I posted this in the V10 section, but it was recommended I post in here as well. I thought I'd start a thread that showed my progression of trying different oils/filters/change intervals and their subsequent effects on an oil analysis. I had posted my most recent oil report from Black Stone Labs on a different thread, but I think this deserves its own spotlight.



Starting from right to left:
05/6/2017. This oil change was done as a guess. I have no idea what oil weight or brand the previous owner had used, nor did I have solid information on when the last time the oil change was done. The only thing I know was that a Purolator filter was used. Overall, not bad.

12/12/2017. This run was using Motorcraft 5W-20 Semi-Synthetic and a Motorcraft oil filter. Note the high levels of insolubles, meaning the filter wasn't keeping up.

5/29/2018. This run was using Valvoline Full Synthetic 5W-30 and a Napa Gold filter. The Napa filter did a much better job than the Motorcraft. What I noticed using the 5W-30 was startup clatter lasted a lot longer before the thicker oil could work its way up to the valves and build pressure in the rest of the system.

2/25/2019 (most recent, and the one that this report is referencing). Running Amsoil 0W-20 and a Napa Gold filter has yielded the best results so far, even going 1,000 miles further between oil changes. This will likely be the combination I stick with for the rest of this truck's life. I will do one more sample after a couple of long road trips towing a 5K pound travel trailer this summer.

 

Good idea to do the UOA's to see which oil/filter combo works best for your engine under your drive cycle conditions. Did you open the used filters to see what they caught & how well the components held up internally?

 

I've done that in the past enough to find that NAPA Gold filters are consistently top quality and hold up well, even during extended OCIs. Due to the higher levels of insolubles (really, not that bad, but enough to stand out) while running the Motorcraft filter, I went back to NAPA (Wix). Back to your question, though, I have not cut open a filter for the Super Duty yet. Most of my early filter testing was done on a 1GR Tacoma.

 

Seeing as how the Motorcraft oil & filter run came After the unknown previous owners run of unknown oil & filter, maybe the Motorcraft oil was doing a tidy up, or maybe the Motorcraft filter developed a tear in its filter media, so that's why I was interested in if you'd cut any filters open to check how they held up.
Do you remember what the Motorcraft filter model number was? Or if you still have it for recycling, maybe consider cutting that puppy open to check its media for seam tears or fold tears at both end cap glue lines at the first Wide top & bottom folds either side of the media seam seal. The Purolator & Motorcraft filters have long had Wide fold spacing either side of the media seam seal that likes to tear right at the end cap glue line. Some filter models seem to have a higher failure rate, especially longer media models. Kinda looks like maybe a flapping/flexing of those first two Wide spaced folds. Maybe they happen to be tuned to a particular oil pump pulse width, so just flex away until they tear. I've not found any tears on my family fleet that use the Motorcraft FL-1A, or FL-400S. I did find a tear in a Purolator Pure One equivalent to the FL-400s. It only had about 1900 miles/one year service, on my gently driven 94 3.8L Taurus, so I was surprised to find the tear at the usual spot with so few gently driven miles. Anyway a media failure could account for a slight rise in the insoluble count

 

OP ... GREAT idea!! Glad you are taking the time to calculate the best oil/filter for your needs. This is going to be a FUN thread to follow.


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