Nuke

... and some Preparation H for my sore butt.

Rubrignitz

Man, all of these oil discussions go downhill fast. lol!

GidyupGo

I wouldn't say that. Until we see and actual Blackstone print out of the test, I think the jury is still out.

Riptide

There really isn't any scientific information to prove anything here. We have Scott Whitehead vs. Ford. Who do you believe?

Until there are some fairly extensive tests comparing the effects on our motors between these different weights of oil then how are we supposed to really know?

Seems to me the safe bet is to just stick with whatever type Ford recommends. If you're paranoid just change the oil more frequently than they recommend.

Gene K

That is total bunk. The main reason for the wholesale switch to 5W20 is higher fuel mileage in EPA testing. CAFE standards must be met. The clearance issue would occur during cold start in low temperatures in which case their is very little difference between the 5W-20 and 5W-30. 15W-50 would certainly flow better in summer on a cold start than 5W-20 in the winter.

Yes their is an ideal viscosity for a given engine design but no oil will give it but under a very narrow range.
If 30 weight is ideal at 210F then 20 weight might be ideal at 195F.
Multigrade oil certainly helps extendthe acceptable range but its not perfect.

The engine needs a specific viscosity range and the way to chose the correct oil is chose the one that provides that range of viscosity in the conditions the will be subject to. 15W50 is a lot thinner during an Arizona Summer at 80F to 120F than 0W20 During an Alskan Winter at -60F to 20F.

The difference between the 5W-20 and 5W-30 in viscosity at 100C is only 3% in the Synthetic I use. I really dont think you would be able to tell the difference no matter how many oil analysis are done.

Since my car rarely sees high oil temps, operates on short commutes, and sees dragstrip passes with only 180F oil temp I generally use 5W-20.

If you open track and see oil temps of 270F+ I would certainly use 15W-50 at the track. For most of us 5W-20 or 5W-30 will serve.

Police cars with the 4.6L PI have went 240,000 mi with 15W-40 Recycled Fleet Oil changed ever 9000 mi, they have went 240,000 mi on Synthetic 5W-30 changed ever 15,000 mi and they have went 240,000 mi on 5W-20 Motorcraft changed ever 5,000 mi. Given the 50% idle time and pursuit use that is at least 400,000+ miles in typical civilian use.

The clearances are not significantly different in the 3V compared to a PI.

PS 5W-20 is typically better built than 5W-30 with better basestock. Its the only way it can meet the Ford and Honda required specs. It is almost all at least syntetic blend (regardless of how its marketed) and in blends the percentage of synthetic is higher.

Riptide

I take it you're using 5W-20 then Gene? What brand? Just curious.

FyouGitive

I got to thinking about it, and looking at my Owner's Guide, where on the early 200 pages it has very strong recommendations, complete with "preserve your warranty" language: put 5W-20 in the 4.6, 5W-30 in the 4.0.

Went back to the dealer with the idea "I can't run 5W-20 in my car if the manual tells me to run 5W-30, especially since during this change period I'll be making a high-speed trip to the Big Bend country of Texas". The service writer was all for the change, and took the problem to management. Management! What the heck would that do, other than delay the actual draining and refilling while they formed committees and hired experts?

Turns out that was just about what happened. They asked every employee within arm's length or voice-call, they "went on line", drew pentagrams, what else I don't know, but what came back was that if that was what I wanted, that is what I would get. "What was the question, again?" One of them said they found conflicting recommendations in the Ford online material.

Final adjustment: I'd get a refund of the price of the 5W-20 they mistakenly filled my crankcase with, and I'd have to pay for the new 5W-30 oil. Well, good. And I'll send them a bill for the two hours their mistake cost me, and mileage, home to Fordplace to home. We'll see how far that gets me.

After my yesterday service they washed my car, free of charge. Did a nice job, too, including vacuum of the carpets and cleaning both sides of the windshield and windows.

Today they washed it again and left me standing for twenty minutes while someone dried it off.

I don't know if they are inept, unthinking, or just mean. Whatever it is, if it makes the customer jump through unnecessary hoops or think bad thoughts about them and their procedures, it's wrong.

Rubrignitz

Ha! I know what you mean by the "20 minutes to dry off". The goddam detail guy when I first picked my car up wanted to takean hourto spray it with detailer. I waited for about 10 minutes, walked to the back of the service area and told him to "give me my keys NOW!". He was spraying the rims with some kind of armor-all substance. Idiot.

I haven't been back to the dealer since. bs...

Riptide

They washed mine when it was in for the fuel pump TSB.

That night I noticed some big scratches, seven or eight inches long, on the roof of the car. Thank God they came out with the quick detailer and some elbow grease. They didn't cut all the way through the wax on the car but I about had a heart attack.