I just got a new Ford F-150 with a 5.4L and the dealer said to use a 5w20 synthetic oil in it.

Only problem is I cant find one. Anyone using this and what is good and what is a bad choice?

 

Motorcraft 5w-20 is semi-synthetic, seen good UOA on BOBISTHEOILGUY.com from this oil. Mobil 1 0w-20 is a full synthetic. MC 5w-20 can be found at WallyWorld for $1.77 qt

 

I get the Motorcraft semi-synthetic 5w-20 at the Ford dealership. It was $7.50 plus tax for the 5 quart jug.

 

Anyone running the new Mobil 1 0W-20??

I've been running the Motorcraft 5W-20 for my V-10's 30,000 miles. Thinking of switching over.

Edmo

 

In an 01 Escape. I've posted uoa reports here previously comparing Motorcraft and Castrol 5w20 in that vehicle, so the 3 way comparison will be fun. Unfortunately my son drives the Escape and doesn't put a lot of miles on it (only 22k in 2 1/2 years) so it'll be quite awhile before I test the M1.

On 2nd thought...son driving...low miles...

 

Wal-Mart has the Motorcraft semi-synthetic 5w-20 for $1.77/qt

 

At the Ford dealership it comes out to $1.50 per qrt. What is interesting, I thought that this oil would cause some oil consumption. It is almost like water when pouring it in. But in almost 3000 miles it hasn't used a drop.

 

I had a 01 before my 04 and put 70k on it. No oil consumption between changes, 9k so far on the 04 and again no oil consumption.

 

4.2L with 37,000. Amsoil 5W-20. 5,000 mile intervals. zero oil consumption.

 

I have thought about using 5w20 in my '99 Expy, but with the head gasket leaking the way it does it would probably make it worse??

 

Couple of things here guys.

Ford does not spec a 5w-20 synthetic. It says to use an oil in the viscosity range of 5w-20 meeting spec 153-H. I am not aware of an oil available in the US in the 5w-20 that doesn't meet Fords 153-H spec. Most are synthetic blends.

In regards to Mobil One. HT/HS is directly related to bearing wear. Engineers have agreed that the bar for "normal" wear is 2.8. M1 5w-20 is at 2.6 which is at the absolute bottom of the range to stay in spec. The higher the number the better. If you want to run M1, use their 5w-30. It is a thin 30wt at temp, usually shears back to a heavy 20w and over mileage, oxidizes back to a thin 30w. It is one of Mobils better oils. Otherwise, in the viscosity range of 5w-20, most any of the blends will out perform the M1.

Rukmns, you may want to try some of the high mileage oils like Maxlife or any brand you prefer. The esters in the oil may just swell the gasket enough to slow or stop your leak.

Acadianbob, I hope you are aware that the Amsoil 5w-20 is a dino oil, Gp III to be exact. It is not a PAO basestock like the rest of their product line. It is not hardly worth the price you are paying. Some of Amsoils products are fantastic, this isn't one of them. Might want to consider an over the counter brand or moving out of the 5w-20 range and into the 5w-30 Amsoil product line.

 

Thanks for the advice Flash, I'll try the high mileage oil next change. Just put Havoline 5w-30 in last weekend.

 

Flash, you are probably right about the HT/HS numbers. That level of technical understanding is beyond me. But the limited number of wear reports I've found on M1 0W20 oil are showing iron and lead wear numbers as good or better than most other 5W20 oil brands. If the low HT/HS number generated higher bearing wear, shouldn't M1 0W20 UOA reports generally show higher concentrations of Fe & Pb levels? Isn't there a connection here, or am I making a faulty assumption? I summarized about 40 UOA posted on the BIOG site for 5W20 oils. They fell into 2 distinct groups, oil analyses taken while the engines were still going through new-engine break in, and those taken after the engine appeared to be broken in. I calculated the 6 wear metals for each oil report on a ppm/1000 mile basis. In both cases, the M1 0W20 UOA reports were about the same (and, in many cases, better) than the other oils reported, like Motorcraft, Amsoil, Castrol, Pennzoil, and so on. And the 0W20 numbers were better than the averages for M1 5W30. I know this narrow focus on wear rates isn't the only consideration in choosing oils, but to a degree, it is "real life" performance....as opposed to what you'd expect or hope to get in an oil from just reading the technical data.

Anyway, I've got all this in a zipped excel file if you'd like a copy. The one conclusion I came away with after compiling all that junk, is that XW20 oils, regardless of brand, are tough little hombres. As with all things in life, there are exceptions, but on average, they put up wear numbers as low as most other oils, conventional or synthetic, or other viscosities....0W30, 5W30 or 10W30. I've certainly lost my early fear of using this "thin" oil in my Escape.

And yes, my wife thinks I've been totally nuts now after copying down all those oil reports.