Regular or synthetic
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 46
Likes: 4
From: Ocala
Regular or synthetic
I have a 2000 F350 4x4 7.3l diesel, 308,000 miles I have religiously changed the oil every 5000 miles since I bought it 20+ years ago with 60,000 miles on it. I was chatting with a fellow the other day about the truck and he admonished me that I would be foolish to use anything but synthetic oil given the age and mileage. What say you?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 815
Likes: 296
From: KY
Todays "syns" are basically highly refined dino oil. If it were mine Id stick to, dependent on weather for weights, Delo, Rotella or Delvac in your favorite weight. When a 7.3 can run 15/40 delo or rotella for 500K miles Id say its plenty good.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 994
Likes: 367
From: Republic of Texas
Here are some facts...
As soon as you put an additive pack in any Dinosaur based oil (that is all of them not specifically man made), you now have a synthetic blend oil. There is no other way around this. T5 Rotella is a synthetic blend just by doing that very thing, they admit it on the jug.
Now the price difference between T5 or T6 is not very much, performance of the two for most of us will not be noticed if staying with 15W-40 unless operating north of 60° north or south 60° south.
Feel free to switch back and forth, or stick with one or the other. You have a good old fashioned (kind of) Dino fuel burning engine built the older school way. It will appreciate a change of the lubricating and injector firing fluid called oil about every 3000 to 5000 miles.
As soon as you put an additive pack in any Dinosaur based oil (that is all of them not specifically man made), you now have a synthetic blend oil. There is no other way around this. T5 Rotella is a synthetic blend just by doing that very thing, they admit it on the jug.
Now the price difference between T5 or T6 is not very much, performance of the two for most of us will not be noticed if staying with 15W-40 unless operating north of 60° north or south 60° south.
Feel free to switch back and forth, or stick with one or the other. You have a good old fashioned (kind of) Dino fuel burning engine built the older school way. It will appreciate a change of the lubricating and injector firing fluid called oil about every 3000 to 5000 miles.
Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 2,379
Likes: 994
From: Chambersburg, PA
5000 mile oil change intervals is fine on Dino oil. The HEUI engines sheer oil due to the high pressure oil side of the engine. Synthetic oils are more resistant to sheer and will last longer. If you go further than 5k on your OCI, then maybe consider changing to a synthetic. My $.02.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,100
Likes: 1,635
I ran my '99 on Ford Motorcraft 15-40 the entire time I had it and had no issues that weren't caused by me. Ran it 5k religiously.
My 6.0's I ran either on Motorcraft 15-40 with Arcoil friction modifier, OR Rotella T6 full synthetic. I bought them both with >60k miles on them and had zero issues switching.
The big concern I always hear is that 'synthetic oil makes your engine leak' and it's just not true. What IS true is that if you ALREADY have an engine oil leak, synthetic oil can make it worse, as it tends to clean deposits up, thus opening up whatever is leaking. But creating new leaks? It just won't happen. I have ran the vast majority of my vehicles on synthetic oil and NONE of them ever developed an oil leak.
My 6.0's I ran either on Motorcraft 15-40 with Arcoil friction modifier, OR Rotella T6 full synthetic. I bought them both with >60k miles on them and had zero issues switching.
The big concern I always hear is that 'synthetic oil makes your engine leak' and it's just not true. What IS true is that if you ALREADY have an engine oil leak, synthetic oil can make it worse, as it tends to clean deposits up, thus opening up whatever is leaking. But creating new leaks? It just won't happen. I have ran the vast majority of my vehicles on synthetic oil and NONE of them ever developed an oil leak.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,665
Likes: 986
From: Near Yosemite CA
I've run Delo 15/40 in all my 7.3's with nary an issue, my first Ex was at 230k+ when I got divorced and the ex kept the Ex lol, I changed the oil in it every 3-5k, afaik it's still goin, my 02 F350 I bought with 60k on it I think, after I drove it home I changed the oil and trans and used the Delo, it's now at 157k+ with no issues, heck ALL my fleet gets the Delo 15/40, the biggest thing to longevity, IMO, is maintenance... change the oil and filter every 3-5k, about every 4th or 5th oil change I'll do the fuel filter if I remember.. lol too bad the longevity of the transmission isn't as good as the engine.
My thoughts on synthetic oil, and those that look down their nose at the "fools" that don't pay the extra for it for their engines sake... You do you pookie, and I'll do me
If you are runnin and gunnin a lot, and may not always be able to get your oil changed at the 3-5k interval, I do believe the syn type may hold up a bit better.. no personal experience, just from talking with my dad and his use of it.
My thoughts on synthetic oil, and those that look down their nose at the "fools" that don't pay the extra for it for their engines sake... You do you pookie, and I'll do me
If you are runnin and gunnin a lot, and may not always be able to get your oil changed at the 3-5k interval, I do believe the syn type may hold up a bit better.. no personal experience, just from talking with my dad and his use of it.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 1,587
Likes: 928
Synthetic oils do have some benefits in certain situations,,,, like say extreme cold,,,,, synthetics just flow better in extreme cold. But for the majority of us, good ole -fashion conventional oil will work just fine.
If you're going to be really pushing the engine in heavy towing, extreme temperature (high or low), drag racing, sled pulling, etc, then sure, maybe you'd see some of the benefits synthetic oils have, but if you're using the truck like a reasonable person, well, pick your poison, both conventional and synthetic will do just fine.
Personally the only thing I routinely run synthetic oil in is my wife's daily driver gasser SUV. That's because she's like most soccer moms, and doesn't really pay attention to anything vehicle related . She just turns the key (or in her case presses the start button), shifts into drive and goes. So for her car I "waste" a little bit of money on the top shelf synthetic oils because that poor car can use all the help it can get.
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If you're going to be really pushing the engine in heavy towing, extreme temperature (high or low), drag racing, sled pulling, etc, then sure, maybe you'd see some of the benefits synthetic oils have, but if you're using the truck like a reasonable person, well, pick your poison, both conventional and synthetic will do just fine.
Personally the only thing I routinely run synthetic oil in is my wife's daily driver gasser SUV. That's because she's like most soccer moms, and doesn't really pay attention to anything vehicle related . She just turns the key (or in her case presses the start button), shifts into drive and goes. So for her car I "waste" a little bit of money on the top shelf synthetic oils because that poor car can use all the help it can get.
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