I run any sl grade oil in my 302. It has 150,000plus miles on it and needs rebuilt. I go with whats cheapest. If i had a new truck or a fresh rebuilt engine i would run mobil 1. no oil is better. the differance is at startup, when most engine wear happens. mobil 1 protects the engine at startup a lot better than regular oils. mobil will make any engine oil leaks worse, though. my next engine to get rebuilt will get mobil 1, but you have to break in the engine with conventional oil or the rings wont seat properly because the synthetic oil is so slippery it wont let the rings wear into the cylinder walls.You cant change your oil too much. Just remember oil is cheaper than engine parts.

 

I have read in several magazines and oil company websites that the color of the oil doesn't really tell the story other than maybe the detergents are doing their job.

I have had cars that kept the oil honey color for the full 5000 to 7,500 mile change period. I have had cars that were black after a couple thousand once they had over say 30K on the clock.

I am on another website where this same question pops up once in awhile and owners with identical cars will have results all over the ball park as far as what color the oil is.

Unless there is an obvious problem, the oil color is just gonna be that color for your car. The only time I would worry is if the color sufddenly started to change, or if it started to smell funny. I always sniff my cars fluids, yeah I get a lot of weird comments, but you can tell a lot from smells, just ask any dog, ruff. Clean oil smells nice.

Course old worn out engines are another story. The oil IS probably dirty. My experience is that really dirty oil has a more chocolaty color than black and sometimes has that rainbow color and usually a bad smell.

A compression check can tell you a lot about things that might color your oil prematurely.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

 

it QUICKLY goes from a light
>beige to almost coal black. I figured that the oil is
>cleaning something inside!

Maybe your oil is turning coal black so soon because it's el cheap-o oil.

 

"There is a safer modern way to clean the inside of your engine using ester technology"

Ester and Diester are a grade of synthetic oil. Their strong points is their solvency, as you said they clean things up well. Their weak points, they like paint and seals (cause the seals to swell). Infact some synthetic oil manufactures will blend a Diester or ester with PAO. Pure PAO will shrink a seal so they add the ester groups to counteract that.

So be careful with the ester!

 

Another possibility is that gas is entering the crankcase from the fuel pump. How is your gas mileage?

 

No offense intended here, but I'd stongly advise against using ATF in any engine. This is really asking for major trouble.

ATF is not designed or intended to handle the extremly high psi loads seen in places like cam lobes to lifter faces, rod journal bearing to crankshaft or ring faces to cylinder walls; just to name few. One can easily do irrepairable metal-to-metal damage in a matter of minutes running ATF in an engine.

The chemical properties of ATF may also react to the babbit/tin flash coating on most crank/rod bearings thus destroying or weakening the bearing faces.

Running ATF in an engine is really inviting disaster. There are quality name-brand products on the market strictly designed to correctly mix w/ SAE engine oils and accomplish a fair amount of internal engine cleaning if that's the goal.

Hope this helps.

John A.






>Have you tried the ATF trick? Apparently, since ATF is so
>detergent, you can drain the engine, refill with ATF +
>filter, run it for 10-15 minutes, drain, repeat, until the
>ATF comes out clean. It would seem that it's a lot better
>than runnining those harsh engine flushes.
>
>XXL

 

>Hey bronco
>just out of curiosity, i went outside and pulled the
>dipstick and guess what? the crap that is in there smells
>really foul; wreaks of a strong gasoline odor! I know the
>float is not leaking nor am i running excessively rich! I
>wonder if this is what is oxidizing the oil
>I couldnt imagine what would happen if i sent a sample of my
>oil out to be tested! The lab would prob tell me that my
>vehicle is an environmental AND health hazzard! Im going to
>change the oil sunday again and i think im gonna stuck some
>pennzoil pure base junk in there and see how long that
>takes to turn black. guys, FYI, last time I pulled the valve
>covers, I had thick caked on junk all around the valves. I
>chipped most of the hard stuff out and cleaned the rest off
>with a paintbrush and kerosene. It looks pretty clean now
>but yet the darn oil comes out murky....gotta love the ole
>fords....
>
>regards
>~~NUT~~

I just don't even know where to start w/ this one. In my eyes you have layed down the evidence that running cheap oil cost more in the long run.
In your first post you stated something to the affect "aren't I preventing build-up by changing my oil so frequently?" Well, no you are not. Build up in caused primarily by a low flash point (low boiling point) and a cheap additive package which results in more particulate (real small engine parts) accumulating in your oil. Although these features all become worse w/ extended use your oil most likely starts it's life very low in these regards. All that gunk in your engine is a direct result of the cheap products which you use and could of been prevented with the use of a decent brand of oil. Do yourself a favor and spend $1.29 a quart for some Valvoline in your next vehicle. And change it every 5K miles. Just because your engine does not self destruct does not mean the oil is good stuff. Obviously any oil is capable of keeping the average engine running or the lawsuits (from blown engines) alone would negate any profits the oil company had made selling cheap products. At this point, do not attempt to flush your engine. The crap you stir up will cause you more trouble than just letting it be.

By the way, my '99 PSD has synthetic in it going on 7K miles. These engines are particlarily hard on their engine oil due to the high compression and other factors. My oil is almost as clear as it was the day I put it in. Coincidence? I don't think so.
Their is nothing wrong w/ looking for a bargain but like most things in life "you get what you pay for."

 

Well guys
I really dont know what to say> Just the other day, I had this truck equipped with a nice towing outfit and trailer. I posted the details in the towing forum. Not even a day later, as fate would have it, I have this severe regular popping noise out the drivers side exhaust pipe. I posted the details to this problem in the FE engine forum. I dont know what to say because THIS started shortly after the aggressive ATF treatment. I know that I shouldnt think negative here, but it doesnt sound too good. I dont know if i should just run it and forget it (wear ear muffs while driving) or delve a lil deeper! I hate to think that I accelerated wear n damage in an effort to tidy up the inside of the engine.
regards
Ben

 

Please describe your aggressive ATF treatment.

Could the noise be an exhaust leak?

 

To Quote my former (retired) Mechanic:
"You can run any type of oil - it just depends on how often you want to change it! Synthetics only allow you to go longer between oil changes"
As for personal experience - I have seen a few engines spin cranks on cheap oil. Spend the extra 0.50 cents for a quality oil.
As my Grandfather used to say - "Sure, you can buy cheap oil, but the money you save won't cover the cost of the rebuild. Think of it as insurance for your engine."
Just some thoughts.

Keep it Rubber Side Down!

 

aggressive ATF treatment consisted of
running 2 full quarts of type F for close to 1000 miles then I change it. I did this the last 2 changes. As for an exhaust leak--i know what they sound like; that is a sound that you can never forget once you hear it. This popping noise is not like the tap tap tap tap tap of a manifold leak. This is a definite POP POP POP POP POP POP POP. I wish I could attach a WAV file here. I dont know--i think that im just gonna run it and see! Thanks again everyone! yr help is appreciated!
regards
Ben

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 05-Jan-03 AT 01:06 AM (EST)]Yes your ATF flush was aggressive on three points. First using Type F. I don't think it has as much lubrication qualities as Mercon or Dextron. The other thing is using two quarts. The third was going 1000 miles!

Does the popping frequency increase with RPM's? It could be noisy lifters or gasket leak in my opinion.

You may want to do a proper flush to get any residual ATF or varnish out of the crankcase.

 

Rg--
the popping is most audible while it is idling after a hard run through the gears. I was thinking maybe a burnt valve? Wouldnt a burnt exhaust valve cause a popping out the exhaust? How can I rule out this possiblity? You have a valid point about the exhaust leak for sure. Just to have peace of mind here, what kind of test can I run to disprove or confirm my suspicion? (ie burnt valve??)
thanks
ben

 

Sorry Ford_Nut, I'm just a wannabe shade tree mechanic so I probably can't offer any professional advice. With that said, I will try my best to offer my unprofessional opinions.

If the noise increases with RPM's then it is likely a lifter, and I suppose it could be a valve. Still can't rule out an exhaust leak but since it shows up when you drive it hard and then are idling, maybe it's something else. If you are running rich, you could have raw fuel in the exhaust and that would tend to heat up the exhaust manifold, and then when you idle it could be the sounds of metal cooling. Just another possibility to throw out there.