Motor oil question . . . . .

[Ruger Rich]

I have a 2006 F150. About 130k miles. No smoke, no leaks and changed every 3K, I bought it new. Engine is the 5.4 V8. I occasionally pull a trailer, pop up type, get a few loads of firewood and dump trips. Otherwise nothing too hefty. I've always used conventional 5W20W per the manufacturers suggestion. It's getting near what some would consider high mileage. Are there any recommendations you can offer that have worked out for you? Synthetic, weight, etc., and why.

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[DB is Here]

A friend swears by Mobil 1 synthetic he's got 320,000 on his Ford 150. Anecdotal to be sure, just thought I'd share.

 

[Knute]

I have a 2006 F150. About 130k miles. No smoke, no leaks and changed every 3K, I bought it new. Engine is the 5.4 V8. I occasionally pull a trailer, pop up type, get a few loads of firewood and dump trips. Otherwise nothing too hefty. I've always used conventional 5W20W per the manufacturers suggestion. It's getting near what some would consider high mileage. Are there any recommendations you can offer that have worked out for you? Synthetic, weight, etc., and why.

Synthetic is very slick and may give you a bit higher oil consumption, and higher costs per oil change.

I have run a few GM V8 trucks into the 150k mile range using a similar change schedule like yours using Castrol or Penzoil semi-synthetic per the manufacturer's oil weight recommendation.

That said, when those trucks got over 75K I shift to their "high-miles" semi synthetic oils. These trucks never did/do burn oil or blow smoke. Our current 350ci GM truck has 163K and runs like a top...no oil consumption at all between oil changes still.

Great question...

 

[made in china]

I used to work as a mechanic. I have seen all kinds of maintenance regimes from religious synthetic oils to outright extreme neglect on all kinds of vehicles.

I do not worship at the house of synthetic, unless it is an OEM requirement. I am a dino oil guy myself.

Your Ford isn't high mileage yet (well, it's getting there).

Normally I wouldn't suggest synthetic, but I was at Wal Mart buying oil for my Titan and Q60, I usually just get dino 5-30, but they were out, and had synthetic for only $5 more for the 5qt jug. I said "what the heck" and bought it.

I guess for such a small up-charge (at Wal Mart) for the synthetic, it couldn't hurt to switch to synthetics.

Knowing the few issues 5.4 Tritons have, I don't think oil type is one of them. Has yours spit out the spark plugs yet? I'd bet you could get over 200K on normal oil.

I truly believe synthetic on engines that don't require it is similar to the global warming debate. Unless we have an alternate universe to compare A/B, we can't truly know if your vehicle will last longer on synth. But, if it's cheap enough, why not?

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

I have a 2006 F150. About 130k miles. No smoke, no leaks and changed every 3K, I bought it new. Engine is the 5.4 V8. I occasionally pull a trailer, pop up type, get a few loads of firewood and dump trips. Otherwise nothing too hefty. I've always used conventional 5W20W per the manufacturers suggestion. It's getting near what some would consider high mileage. Are there any recommendations you can offer that have worked out for you? Synthetic, weight, etc., and why.

mobil 1, valvoline, chevron or motorcraft(ford) oil in whatever weight the owners manual says is what i recommend. you CAN switch to a synthetic with only benefits. no negatives (MAYBE a little oil consumption at first) other than to your wallet. change it every 3k-5k no matter what.


no i dont work for ford. yes, i do work for General motors as an 11 year master certified technician with over 500 GM certs and ASE certs(so take what i have to say with caution ). others here might tell ya the same

i drive a 98 f150 with a 5.4l with 250k on it. ive owned it for the last 14 years since 131,818.

oil, brand of oil, weight of oil, age of oil makes a difference. i cannot tell you how many vehicles i have to fix because of negligence or improper lubrication. oil is EVERYTHING.

your f150 is the 3 valve 5.4L it uses cam actuators which have a reputation for failing(moving parts just fail some times). KEEP THEM LUBRICATED PROPERLY to get as much life out of them as possible. also, only have a competant tech change the spark plugs in it and expect a few broken ones. these 5.4L will last for a long long time. keep that transmission, transfer case and differentials changed too

 

[3MTA3]

Been using Mobile 1 synthetic as the best bang for the buck synthetic and NAPA Gold fitlers from reading the forums here: A Review of Mineral and Synthetic Base Oils - Bob is the Oil Guy

Yup, there are lube geeks that stress and lab analyze oil as well as filters. Filter geeks will even cut them apart and photo document the construction before and after use. If you don't like cardboard valves best to skip the Frams...

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

if you search "project farm" on you tube he does really in depth comparisons of oil(amongst other things) using the scientific method.

he has lots of these videos:

 

[Unicykle]

I used to race FF in scca and our engine builder swore by molil1 full synthetic and said he could see a minor hp gain on the dyno vs dino oil so thats what ive used ever since but truthfully for street use dino oil is more than fine.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

amsoil is a superior synthetic oil too

 

[DB is Here]

if you search "project farm" on you tube he does really in depth comparisons of oil(amongst other things) using the scientific method.

he has lots of these videos:

Love his stuff!

 

[CoastRange57]

amsoil is a superior synthetic oil too

I was a die hard Chevron 15-40 or Union Guardol 15-40 oil guy for 40 years. Fleet oil we could run in everything we owned. My new mechanic dude said try the Amsoil synthetic in my 97 F 250 7.3 liter. 200,000 miles in excellent condition. I had him change every fluid in the pickup about 1500 ago. Very noticeable improvement in how smoothly the pickup runs.

We just took a 1,000 mile trip up to Wallowa Lake, Hells Canyon and a lot of NE Oregon. Pulling a 24 foot travel trailer. Got about 14 mpg over all, with some better than that and some worse, in some off road situations.

Oil is cheap and I will use the best in this pickup. I send out a sample once a year of both engine and transmission oil. Both my mechanics have said this is the best old truck they worked on and I want to keep it that way.

 

[Lazyfaire]

More important than anything, to me, is that the oil be changed on a constant basis. Choose 3K, 5K, 7.5K or 10K, but do it religiously. Use the odometer as your marker. It is a great habit, one that I instilled in my daughter. If you are paying attention to your vehicle and something sounds off, get it checked out.

Obviously if you run out in the dusty regions you need to change oils more frequently.

I too think that a quality oil works just fine. Synthetics may work fine but they are more costly for the same result.

My 2 cents

 

[Ruger Rich]

Every single one of you responding, thank you. You've given valued suggestions and a direction to follow.

 

[BSDave]

I listened to an interview with one of the gurus at I believe was Gibson racing oils now Driven. He explains that if your using Dino keep using. That when you switch to full synthetic that the additives or conditioners are not interchangeable. That the front and rear mains and cam shaft seals will start to leak. But this was quite some time ago maybe 8-10 years.

That being said. I work on a farm and use to work in the equipment shop for 11 years. We have a fleet of fords that all run plain old cheap car quest 15w40 bulk. We have many trucks over 200k and a 2004 with 425k. All the motors have had extensive motor work done but never rebuilt. Things like head gaskets, timing chains and adjusters, valve guides and such. Oil gets changed every 6 months.

Dave

 

[3MTA3]

I listened to an interview with one of the gurus at I believe was Gibson racing oils now Driven. He explains that if your using Dino keep using. That when you switch to full synthetic that the additives or conditioners are not interchangeable. That the front and rear mains and cam shaft seals will start to leak. But this was quite some time ago maybe 8-10 years.

That being said. I work on a farm and use to work in the equipment shop for 11 years. We have a fleet of fords that all run plain old cheap car quest 15w40 bulk. We have many trucks over 200k and a 2004 with 425k. All the motors have had extensive motor work done but never rebuilt. Things like head gaskets, timing chains and adjusters, valve guides and such. Oil gets changed every 6 months.

Dave

Regardless of what you use regular maintenance is the key. The only thing a synthetic really buys you is a longer interval before changing.

 

[CountryGent]

Back in the day, when lived in different environs, I ran Redline and Royal Purple in the vehicles. Changed every 3K miles/3 months, whichever came first.

Now, Amsoil mostly (though did Mobile 1 at some point) whenever the manual says (which is longer than the older rule.)

No complaints. Not sure it matters much, provided equipment is kept in good order. Cheers.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I learned LONG ago, Synthetic oils were the only way to go! Dino juice is full of all sorts of stuff you don't want in your engines and is a big reason for WHY they add all sorts of additives and detergents to your oil! Penzoil is one of the very worse, as they insist on using paraffin in their blends which over time will coke your internals and prevent proper lubrication! For Heavy duty truck and diesel, Chevron Delvac 1 100% Synthetic 10W30 is what I run, and it flat out works, especially with the challenges of turbo diesel engines with humongous cam pressures to drive the injectors! For street use, and even racing, I run the DRIVEN brand of 100% synthetic 10W30 Race Oils, and for my planes I run the Lucus Race Synthetics 15W40 for it's superior cooling and temp stability in an application where temps can change dramatically in a very short time!
To give you an extreme example, had a 4X4 Dodge pickup with a tired 5.9L gas engine, it had high millage and would leak and burn oil,, and during it's first oil change, I noticed both Aluminum/Tin and Copper flecks in the oil, which is telling me the bearings are getting loose and wear is getting excessive! None the less, I switched to the Delvac 1 Synthetic in a 20W50, and the truck came alive with more power, better fuel economy, and no more leaks or visible oil burn. I got almost 100K miles out of that Dodge before pulling the engine to replace it with a 440 and trans to go with it! It has double the power thanks to the new engine, and it gets the same fuel millage despite the size and power difference, sold it to my Cousin who runs it to this day!

 

[RicInOR]

Chevron Delvac 1 100% Synthetic 10W30

I see Mobile Delvac, but Chevron Delo in my interwebbies search ... would one of those be right, or am I not finding the right thing?

 

[Ura-Ki]

I get them confiscated too ( All that stuff is at the ranch ), Its Mobile Delvac 1 100% Synthetic! It's the same stuff a lot of truck fleets run, especially in the reefer units, and they are running One Thousand Hour oil change intervals and getting outstanding life out of them!

 

[Ura-Ki]

One thing I forgot to add, for those of us with non roller cam engines, you MUST get Zink additives to add back to your oil or you will loose that engine in a few thousand miles! I get mine through NAPA, and it's $6.00 per pint which is good for one oil change, EVERY TIME it's changed!