Why is it bad for the oil to sheer to 30W. We can use 5W-30 and that is for cold climate.

Just wondering.

Thanks

 

Do you NEED 30wt in Calif? I'd use 5w-40 Synthetic

 

no im just wondering why it is a bad thing to have 30W in the eng.

I am using mobil 1 5W40. its in my sig

 

Depends on who you ask. You will shortly (I'm sure) get a slew of responses telling you how vitally important it is to change your oil every 3,000 miles because if you don't it will do all sorts of damage. However, no one's ever done comprehensive oil analysis to see what happens when you run the oil for 5, 10, 15, 20k or more in a 6.0. Me personally, I change my oil between 5k and 7k and run synthetic. My belief (and it is just my opinion, which many disagree with) is that so long as the oil additives have not significantly degraded, then the shearing factor is probably not a major issue.
If I am incorrect in my assumptions, then there is no reason to run synthetic oils, and I want to believe that synthetics really are much superior to dino oils.
If not then we are all being conned (which could be the case also!!!)

 

most people on this site do run 5k on oil changes, in fact by the book it is recomended at 7.5k (I beleave) not for sure cause I do it every 5k. and if you due some reasearch there has been many people on here that do oil analysis on 6.0 and many techs that can tell you what happens when you extend your oil changes out too far. I dont think I have ever read any one saying to change the oil at 3k. Some may due it but it is just cause they want to be extra safe. as far as weights of oil I can't really speak for. Someone like beachbum or bismic can answer this.

 

With syn I change mine every 5-6k

What do you guys think about adding a zinc and phosphorous additive. Just for the anti ware factor, not eng oil life.

 

my stalls are the only real world case study I need. put what ever you want on a pice of paper.
extended oil changes is just flat bad for the engine, the injectors and the turbo.
Now the fight of dino vs syn. I use dino oil in mine. nothing wrong with the syn stuff but I would have to pay for that... the dino is very cheep for me to run. syn I have to pay full pop for.

 

I use Rotella 10w30 year round in north California with great OA's from Blackstone. I change at 5000mi. Go over to bobistheoilguy.com you will find tons of info on your question.

 

If you review your manual, you will see 10w30 is for winter climates for cold starting. It is not to be used for towing. If you are working the engine in cold temps, and the oil is sheared down to 30 wt, or less, what happens to your bearings in the bottom end? They are now what is shearing, wearing as the oil is no longer protecting it. Now add to that the injectors, turbo bearings? I am running 5w40 syn as well. I use it year round, i need the towing protection and it makes it easier not having to change oil early but have better cold starting when the weather is cool. Another problem with shearing oil, is its loss of additives with time and wear, this is when you see injector problems, stiction as its called, as the lubricating properties decline, there are deposits left in places like injectors casuing them to stick and the problems that go with it.

 

Reason I see guys changing oil at 3k is because they tow alot. I change mine at or before 5k and run Rotella 5-40 syn year-round. My truck acts up when I use dino 15-40 especially when its cold, even in cooler temps, like 40 to 55/60 deg. OCI for me is right around every 6 months so far, so I don't mind springing for something she likes. Its like buying my wife flowers or chocolate. They both appreciate it.

 

6 months is also the time frame stated by Ford for the max time between oil changes.

 

I made a New Year's resolution to stay out of controversial threads (like this one could become), but ............

First - as cheezit stated - extended oil drains are really hard on the injectors and turbo, period! Oil that does not drain well from the injectors or drain well back to the crankcase from the turbo, etc, will eventually cause issues. so, the first thing to avoid is extended OCI's (whether you change at 5k or 7.5k, I choose not to pass judgement, but past 7.5k is taking a chance). Some people do it and are doing OK for the moment. I question how long it will last.

5W40 oil (as many of us have stated for quite some time) finally has become recommended for practically every temperature (only the areas that see EXTREME cold might need a different oil). This oil will drain better as the engine cools. It will also flow better on start-up. The synthetic can withstand higher temperatures in case an oil cooler becomes plugged and some "localized" temperatures get too hot.

All these issues point to the 5W40 as the better choice. "How much better" will always be a debated issue (as will the question - is it cost effective).

My goal for reliability is for the long term - 300k plus. I will do as much as possible to be conservative with this truck and engine because there are so many documented cases of issues - many of them oil related.

I spend a lot of time on a half dozen forums and I firmly believe I see a correlation to fewer injector issues when folks run 5W40 synthetic. When you have good perormance in the injectors, then combustion is more efficient and you have less "coking" issues in the turbo, EGR system, sensor tubes, etc.

Now, to answer the next question, "Do I think that Ford did a bad job in designing this truck since it is so finicky?" Well, they definitely missed a few things, but with the proper maintenance and care in operation, I am firmly in the camp that believes these are fantastic trucks and can be more than adequately reliable. Also, since this forum and others, have such great "self help" sections and MANY talented techs posting, we can find and fix a HUGE number of issues.

 

I know. It hasn't gone past 6 mos (whether I hit 5k or not) without an OC. Good to clarify though, in case some guys don't know.