4.2 oil test result -vs- short life expectancy..comments??

[BrianA]

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 12-Sep-02 AT 11:51*AM (EST)]I have read many posts concerning the life expectancy issues with the 4.2 motor. I would really appreciate thoughtful commentary on my situation here....
I have a 2000 F-150 w/ 4.2, 5 speed and 3.55 rear end. I currently am at 71,000 miles and have had zero problems to date. If you ever check out the "Oil and Lube" forum, you might have seen the thread on the oil tesing and results I have posted. In summary I have had 2 recent samples tested by OilLabs Inc. One was conventional Shell 10w-30 after 3,000 miles and one was Mobil 1 10W-30 after 6,000 miles. (I am soon to drain and have tested Shell10W-30 after a 5,000 mile run to see how conventional performs at that drain interval) Both oils tested showed NO sigs of any abnormal engine wear. All metal concentrations (in ppm) were very low. I have read the posts here indicating I should expect my engine to self-destruct now that I have passed 70,000 miles. Serious question here now: If I continue to test my oil and continue to see no signs of abnormal wear, should I still expect the engine to fail?
My understanding from reading some posts here is that it would be "expected" to find copper and other metals in high concentrations in my oil (as a result of bearing, etc. wear) thus indicating my engine is wearing itsself out at a rapid pace.
My thoughts, IF these engines supposedly die due to bearing wear and failure, or some other accelerated metal wear type condition, then that metal would HAVE to be present in the oil. Accordingly, absent metal in the oil, I have no wear problems. If, at some later date, I start seeing higher levels of wear metals, then I'd expect I had a problem brewing. If that day never comes, then I'd expect my 4.2 to run as long as most any other motor - assuming regular care and feeding.
OBTW..I know about the head gasket issue...my oil tests showed 0% contamination by water or antifreeze.
Now, perhaps the 4.2 does fail at a higher than average rate. But, at the risk of sounding self-centered, I am concerned about MY 4.2. And as it stands right now, I have no reason to think it should fail any time soon.
I have been perfectly happy with my truck and the 4.2. Maybe I'm part of a rare breed.
I solicit serious comments and thoughts.
Thanks in advance,
Brian A

[doodaa]

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 12-Sep-02 AT 04:30*PM (EST)]Based on what I've read it's not metal contamination you should be worried about in your oil - it's coolant. The bearing failures I've read about were all after sudden coolant contamination of the oiling system... IS there any way to predict gasket failure? I'm not that good a mechanic... Apparently there were some production problems (recall issued?) with the torquing of the timing cover gasket on '97 and early '98 models of the 4.2L as well as some intake manifold gaskets on some (don't know years) that allow coolant to leak into the number one cylinder causing hydrolock and bending a rod. Both motors that use this block, the 3.8L in 94 and up Mustangs and '89-'97 T'Birds have a "reputation" for blowing head gaskets, though I don't see as much evidence (online research only) of the problem on the 4.2 possibly because it uses a newer head design. Reputations are made by people talking and sometimes have merit and sometimes don't....

fwiw

[bighogman]

I have the sam setup as yours. The only problem I have is the excessive oil consumption when I pull the 5000 pund travel trailer. I uses a quart per 400 miles. The normal use is about a quart every 4000 miles (I change oil at 5000 mile intervals). I do not like the knocking sound when it works real hard. I will get a new truck when this hits 90,000 miles.

Chris

[tw]

[BlueOvalFitter]

Brian,i have recently made a freind at my local Ford dealership.Hes a Ford tech,and has been with Ford 18yrs.He told me Ford worked the bugs out of the 4.2 at or around the 99yr motors.He says he sees the 4.2 in there reguarly due to neglect.Examples,not changing oil at the rite intervals,dogging the you know what out of it,not flushing the coolant system,and running them on fault codes for long periods of time.He says to stay on the preventive maintenance of oil changes,coolant,trans fluid,etc. and you should not see any problems.He did make one point clear tho,if your manual says to run 5w20 or 5w30 you better!Ford designed the bearing clearances to meet these oil weights.Hope this info has helped any.

[BrianA]

FatF150,
Thanks for the response. I have wondered about the oil weight issue. I have always run 10W-30 in my truck and so far had no reason to question that choice. I'm gonna do some more snooping and asking. I might wind up changing to the 5W-?? (Not sure exactly what my owner's manual calls for ).
I wonder...are the bulk of the problems with the earlier motors chronic wear? Acute failure? or a combination of both?

Thanks,
Brian A

[BlueOvalFitter]

My friend at Ford said the early 4.2s were a good motor,but the timing cover was the down fall of them.Ford under torqued the timing cover bolts which lead to coolant leaks.Some leaks were internal,some were external,which later turned to internal,going into the oil pan and wiping out the bearings.The recall came a little too late for alot of these motors and the ones that did leak and were fixed during the recall, later failed due to pitted bearings from coolant leaks.Some were fortunate to have the recall done with no signs of leakage ,even before the recall was done.Thats the catagory i'm in. He also says there were a few out there with oil pump problems,but i did not go into detail asking about that.