I have recently acquired a 96 f250 and am wondering what type of oil anyone would reccomend especially on these winter months ahead.

I am also wondering if anyone knows of where I could find a replacement tailgate.

 

Welcome to FTE !
How cold does your winters get ?
Where are you located ?

 

If it has run synthetic oil, stick with it.. if not, just run conventional. Typically a seller (in my experience) points out if they ran synthetic in it.. When I bought my 7.3, it had 226k on it, and in the cold winter months I decided to switch to the rotella 5w?? syn blend.. My truck really liked drinking that oil and seems to use a bit more between changes ever since going back to reg 15w40 rotella. I run 15w40, and it gets to -30 here. At that point, I keep it plugged in and the heavier oil doesn't seem to be a problem. Rotella seems to be real popular from what I've read, I like it cause it's $12.97 at wal*mart for 1gal. Buy 4 and have a couple quarts to spare..
Welcome to FTE

Watch CL for a tailgate. I've got one sitting in my garage i'm going to list locally!

 

I live in Forest Lake MN. It has been know to get as cold as -20 or so.

 

Plugging my truck in may be a problem cause I live in an apartment and my truck us to big to fit in my garage.

 

x2, Mine is 2.5inches too long to fit! haha. It sits outside. If you have a block heater, plug it in at night. You'll feel it in your power bill, get a outdoor timer for your outlet, so it kicks on only a couple hours before you need to drive it. It'll pay for itself in 1 month. If it is hesitant at all on startup, replace your glow plug relay. Makes a huge difference and will help when it gets cold. When mine was going bad, it took 20 min to start in 40deg weather!

 

Do you think that plugging into a power pack would work?

 

Yes it does. I know a quad axle driver that used to do that cause he lived in a camp ground and had to park his truck away from everything.

 

The extra cost of a 5W-40 synthetic is going to be worth it for cold starting. Most guys seem to run Shell Rotella 6T synthetic. Mobil also makes a 5W-40 synthetic Diesel oil that costs a few bucks more than the Shell version and it may be better, I can't prove it.

I also run Redline Diesel fuel additive and I think it helps winter starting, but then it only gets to -20F every hundred years or so around here. I suspect that no matter what oil or fuel additives you use, some sort of block heater is going to be necessary for reliable winter starts.

- Bob

 

I run conventional Shell Rotella 15w40 most of the year. At change before winter I switch over to Rotella T Synthetic 5w40. Makes cold starts so much better.

 

Schaeffer's oil FTW!

 

I never use to deviate from my shell Rotella 15/40 conventional as my winter average is around 37 but I wonder if I should..hhmmm?

 

You mean 37F is the average temperature you see? That's not winter! And no, at those temps, you don't need 5w40, your 15w40 will serve you just fine.

 

Yup average.. We see temps to -5 or -10 on occasion but not for extended periods of time...

 

Oh in that case, if you're starting it near/below zero F, then yeah, 5w40 would be warranted.