What weight of oil does everyone use?
 

I went to Napa yesterday to get the spark plug removal tool. When I was there I picked up some 10W30 oil for my 2005 5.4L King Ranch. This will be the first time I've changed oil on the first Ford I have ever had. When I got back to remove the broken spark plugs, I saw on the lid it says 5W20.

Do you think 10W30 will be ok in it. Or should I take it back and get 5W20?

Side note--- I changed my plugs and only had 2 that broke. Got the removal tool and they came out great. (Praise the Lord) Thanks for everyones tips and what not on the plug removal.

5w20 here, full synthetic. It's what Ford recommends (5w20 that is, the full syn is my choice), and it's the only thing I'll put in it.

Like MCDavis, I stick with factory recommended 5w20. I typically use the MotorCraft SynBlend though, also factory recommended. No problem using full syn though, if you so choose.

Motorcraft 5w20 semi-syn/Motorcraft filter.

5W20 is the recommendation; in 94k miles, my 4.6 has lived on 5W20 for its entire life, consumes no oil, makes no noises, and runs wonderfully. I would stick with the factory recommendation--although the heavier oil may be OK in a pinch in warmer weather/warmer climates, the valvetrain on the modular motors needs oil STAT upon startup or it will wear prematurely and cause problems.

Good luck for a long life from your new-to-you Ford truck.

George

As mentioned, I use 5W20 full syn as well. I try to stay with what's recommended when possible. I would assume that the 10W30 would be fine in warmer climates as George said since some people have used even heavier oil to get rid of the cam phaser noise but if it were me I would switch back to recommended after.

Oil
 

5W20 in both of mine. It's the mfg specified oil, my 4.6 has been going strong for the last 175K so can't complain on that.

I've read of some people trying 10W30 and higher weights especially when they have cam phaser issues. It may quiet it temporarily but I suspect in the long term they're doing more damage than good. I would suspect it will take longer for the oil to circulate on initial startup, potentially starving certain areas of the engine of oil.

If it were me, I'd take it back and get the right viscosity oil.

+1 on MC 5W20. Walmart sells both the oil and MC F820S filters.

Supposedly, you can use the thicker oil with no issues, but it'll come at the expense of lower mpgs. I'd exchange it.

It's a long story behind 5-20. This is the short version.

Being in the business for many years, I was told from someone that knows what going on, that the reason some companies went to 5-20 is show better mileage in the cars and trucks by percentage. Why? Gov't ratings. The Gov't wanted to see better mileage out of vehicles so going with lower viscositys, auto manufactures could achieve it.

That said, use 10-30 and don't sweat it. I do and have since 04, the first car I had that recommended it.

Ford has been recommending 5W30 from the days of my wife's old '86 Escort GT and 5W20 since 2001 or so. The lower weight when the engine is cold is a distinct advantage in getting oil up to the cylinder heads which have a lot of critical moving parts. And I personally consider fuel mileage to be of major importance, especially with today's gas prices.

I remember when racing oils were straight 40 weight, or 20W50. Take a look at this website:

Joe Gibbs Driven - Synthetic Racing Oils

NASCAR cars use a straight 0W oil for qualifying, a 5W20 for unrestricted engines, and a 0W20 for restrictor plate engines. For long races in warm weather in the South. Guess what--lighter oils not only provide better mileage, they give you MORE HORSEPOWER with no downside that I have ever seen in the real world for engines designed for lighter oils.

The old days are gone, folks. So many folks think they are smarter than the engineers who designed their cars.

George

My old 88 BMW took 20W50, my old 84 Toyota took 10W40, wife's 99 Honda took 5W30, F150 takes 5W20, F350 takes 15W40.

There was a short period of time where my garage shelf looked like the oil rack of auto parts store when I still had all of these cars. Fortunately, I'm down to 2 flavors now...

Motorcraft 5w-20 and FL820S

Well put George! Tried to rep you but...well you know.

Arghhh
Rep Gods won't allow me to get George again either.

The VCT's & Phasers demand a 5w-20 weight oil period! Especially upon startup! Anything else is just asking for trouble! Oh yes, a 5w-20 weight oil dissapates heat much better than a 10w-30 oil, so the hot weather argument is moot!!!