K guys have a mystery goin on have an 01 ranger 4.0 with 232,000 on clock and have a steady diet of mobil 1 its whole life and no issues at all. Last Oil change went to Royal Purple 5-30 and fram Xg2 filter and after bout 200 miles of driving engine developed an ticking noise that has never been there before. heard stories in the past that royal purple has issues but never heard them first hand .....i drained out the Royal Purple and refilled it with Mobil 1 and the noise went away...this motor has never had the timing guide issues or anything and dont want any problems so guess its no more royal purple in my trucks future...has anybody else had or heard of issues switching to Royal purple or am i just a rare case??
thanx Steve

 

I would be more concerned with the Fram filter than oil.

 

Which recipe & viscosity Mobil-1 & Royal Purple???? I'm wondering since we can't get all of the old oil out, maybe additve conflict between the two?????

I've had other family vehicles that didn't like Fram filters on start up. So far I've never had a Motorcraft oil filter cause start up noise & mostly use the specified FL-1A in my 99 4.0L & FL-400S in my 94 Taurus 3.8L engines.

I have used the specified Pure-1 PL30001 on the Ranger 4.0L a few times & a PL20195 on the Taurus 3.8L a few times without noise problems.

I recently changed the wifes 2000 Dodge Neon 2.0L ohc 4banger over to a Motorcraft FL-400S filter, to get more oil in the system & better filtration & more filter media surface area in the filter, to lower pressure drop across the filter media & it cured the start up knock the Neon has always had with the specified (shorter/smaller, Fram made) OEM Chrysler oil filter.

 

i have always used mobil 1 5w-30 extended performance and usually a mobil 1 filter.....the royal purple i tried was also a 5w-30 and it was just their regular oil that u can buy at walmart not their racing oil....needless to say the royal purple is out and fresh mobil 1 is back in the truck andd noises are gone

 

OK, so is the Fram filter still in service, or did it get changed out too, when you draind the RP out????

 

Fram got pulled in favor of a motorcraft Fl-820s this time.....from what i heard about the fram x2 and tough guard thought they were better made than the orange cans of death....

 

OK, so Two changes were made again, thus you still don't really know what was causing the noise!!!

 

I don't understand oil change threads. If owner has used X brand of filter and oil for X time with no issues, then why change in hopes of better performance? I frequent the Quickie Lubes, and whatever they use, I'm satisfied with. Most filters are rebranded and I'm sure oil is the same way. The wife and I own an 08' Ranger and an 07' Edge. I have had other Rangers, and before marriage, she had other vehicles, such as a 97' Contour and an 04' Civic. All oil has to meet ASE (Automotive Society of Engineers) specs and contain the triangle logo. Using the correct weight and changing oil frequently seem more important than brand because w/out lube engine is toast. My Dad bought cars new and worked the assembly line at Ford and he bought what was on sale. Our garage was filled with different brands from Shell, Valvoline, Quaker State, and one generic brand called Murray's from a MI chain with the same name that has since been purchased by the O'Reilly's chain. I remember he seemed to like Fram filters unless Motorcraft were on sale. I don't work on vehicles, so oil change time I head to wherever I have a coupon for. My wife's Edge used to get mainly PennZoil, but later I have used different places. One uses Valvoline while the other uses Coastal (not to be confused with Castrol). Her vehicle has 92,000 miles and running strong. My Ranger has nearly 75,000 miles running strong and has seen Valvoline, Agip, and Coastal.

 

The root cause of the op's noise problem was likely caused by the change in oil filter brand, not a change in the oil brand, But because he made Two changes at the same time & did it Twice, we still don't know for Shure which was causing the problem.

In my experience with a new engine noise, or oil presssure warning light flickering on at idle, ect, its Always been after a filter Brand only change!!!!! So I really doubt the same service grade & viscosity Royal Purple oil was the root cause of his new engine noise.

 

Your post is somewhat true. If you look at the bottom of the "off brand" lubes, you often see a bunch of gunk in them. That's what made me stop buying them. Pepboys brand, "Murrays" brand (which is now O'Riely), Autozone Brand, the crap off brand that you get from the gas station, etc. all seem to have the issue. Don't shake the bottle, pour out fast, and check the last remaining 1/8th of the quart in a glass container and you'll see what I'm talking about. From what I understand, most of them are "recycled," and brought "up to standard," which is why they're 1/2 the cost of other oils. Further, most premium oils have more zinc, antifoaming agents, etc. They cost more and they are better.

The only "premium" oil I refuse to run is Casteroil, for some reason it sludges up more than most. It creates this nasty film, on virtually everything inside the motor (valve covers, oil pan, etc.). If you love the stuff, swear by, etc. and want to keep using it, that's cool. I'm friends with an engine builder, and I have personally looked inside a 1/2 dozen motors that had a nasty sludge issue that Casteroil had caused.

That said, I agree, the issue here is probably the FRAM filter, they're garbage, the whole lot of them. Great marketing, bad filter. Wix, Nappa, Puroilater, and Motorsport are all far superior, by far. Even the marked up, fancy looking "premium" FRAM filters suck. Cut one open and you'll see why.

 

Interesting if that is true about 'the el cheapo oils', and I heard it said earlier that the oil change places use the cheapest filter and oil available. I find this hard to believe because it would defeat the whole purpose of an oil change, and plenty of owners have gotten hundreds of thousands of miles out of their vehicles by not performing the oil change(s) themselves. So if the oil change places were that poorly run cars would constantly be falling apart because who really changes oil themselves (besides forum members)?

 

I think the level of oil you get depends on the place. I would tend to think that if you go to a Valvoline sponsored lube joint, you get actual Valvoline oil, and when you pay for upgraded oil (upgrade to synthetic) it happens, otherwise these places would be getting sued much more often, and they would be ran out of business.

That said, if you look at the state of used cars, it does seem to show that "cars are constantly falling apart." Most engineers say that with current tech in the oil system, and the relative reduction in friction, a typical motor should last 250-500k miles (bearings and seals). To the extent that an early failure is talked about in the theoretical sense, they're generally recognized as a valve train failure (timing chain, timing belt, valve spring, or early cam shaft wear caused by one of the aforementioned).

I would tend to think that garbage oil change shops are to blame for a good portion of the failure. Similarly, oil change shops are also supposed to grease your fittings, top off your gear lube, etc., which also rarely happens properly, causing early failure in those items as well.

 

I believe in the philosophy that the doors will fall off due to rust or the vehicle will be traded or totaled before engine failure. And, you are correct, about maintenance issues if not performed correctly, but that is a big assumption that all or most Quick Lubes fall into the failure category. Many drivers do little to maintain vehicles, and while today's vehicles may last 200k miles if properly maintained, that is a far cry from 400k-500k. Also, w/o tearing apart engines, no one really knows why cars fail because many are scrapped in junk yards with other issues.