drighten:

Just curious since, like Jeffman, I will be getting a newer truck soon ('03 SCrew 5.4) w/ about 25-30K Miles...

What makes it "prime" to switch to synthetics at 30K vs. 10, 20, or 40K? Perhaps I am reading too much into your response? The sooner the better for the switch, I would think.

TIA,

JF

Tallahassee, FL

 

Hi Auburnf150;

Yeah, you took the post too literally. What I meant by prime was that it was not too early and not too late. Generally, I would not switch one of my vehicles to synthetic before it had broken in and fully seated the piston rings, and this is usually noticeable if you pay attention to how the vehicle operates. This averages to be 5,000 to 6,000 miles from my own experience. Secondly, if a vehicle has really high mileage, such as 150,000 plus, I would discourage the change without careful examination of the engine. Some vehicles are fine to switch, but used vehicles which have not been regularly maintained are prone to leaking when they get the cleaning that synthetics perform. The newer designs, as from about 1996 to present, seem to be more tolerant of high mileage due to the gasket material composition and can be switched to synthetics with much higher mileage than in the past. They are coming from the factory with tighter specs and staying tight longer. Also they are LESS tolerant of no regular maintance and tend to start showing engine codes, etc. if not maintained. But as for 30K being better than 10K or 40K? That is not what I meant. I meant that with 30K it was unlikely that anything could be wrong with the engine which could preclude switching. Anywhere from about 6K to 200K could be just fine, but after about 6K, as you said, the sooner the better. Jeffman cannot put synth in at 6K, so he is prime at about 30K because that is what the vehicle has on it. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

 

"Did the axle ratio come up a B6 on the door sticker of the truck?"

Unfortunately no its 19, pobably why I got it for wholesale. The 3.55 is fine for me MPG wise though, but I'd like to throw in a LSD before winter.
I'll have to hook on Dad's trailer some time and see if it likes it or not. I'd probably have to get an actual CAT III hitch anyway. I think all it has is bumper hitch. There again I can do all that myself if I get to that point. At least its capable!!! That 5.4 is torquey, touch the pedal much in my gravel driveway and it leaves a nice strip w/o even trying to !!! Oops...

Any recomendations for DIY LSD upgrade kits???
Also who makes a good book for those? Chiltons, Hanes etc. I think Barns&Noble here in town sell Michelin.

THANX

jpn

 

Thanks for the detailed explaination!

I have 211,000 mi. on my '93 302 F150 w/ just good old fashioned Valvoline 10W30 and 10W40, so I'm trying to get up to speed on the newer engines and their ideal requirements.

I will deffinately run the synthetices when I acquire the '03!

JF

 

"who makes a good book for those? Chiltons, Hanes "

These guys are now the same cow. Chilton bought Haynes, or Haynes bought Chilton, but they make an okay book. Haynes used to say their books were based on a complete teardown of the vehicle, but I always liked Chilton better. The only better books are the big ones that shops buy, and they are really expensive. I think you have to subscribe to get them too.

Because of the small difference in cost, I would suggest a Cat IV hitch receiver when you put one on. Ford sells a wiring harness with both four and seven pin electrical connection that just plugs into your existing main harness under the back of the box, and replaces the one that's there now. You need to connect one wire at the drivers side taillight and everything else is just plug and play. Hitch receivers just bolt on with four or six bolts, and lots of ratchet turning.

 

drighten you seem to know a lot about switching to synthetic, what are the pluses and minuses of doing so? I've got a 2000 4.6L, auto, with about 36k on it. I only put ~8k on it per year as I've got a daily driver and only use my truck for camping trips and work around the house. Can you tell me what benefits I would see if I were to switch to synthetic? Thanks.

 

Hi mhamric;

The only minus I can see to using synthetics is cost.

Benefits would include less wear, and more efficient operation of your vehicle. Heat would go down, and lubrication would be better. Due to hold or stickiness of synth, cold starts would be less damaging. Fuel mileage could get better. With some synths, extended drain is possible, so at about 8K per year, instead of three oil changes, you could just do one. In the tranny, instead of 30K changes, you can go 100K, and heat in the tranny should drop as much as 50 degrees, which is about what a big extra cooler would do for you. Already, in Fords rear diffs, which come from the factory with synth, you can go 100K between changes, and you can do this with front diffs and transfer cases in 4X4s too. Synths have higher detergent values too so they keep components cleaner, and they resist moisture so that you don't get that white slimey stuff when you take off your oil cap. As you have probably seen from my posts, I prefer Amsoil, but that is because I can get it at wholesale prices, being an authorized dealer (although I don't sell much of it) but there are two others which are pretty good too, and maybe more. NEO and RedLine sell good products. Royal purple may or may not be as good - I have no experience with them, and of course Mobil 1, the oil from the company that wants you to use synthetics, but change them as often as dino oils, or they don't make enough money per year off you. All the others are of unknown quality to me, such as Castrate and Quack state. They are all late comers to the synth arena, and mostly use dino oil base stocks to formulate their 100??? percent synthetic oils.

I hope I have been of some help. I wholeheartedly recommend synthetics where they can be used appropriately, HOWEVER, I am the first to say that there are some times where they are not appropriate, such as in worn out engines, trannies, diffs etc. Synthetic fluids and lubes will not replace maintenance intervals, nor will they repair broken mechanical components. I have a neighbor who is a mechanic, and he tells all who will listen that synthetics will ruin their cars and trucks. One day, I sat down and had a long talk with him. During that talk we had a discussion on what he actually knew about synthetics, and that took about ten seconds. He knew nothing and so discarded any new ideas without prior investigation. Guess who does NOT work on my vehicles.

You can tell by the length of my post that this is one of my favourite topics.

 

Thanks for the info. I wish I had read this post yesterday as I just had the fluid in the tranny flushed...oh well, next time around I'll probably switch to synthetics...

Thanks again.