OK, so it's time for my first oil change. Thus I break out the owners manual for my new F-150, with the 5.4 litre and read a very specific recommendation to use SAE 5W-20 motor oil.

Joy! With this knowledge I proceed to the auto parts store and buy 7 quarts (also as per owners manual) and a filter.

It's time to get down to business so I pop the hood. I have all my materials and tools gathered and I'm ready to conquer my first oil change. And there, to my horror written in big bold yellow letters on my oil cap are the letters "SAE 5W-30".

Wonderful... Can someone explain this contradiction? I went ahead with Mobil 1 '5W-20' pure synthetic and I'm pretty confident that it will protect my engine as it's called for in the manual, but that doesn't help me with the conflicting oil cap.

 

On my 2004 F-150 with the 5.4 liter calls for 5W-20 motor oil even on the oil filler cap and that is what I'm using, by the way I'm using Motorcraft synthetic blend oil ( 7 qts.).
I personaly would not use full synthetic for my first oil change, I would wait untill at least 6000 miles on the odometer, I know some sports cars come with full synthetic motor oil when brand new so I guess it is OK.
I'm perfectly happy using a synthetic blend oil and changing it every 3000 miles...

You are right about the filler cap saying 5W30 that is confusing, I wonder if they put the wrong cap on or they are switching to a heavier weight motor oil, you got me wondering.

 

Break It In First

 

What year is your truck? I find it amusing that the service tech at my dealer said if I put M1 5w30 in my 2005, it would void my warranty, yet your fill cap calls for it.


So I have M1 5w30 in my truck that calls for 5w20....
you have M1 5w20 in your truck that calls for 5w30...

Wanna trade fill caps?

 

the caps seem to be a common item to break so says my service advisor. i am on cap #3 on my expy maybe the dealer broke the cap during predelivery inspection. the dealer here only has the 5w30 caps which are also 6.34 cheaper than the new 5w20 caps.

also the 5w30 will only void your engine warranty not the entire bumper to bumper warranty. but why chance it????

 

legally, it can only void your warranty if the viscosity rating is proven to cause a failure. But leaving proof up to the guys footing the bill isn't a great idea.

They can suck it. How are they gonna know what I put in my truck? I got sick of this warm engine knock on startup, so a thicker hot oil is never a bad thing. It's only happened once since the change.

It's stupid to force owners to choose a specific oil weight, it depends entirely on what kind of weather you're running the truck in. If it's API rated, it meets ford specifications.

 

Interesting.
So you have the cam phaser noise, take it to the dealer, he pays the ten bucks for oil analysis ( a standard thing in big city dealerships) and you lose your warranty.
Open and shut.
Also, thicker oil does not mean thicker oil when hot.

Humorous example;
I have had customers put 90 weight gear oil in their crankcase to thicken it up.
Guess what, at engine temps the 90 weight thins to little thicker than tranny fluid.

The dealers 'force' people to use oil that the motor requires.
There is no requirement to use Ford Oil, just oil that they have found adequate in the engine.

The 5w-20 beats most any 10w-30- 10w-40 in hot engine use.
Look at the test results.

Thicker oil is not good for the weak point in OHC engines, which is cam oiling at startup.

That is what 'knocks' on these engines. Not bearings. And that knock only shows up if you have the wrong weight of oil, or the wrong filter.
Look it up, known problem with many OHC engines.


Thick oil is to 'fill the gap' in worn bearings.
Nothing else.
That is what the oil makers say,
the engine manufacturers
the rebuilders
the racers
and every engineer I have ever spoke with, employed or worked with.

Thick oil is not a 'boon' to an engine, anymore than it would be to an automatic transmission.

Now if you are working with older OHV engines, thicker oil has it's place, especially if you have wide clearances.

On the other hand, I used 10w-30 in a 383 small block that I built, abused and plain old thrashed.
After 30k miles I pulled (sold the Vette with the original number engine) and tore it down to see if it needed anything.

No wear on any part. Bearings were still factory spec, not even a thousand wear on them.

Did lose a couple valve springs in the 30k miles, but that was from harmonics, not any oiling problem.
1.6 Cranes don't work all that well with Crane roller hydraulic cams. Who knew?

Anyway, you go ahead and use lots of thick oil, non-approved oil filter designs, and keep doing them burnouts.
Your truck will last forever.

 

Oh well, I was typing a response and my wireless cut out. My Cliff Notes...

5w30 IS thicker (at 212F) than 5w20. They have the same 5weight viscocity at 0*F. SAE defines those ratings, google it.

My truck doesn't knock knock knock on startup, I shoulda rephrased that. it simply doesn't start on occasion, it goes 'blat' and cuts out. May be a leaky injector, I don't know. It's only happened once since switching to 5w30.

Higher viscosity spreads shear down. My german ZF trans calls for 10w60 bmw oil, which tests have shown shears down to 10w40 in less than 10k miles. I don't know what bad things come with oil thinning out.

Thick oil takes longer to pump up, also takes longer to drain back. So on hot starts, it might be a wash. This is my first OHC motor, so I'm gonna look into the cam phasor issue. IMO, 20w oil was specified so Ford can sell more trucks to meet CAFE, and so they can sell more oil since very few of other oil brands are offering 5w20.

Also, i'm using the motorcraft filter. I use 7 qts of oil, and I don't do burnouts, the truck isn't capable. Don't know where you got that info from.

 

very few of other oil brands are offering 5w20.


every single brand name has a 5w20. pennzoil,mobil,kenndall,conoco,trop artic,mc,chevron.havoline,redline, royal purple, valvoline,castrol and many more.

 

quote from flash.

Well, there seems to be a lot of confusion again regarding the Fords spec using the 5w-20 oils. I thought I would explain it again for those that didn't catch it the first time. Everybody wants to speculate that it is only for CAFE reasons that Ford specs this light weight oil. After reviewing the test criteria, you should understand that there is a lot more to Fords spec than CAFE. It has to do with deposits, viscosity breakdown/ thickening, and valve train wear.

Let me first explain the Sequence IIIF criteria. It is a test that evaluates oil thickening, piston deposits, and valve train wear under high speed, high temperature conditions. Test length is 80 hours ( or roughly 2 weeks), and max viscosity increase is 275%.

Now, what does that mean in regards to the 153-H oils that we are considering using and Fords requirement to use it? Ford has established requirements that exceed API SL/GF-3 standards set by API. Ford requires either a DOUBLE lenght Sequence IIIF or a DOUBLE length Sequence IIIE test with maximum viscosity increase of 200%. API Sequence IIIF requires 80 hours and a viscosity increase of 275% max while the Sequence IIIE requires 64 hours with a viscosity increase of 375% max. Ford requires the test time table to be DOUBLE and max viscosity increase of 200% only. Much tighter and higher standards and harder to meet than regular dino oils or synthetics. Ford also requires a limit of 30mg high temp deposits for the double lenght test compared to API SL limits of 45mg for single test length. So you can easily see that the oils meeting this standard are pretty darn tough.

In regards to Motorcraft Oil specs, the pour point is -49F, Flash point is 435F, Viscosity at 100C is 8.5 (9.30 is a 30W, so it is almost a 30w or a heavy 20w), Viscosity index is 147. The HT/HS rating (directly related to bearing and ring wear) is 2.78.

I also see folks attempting to justify the use of a synthetic thinking it is better in this weight oil. Mobil One has a HT/HS rating of 2.6 which is absolute minimum to stay within the Ford spec. Obviously, it is the bottom of the barrel as other "blends" exceed M1. When selecting your 5w-20 oil, I would suggest looking for one that has a higher than minimum HT/HS rating. Most of the "blends" are higher than minimum and most now contain moly which is a good barrier lube.

There has been questions in regards to high heat environment. I can't imagine that many folks live in a hotter area than I do. We have on average 45 days of over 115F, over 90 days of over 110F heat. My 4.6 sits and idles with the A/C running all day- it's too hot to let the truck heat up inside as the A/c will never cool it down. I have had no oil related problems and my oil analysis come back with very low, single digit wear metals. Using the 5w-20 oils in a high heat environment is fine, just fine.

I hope this clears up any concerns some of you have in regards to the lighter but much better oils.

 

They don't stock it my local parts stores, at least 1000 miles ago they didn't. Until Ford's new motors, there wasn't nearly as much demand for it.

 

well 5w20 is going on about 5 model years of being the preferred oil so it should be simple to find.but i understand what you mean the part stores here have only 5w30 nothing less but walmart has mostly 5w20.

 

chris & ford390 i see what yall are saying, i really am but i'm sticking with my castrol 5w30 to heck w/ the warranty. lol

 

I had the same problem. It would sometimes do this 2 times before it would finally start. Did a reflash, 1K miles and the problem has not resurfaced.

 

Using 5-30 WILL NOT void your warranty....Whoever started this rumor needs to put it to rest.. I am an engineer that just retired from Ford Motor Company, so please don't listen to the "void warranty" trash that someone is attempting to start here....Thank you..
Yes 5-20 is the recommended weight, but 5-30, or even 10-30 will suffice...