmission, but that's a different story). But I do all my own maintenance using top shelf stuff.

 

[ZigZagFred]

The price of an oil-change is a tiny percentage of the cost of a new engine. We use name-brand, full-synthetic, 5W-30 oil. We follow a 3,000-mile change interval because we do very little road miles, only city driving. Our local shop does the whole job, with a new filter, for less than $100. We view it as inexpensive insurance for our 2019 expy Limited.

 

[Nimtz31]

@OP ,
I wouldn’t try different viscosities or deviate from engine design 5w-30. I think of oil delivery velocity and orifice sizing. Thicker oil may sound better on surfaces, but delivering the oil to that surface is a different animal.

Pennzoil Ultra Platinum and Amsoil signature series seem to be the best out there when looking at lab results on YouTube and my own research.

The filter is a very important factor. Spend money here.

Amsoil is 100% synthetic where others are “full” of synthetics. I use Amsoil. You can go 25k but need to change filter in the middle. I don’t go that far, I change at 8k; oil and filter. Lots of good stuff on YouTube with lab results.

I use a PCV catch-can as well. It catches nasty stuff I drain it every oil change.

 

[JasonH]

I've used Magnatec and GTX 5W-30, but recently switched to Edge 5W-40 Euro when I tried to fix my timing code issue. Fuel dilution can cause 30WT to shear down to 20WT within a normal OCI. A lot of the OCI varies based on how the vehicle is used. Short trips, cold weather, towing, etc. may warrant a shorter OCI. But the safest bet is full synthetic SP or SQ every 5,000 miles. Personally, I'm going to stick with the OLM recommendation using the Edge 5W-40. My valvetrain was spotless and I doubt I'll put another 130,000 on the vehicle before letting it go. I don't know how the vehicle was treated before I got it at 60K, so it's hard to know if the chain wear reflected previous maintenance. But it's definitely a known weakness of the Gen 1 Ecoboost.

 

[LG_123]

I’m also in favour of full synthetic. We do a lot of heavy towing and I find less or no oil is burned when I use premium gas and Mobil1 Truck & SUV oil. Lower quality fuels and oils have caused overheating in the past.

 

[Tom991]

I'm using Supertech full synthetic 5w-30 and a Supertech filter. I researched this oil. It's a quality oil made by Warren. It's less expensive than other brands because they don't have a high advertise budget. It meets or exceeds OEM requirements. I've used this for years in all of my cars and never have had an oil related failure. The container says lasted up to 20K miles but I change between 6k or 7K miles.

 

[dr2024]

5W30 full synthetic with an API rating of SP.

Ford specifies 5W30 for the 3,5L EcoBoost.

API SP rating, important for direct injection.

Full synthetic because the turbos can put a lot more heat stress on the oil than normally aspirated engines do. Sure the modern turbo units have water jackets, but the bearing shaft that connects the exhaust vanes and the compressor vanes is cooled by the engine oil that also lubricates it, and those exhaust vanes get HOT.

If you run continuous boost for several minutes and then stop the car by the roadside at dusk or dark, you will see the turbo housing glowing cherry red.

Aside from Ford specifying 5W30, two reasons why 5W30 may be better than 5W40 or 0W40. 1) lower viscosity oil transfers heat better than higher viscosity oil. 5w40 will be thicker at higher temperatures and should have a thicker film over the bearing surfaces than 5W30, BUT if 5W30 is good enough for film thickness & film strength then it will be better than 5W40 because it will do a better job of transferring heat away and cooling the turbo shaft bearing.

2) 5W30 has fewer viscosity modifiers than 5W40 or 0W40 which makes it more durable and stable, other things being equal.

 

[JasonH]

2) 5W30 has fewer viscosity modifiers than 5W40 or 0W40 which makes it more durable and stable, other things being equal.

I thought this was the case as well, but it turns out that some of the 0W weights often use a superior base stock, PAO or Group 5, that make the VII less of an issue. It's been discussed ad nauseum on Bob is the oil guy.

The other issue with 30wt on this engine is that fuel dilution can result in it being a 20wt before the next change. But it depends on drive cycle and climate. Ultimately, any SP rated full synthetic will likely make it through a 5k OCI.