Ford recommends semi-syn (whatever that is, think semi-boneless) 5w-30 for 3.5L EcoBoost motors. The required Ford spec is WSS-M2C946-A.

Home Depot has 5 qt jugs of Shell 5w-30 on sale this week for $9.88. Not listed as semi-boneless (oops, I mean semi-syn), but the jug specifically states that it meets Ford WSS-M2C946-A.

My guess is that all oils meeting the Ford spec has some syn in them, even if they do not say so.

I suspect that as Shell now owns and sells many brands of oil (Shell, Havoline, Quaker State, Pennzoil, Rotella) at several price points, they do not mark their cheapest conventional oil as containing any syn so that they can up-market you to a more expensive bottle or jug.

 

Yes the Formula Shell oil meets the Ford spec and is licensed as such, I believe.

There are a lot of conventional oils that actually meet the Ford spec and are licensed ... examples:
Formula Shell
QS
Mobil
Castrol
Valvoline
Pennzoil
all you have to do is look up their website, and then find their PDS (product data sheet); most of them will clearly show which are approved for the applications.

Ford "recommends" lot of stuff, but they "require" things meet certain specifications to be in compliance with warranty criteria. You only need to meet the "requirements"; not the recommendations. For example, for several years for "recommended" BP gasoline right on the fuel filter caps! Does that mean I void warranty by using Mobil or Shell gas? No way. Same goes for lubes and filters; as long as the products meet the specs, Ford will honor warranty. If they don't meet specs, then secondary warranty from the maker of the product may apply; need to assure yourself of this by checking their website info for the limited warranty statements. (Example ... Amsoil is not Ford approved, but it will warrant their lubes and filter in the applications as long as you follow the AMSOIL recommendations).

Read and learn about the Magnuson/Moss warranty act at this FTC site:
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/busi...l-warranty-law
Warranty coverage is all about setting limits and conditions on otherwise full warranties. Engineering specifications which reveal themselves in products (lube specs, filter specs, etc) assure that if aftermarket products are used, they will provide the required level of acceptable performance to ensure the OEM warranty conditions are in force. This is essentially, at it's core, a game of who has the burden of proof.

Three examples of applications:
- Using a lube in your engine that neither Ford or the lube maker show application for: using an 80w-90 gear oil in your crankcase of your 6.2L gas v-8 Super Duty is not a good idea. It does not meet the Ford spec. While you can use it, if you should suffer a problem, Ford has the ability to deny warranty coverage based upon a product YOU choose that did not meet Ford spec's for the application. Hence, you can attempt to hinder them in arbitration or in court, but you're likely to loose because the burden of proof of acceptability of the lube is upon YOU, not Ford. YOU have to prove that using gear oil in your engine was a good idea. Further, even the maker of the lube is not going to cover your loss; they don't spec a gear oil for the engine either. The burden of proof in legal proceedings is totally on you. You and your hunches against a room full of lawyers, engineers and such. Good luck with that!
- Using a lube that meets WSS-M2C946-A and is licensed as such means that as long as you can show Ford the product you used was within their spec, the burden of proof is upon Ford to show how it was your fault that the engine failure happened. Kind of hard for Ford to prove your oil caused a problem when it was on their approved list to use in the first place! Even the lube maker is going to point at Ford and make them pay up, as long as the lube was approved by Ford for that application, and the lube evidence shows that the lube was made in compliance with the spec.
- Using a lube that does not meets Ford's spec by license, but is otherwise approved and recommended for use in the application by the maker. Example would be Amsoil, RL, RP, etc. These companies typically do not seek out the paid licenses of the corporate OEMs; those are expensive to get approved. However, they still market lube products for the applications; they are willing to offer their own warranty conditions based on using their product as granted by them. So if a lube-related issue occured, Ford (the OEM) would not want to pay, but the lube maker (aftermarket) would pay, IF the failure is truly a result of the lube failure and not a mechanical failure. This can, at times, become a long and cumbersome legal trail. Ford denies coverage for a non-approved lube. Amsoil blames Ford for making a bad component(s) (such as cam lobes not properly heat treated, bad journal bearings, etc). This can get VERY LONG in terms of delays because each company will want to inspect the lubes, the parts, etc. This can play out for months and months. Only if the lube were proven beyond any doubt to be incorrect would the lube maker want to pay up. (example: If RL put gear oil into the engine oil bottle by mistake, and then you put that "product" into service with full belief that you had done the right thing ... I'm not saying this has happened; it's just an example of how the situation might play out ...)


Warranty coverage is first and foremost about limiting liability. After that, it's about burden of proof.

 

By the time I got done reading your post, the sale had expired.

 

 

Think along the lines of lubricated, non-lubricated, and ribbed for her pleasure.

Once upon a time, most Ford, Lincoln, Mercury were spcified to use 5W-30. Then a TSB was issued to service those cars with 5W-20. Now, a lot of the car's owners manuals also specify that 0W-20 is an alternative weight.








Wal*Mart SuperTech has the best pricing. Amazon has Amazon Basics & MileSyn coming close. SuperTech & Amazon Basics are both bottled by Warren Distribution, and similar in specs. MilesSyn from Miles Lubricants appears to be comparable at the same price point.



Tell us if something is incorrectSuper Tech High Mileage Fs 5w-30 5q Dx
Average rating:0out of5stars, based on0reviewsWrite a review
Super Tech
Walmart # 565559593
$15.98

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AmazonBasics High Mileage Motor Oil - Synthetic Blend - 5W-30 - 1 Quart-6 Pack

by AmazonBasics
4.7 out of 5 stars 80 customer reviews

| 23 answered questionsPrice:$16.99 Free Shipping for Prime Members

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Downloads CAD Models, MSDS, Manuals
by MILES LUBRICANTS

MILESYN SXR 5W30, FULL SYNTHETIC DEXOS1 GEN2, API GF-5/SN PLUS,5 GALLON PAIL

4.3 out of 5 stars 17 customer reviews

| 3 answered questionsAvailable from these sellers.
New (10) from $80.92 & FREE shipping.

 

If you are driving a 2002 vehicle, you are way out of warranty, so what Ford recommends is totally optional.

The only reason Ford went to 5w-20 was fuel economy. Later model cars (like my 2017 EB Expy), Ford went back to 5w-30.

Read my post regarding full syns. For most people, they are a waste of money.

Home Depot oil was a brand name (Shell) and had the correct Ford spec (for my Expy) written right on the bottle. No reason in the world to pay a dime more.

 

Is there a strategy to stockpile motor oil, since it doesn't expire? What about filters? Those ever go on sale with a coupon?

 

I've stock piled a boat load of Valvoline MaxLife 5W-30 in 5 quart jugs from Amazon for just under $18 each---its what I use in two of my E250's, both with over 250K miles each. Filters I buy Motorcraft FL-820S by the dozen though Amazon or eBay, about $45 for all 12 in bulk packaging. This is not only super convenient for me but a bit of cost savings too.

With my reman'd Ford 5.4 I'll use Motorcraft branded 5W-20 bought straight from the dealership--good price and with a pending warranty on that engine I think its smart to use Ford oil bought from Ford.

 

Double post, edited to remove repeated text.

 

Should read "Ford recommends WSS-M2C946-A for the 3.5 EcoBoost engines."
How the refiner/blender gets there makes no difference. If it meets the spec, it meets it.
By co-incidence, Ford's oil is a semi-synthetic. It's a fine oil, made by Conoco-Phillips.
SOPUS does own and make Pennzoil, Quaker State, and Shell branded including Rotella. They have zero to do with Havoline, which is a Chevron brand.
Shell is an excellent "sleeper"oil, that performs well. It was just a while back that Menards had their full syn on sale at 2.49 a quart.
Contrary to popular myth, turbo's don't require semi or full synthetic oil, especially the EcoBoost, which also shed heat into the cooling system.

 

Speaking of Havoline, my local Walmart now has regular 5W30 SN+ in a 6 qt bladder box "Smart Change" package they call it, for $14.97. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Havoline-...-6qt/504353470
Regular Havoline SN+ PDS https://cglapps.chevron.com/sdspds/PDSDetailPage.aspx?docDataId=533204&docFormat=PDF, says its a synthetic blend & back in 2015 they Really improved/raised the flash point to 446 F the 5w30 recipe. So 6qts for $14.97 = $2.49 qt, not bad for a SN+ syn blend. I tried one on the Ranger & the High Mileage recipe on the Wifes Neon & they pour just fine, no glug & there are punch out hand grips on the side if you want to use them. I decanted my spare qt first, to make it easier to hold the box & pour into my fill funnel & be sure the right amount went in.

The High Mileage syn blend 5w30 recipe in the 6qt smart change pack is $15.47=$2.58 qt here https://www.walmart.com/ip/Havoline-...-6qt/271409815

Its handy packing if your sump takes 6qts, so you don't have to buy a spendy extra qt, or if like our Neon. it'll need topping up over the next 6 months OCI, so we have an extra qt to do so without having to buy an extra overpriced 1qt container to have on hand.

I've saved some old Wide mouth Havoline 1qt bottles from years ago, that are easy to pour into & out of, to use as handy top up containers, so I don't have to hold onto the recycleable 6qt carboard box.
To recycle, just remove the inside plastic bladder & recycle the outside cardboard box.

 

An even better deal than the Shell that I bought is at Tractor Supply. It has 5 qt. jugs of house brand 5w-30 SN oil for $7.88.

Tractor Supply often has really good deals on oil. Checking with them first before buying might save you some money.

 

Some tractor supply locations have the 8 quart jugs of 5w20 and 5w30 on clearance for 4.88 right now. Hard to beat the price.

 

Pardon my ignorance. I live in a major metropolitan area. Heart of The City. I've never heard of Tractor Supply. I had to look it up. Alas, there is not a store near me. So I will be missing out on this deal. However, I don't feel as if I'm missing out at all. It looks like an acceptable motor oil. Just not worth it for me to drive over an hour to buy. $23.99 for a 5 quart jug isn't a great price either.

Traveller Conventional 5W-20 Motor Oil, 5 qt.

SKU # 125139599

$9.99

Traveller Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oil, 5 qt.

SKU # 126495499

Product price

$23.99

PHYSICAL TESTSStandard/ranges-bAverage-eTraveller TBN, mg KOH/g, (ASTM D2896)6.1 to 8.39.27.7 Viscosity @ 100ēC, cSt, (ASTM D445)9.3 to 12.510.510.9 Viscosity @ 40ēC, cSt, ASTM D44555.8 to 65.258.462.2 Viscosity Index (ASTM D2270)156 to 169167.4168 Viscosity @ -30ēC mPa s (cP) (ASTM D5293)6,600 Max4,4874,604 Volatility, mass % loss, 1 hr, @ 250ēC (ASTM D5800)15 Max9.912.1ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS-cAdditives Calcium1,570 to 2,4601,9962,333 Magnesium, ppm6 to 4632716 Phosphorus, ppm600 to 800691669 Zinc, ppm766 to 868861851 Molybdenum, ppm<1 to 26972<1 Barium, ppm<1<1<1 Boron, ppm<1 to 23786198 Silicon, ppm-d3 to 966 Potassium, ppm9 to 1767 Manganese, ppm<1<1<1 Titanium, ppm<1 to 114<1<1 Copper, ppm<1<1<1 Sodium, ppm5 to 45466<5 Vanadium, ppm<1<1<1Contaminants Silver, ppm<1<1<1 Aluminum, ppm<1 to 312 Chromium, ppm<1<1<1 Iron, ppm<1 to 111 Nickel, ppm<1<1<1 Lead, ppm<1<1<1 Antimony, ppm<1<1<1 Tin, ppm<1<1<1a- Click here for product label.

b- Standards, shown in yellow are established by API, SAE and others. Ranges, shown in green, represent the high and low data for the 7 major brands of synthetic API SN ILSAC GF-5 tested in February 2013.

c-Test Method for metal analysis is ASTM ASTM D5185.

d- Although silicon is used as an antifoam additive in lubricants, concentrations above 7ppm have been linked to contamination from abrasive material,

e- Average of the 7 major brands of synthetic API SN ILSAC GF-5 tested in February 2013.

Traveller Synthetic 5W-30, API SNThe American Petroleum Institute sets forth a number of laboratory and engine tests required to meet their performance specification. Although laboratory tests alone cannot be used to establish if an engine oil meets API specifications they can be used to determine if it doesn't.


Traveller SyntheticThe viscometrics meet the required targets for a 5W-30.Viscosity @ 100ēC, cSt, (ASTM D445)
This text is replaced by the Flash movie. Viscosity @ -30ēC mPa s (cP) (ASTM D5293)
This text is replaced by the Flash movie.Click here for more on chart and Viscosity@100ēC,cStClick here for more on chart and Viscosity @ -30ēC


VolatilityPhosphorusThe volatility meets the requirements for an API SN ILSAC GF-5 designation.
This text is replaced by the Flash movie.
The phosphorus content meets the requirements
for an API SN ILSAC GF-5 designation.
This text is replaced by the Flash movie.Click here for more on chart and VolatiltyClick here for more on chart and phosphorus

 

As explained in another one of my posts, spending $24 for full syn when you can buy "regular" oil for $8 is a waste of money for the vast majority of people. That is unless, of course, you are concerned about the next guy.

But if it makes you feel good, go for it.