radaman

Just so happened to check my engine oil today (engine was cold)and found that it was way low, barely to the "minimum" oil line. I have'nt felt anything different whendriving the car, but something just told me to check it. Had to add a quart of oil (motorcraft)to my car which Ive never done (nor have I ever checked it before) and I toss it up as the dealership didnt top it off properly. I do use my car for police duties here in Hawaii/Oahu so with that comes alot of idling and chase cars around and such. I only avg 850-1k miles a month and I service it every 3 months at the dealership using 6 quarts of royal purple at every oil change. Just caught me off guard with it being low and hopefully its nothing, anything I dont know about with these Mach's vs my old 02'gt? Will mixing 1qt motorcraft and royal purple (both 5w-20) really matter since RP is always sold out here. I did check the oil after driving to the store and back, but it was hard to tell how full it was, though it still looked at minimum. Help!

groundpounder

A few things:

Some Machs (and 4Vs in general) are notorious for using some oil (explanation not necessary right now) - some more, some less, some not at all (or very little). This has come to be an accepted fact of 4V life due to the reason and the fact that as long as you check it regularly, it's not a fatal issue. Which brings me to my second point:

You may beone of the guys that, because of that reason, isgoing to need to check regularly (I am, too). Still could be the dealership thinking it took 5 quarts (unlikely), but I wouldn't leave it to chance for the next couple of changes. As much as you drive your rig, I'd say once a month is good, but the more you check, the more you'll get a feel for usage. I have learned to check mine about every 1,500 miles. Third point:

Don't mix. the thermal viscosity and molecular integrity of your oil is compromised when you mix weights (and brands, IMHO), sytnthetic with conventional, etc. The reason for this is the size of the carbon chain (longer = heavier weight) and some other techincal junk. The problem with that is when you have two different types/size molecules competing for the same point to lubricate, you end up with inconsistencies along the film of oil that protects moving parts from one another. This can lead to cavitation, heat, thermal breakdown, etc. Now, understand a couple of things: we're talking about problems on a molecular level and it's not like you're going 50/50 with brand X oil. You did what you had to do, used the same weightand it's not like you're going to washa bearing and throw a rod. It's not like that. Problems manifest themselves over a long period of time, and I can tell you running low at 6,800 revs is FAR worse than 5w-20 from two different manufacturers, syn and conv. It's not like you need to rush out and drain your oil and change the filter.

But now that you know, I'd suggest keeping a couple quarts of RP on hand since it's hard to get and you know you need it.

Lastly, I always let mine settle for about 5-10 minutes after I've stopped to check it. Ironically, that's about the same amount of time it takes me to drain one or two beer bottles, depending on my mood.

USMCrebel

BEER= GOOD
CARS= GOOD
BEER+CARS =FTMFW

radaman

Groundpounder, thx alot. Im rather new to the 4v game as this was never an issue with my 02 gt. Ill keep tabs on the oil and def buy a few more quarts of RP just in case. Thx again.

03MachMe

mine does that too and i have to check it every so often because of it. my roommates mach smokes more than mine but doesnt use as much oil. im just wondering what the reasoning behind this is if anyone knows? and do the 04s do it as well?

Subotai_95

Meehh, my 04 smokes SOME, but not all that much honestly. I can't really say that it burns a lot of oil, because I check mine pretty regularly and I've never had to add any because it was low. And usually when it does smoke it's after the cars been sitting for three or four days and I go to start it up. If I'm driving it everyday I hardly ever see it do that.

OP, I'd have to say +1 on what pounder said about not changing/mixing up weights/manufacturers of the oil you use. It's not going to be an immediate problem but it'll make for some real uneven wear down the road if you keep doing that. I've been using the Mobil 1 Synthetic and I never seem to have any problems with that, plus I always keep a quart inside a ziplock bag in the trunk just in case I ever need it. That, and anti-freeze, never wanna be without either one of em if you can avoid it brudda, especially if you're using your car as an unmarked in some situations. I haven't used Royal Purple but once because it was a pain in the *** to find in VA beach for some reason, and the mobil 1 cost less, but RP is definitely good if you've got an easy way to get your hands on it brudda.

renegadeoffunk0

As with alot of cars you'll probably burn oil when you drive hard. With chasing them criminal deviants I'm sure it makes you happy to step on the gas

Mine does the same thing so it's probably nothing to fret about.

USMCrebel

i need to change my oil thanks for reminding me!

groundpounder

you're welcome. And WELCOME to the 4V game! It's fun being the alpha dog, ain't it?It's a common thing with 4V engines built before mid 03 (I think). There is an issue with the water jacket in the driverside cylinder head around the #8 piston. It gets too hot and causes one of the intakethe valve guides to wearexcessively, causing oil to slip through and nasty ticking noise to boot. It's not a fatal flaw per se, but it's important enough that Ford issued a TSB on it (if not an outright recall) and replaced the cylinder head with a more efficient water passage. I don't think 04's do it.



Everybody gets something out of a tech thread, eh?

(you dirty post *****)

radaman

Tha again for all the replies, definitely some knowledgeable people on this site.