Can someone tell me what type of synthetic oil is used in the 09 5.4L forf engines? I'm considering having my oil changes done somewhere other than the dealership so I was wondering what brand and viscosity to request.

 

Ford uses their house brand, semi-synthetic blended Motorcraft 5W-20.

You'll soon get responses from other members to use this or that oil with this or that oil filter. Personally, I keep things simple. The dealer gets my oil change business. Why? It's $25 and I get the OEM oil filter and the proper oil, and a service entry into the log book (ie. Ford's computer system).

 

big_ole_truck is right. You'll likely get a lot of responses on this, as the great oil debate always burns big and hot...

I've heard that Motorcraft Syn Blend is actually pretty good oil, and for $25 the dealer's price is very reasonable. Especially since you're using 7 qts of oil.

That much oil means you can go even farther on oil changes. How long should you go? KIDDING!!!! We don't need the OCI debate on here, either!

 

Thanks for the information so far. My interest in changing to maybe another vendor is to reduce the cost of tire rotation at time of oil change. The dealers oil change is reasonable in price but the rape you at $7 at tire to rotate...

 

...So get your tires rotated somewhere else. I actually had Discount Tire rotate tires for me for FREE on a car that I bought new, with original tires still on it...although they did know me as a customer from 2-3 other cars with their tires on them.

Alternatively, if your truck is pretty new, I think Discount Tire will sell you their warranty and service package for OEM tires for like $12 each or something--this will cover rotation, BALANCING, and replacement of tires that you trash during the life of the tires (if you hit a sharp piece of metal, get a nail thru the sidewall, etc.).

There is no way that the dealer can *force* their service on you for things like tire rotation...just tell them you choose to do that yourself. Since tires are warranted by the mfr, there is no Ford warranty that could be impacted even if you never rotated tires.

I'm with the other guys on using Motorcraft syn blend oil and Motorcraft filters and prefer using the dealer for oil changes while my cars are under warranty. The face time with the service folks is useful.

George

 

What YoGeorge said.

I just got back from Discount Tires myself. I got the lifetime rotation and tire balancing for $68.00.

 

Rotate them yourself. Takes a few minutes...

 

Thanks again for all the information. Just to clarify my previous statement, the dealer isn't forcing tire rotations on my, I just prefer to do them at the 5k interval when I change my oil for conveniance. I have had good luck in the past buying lifetime tire balancing and rotation packages from merchants tire so I was just looking at something like that. Some good comments regarding the interaction with the ford service people though.

 

With all do respect...after spending lots of money to buy a truck, $7.00 is too much for you? sorry i just dont get it...

 

^^ Apparently someone's never heard the saying "take care of the pennies, and the dollars will watch out for themselves." How many people do you see in this country who are in financial ruin and are still smoking, drinking, chewing, eating fast food, etc.? $7 at a time (especially since it's really $28 plus tax at a time) can be a problem. If you rotate the tires properly at 5K intervals and keep the vehicle for 150K, $28 becomes $840 over the life of the vehicle (plus tax). That's a payment or two.

Discount Tire will rotate and check air for free. Rebalancing OEM tires, it depends... sometimes you'll be charged, sometimes you won't. I've been buying from them for a decade and have been through, oh, 20 sets of tires on various vehicles. They typically balance for me for free. They basically expect you to be honorable and buy your tires through them when it's time if you have them rotate the tires.

As far as oil changes, I love my dealer, but they're 20 miles away. The Kwik Kar is 2. For $20, they do a full service (check all fluids, vacuum, clean glass, etc.) if I provide my own oil and filter. My personal choice is Mobil 1 5W20 and a Motorcraft FL820S filter. That said, they're exorbitant on tire rotation, so I do that at a Discount Tire that has provided exceptional service in the past. To be fair, I typically don't get the tires rotated as often as I should - every 10K usually.

 

i wish my dealer did a oil change for 25 bucks mine is 45 plus tax and more for over 5 quarts..so i go to walmart get everthing i need which is motorcraft for like 17 bucks also if you want to paymore motorcraft does make a full synthetic oil

 

Sir, you stole my thunder but thank you for that response. Your getting some rep points.

Everyone here seems to think that MC oil and filters are the holy grail. I've only been using MC filters for the past year and a half that I've been a member on here and always used Fram in the past with Mobil 1 full syn oil and I've never had any engine issues what so ever.

I don't care if someone spent 10k or 50k for a truck, $28.00 per rotation is rediculous. Valvoline just came out with a 300K mile guarantee that your engine won't fail if you use thier oils. I'm sure there are plenty of strings attached. Bottom line is, as long as the oil meets or exceeds the manufacturers minimum requirements, Ford can't say squat as long as you keep good records.

Tim

 

If you are worried about $800 over the lifetime of a vehicle, you should not be driving a full size pickup truck. Ever crunch the number for what gas costs over 150k miles? And what it may cost when it goes to $4 or $5 again?

That said, my 2002 E150 van is out of warranty, has Costco Michelins with free rotations, balance, and nitrogen. And I just changed the oil last Friday. I put in 6 quarts of Quaker State Torquepower full syn 5W20 and a a Bosch filter. I have used Motorcraft 820s's forever, but got the Bosch for free when I bought 5 quarts of oil for my BMW (they didn't have the BMW filter, and the deal was for a Bosch). And the oil is my third of four changes with the Quaker State--I bought 24 quarts for 95 cents each at an Advance Auto closeout sale.

So I just got a full syn oil change with filter for $6...my last two were $10 with Motorcraft 820S's that I had to buy. BEAT THAT ONE if you can

ps the E150 4.6 LOVES the Torquepower. How does 6500 miles without having to add ANY oil sound? When the van was new, it would suck down a quart in 3000 miles or so. (Note also that I have a 40-year habit of 3k oil changes, and am pushing changes out to 6k and using synthetic.)

(talk about a cheapa$$...)
George

 

tseekins, back at ya!

George- OK, so $800 over the lifetime is no big deal. What is? $1000? $5000? $10000? Fact of the matter is, EVERY PURCHASE should be considered... $40K for a new truck, $28 for a tire rotation, $5 for a hamburger. The attitude of "oh, it's not that much... I'll just swipe my credit card!" is the reason so many people are in the giant black hole of debt these days.

I drive a full-size pickup truck because I carry communications equipment that won't fit in a subcompact vehicle. I actually downsized from an F350.

I spend the money for M1 based on previous first-hand experience with it, many oil analyses posted on BITOG, and the endorsement of many high-performance auto manufacturers that factory-fill with M1 and demand M1 for warranty coverage. Based on my experience and the demands I subject my truck to (lots of highway miles, lots of idling, a fair amount of emergency response driving), I think it's the best choice. That said, my girlfriend's Mariner gets Motorcraft Synthetic Blend - she doesn't drive like I do, nor does she idle nearly as much.

Any purchase is a value proposition. There's value to me in driving a full-size truck. There's value in using M1 for oil. What's the value in spending $28 for a tire rotation, when there are other, better, cheaper alternatives available? Discount Tire rotates mine for free and typically balances them, and they welcome me into the bay area so I can inspect the brakes, suspension, etc. Even if they won't do yours free, purchasing the tire maintenance and insurance is a better deal than going to the dealer. Assuming you rotate tires every 10K (since most of us are lazy...) and the tires will last 40K, and the dealer wants $28 per rotation, you're still saving $16... plus the benefits of the road-hazard, tire balancing, etc.

Again... watch out for the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

 

Very well said gentleman.....