I just bought a 2006 F150 with the 5.4l and due to the notorious issues I ended up getting a remanufactured engine. I am curious what engine oil is best for these picky beasts. I honestly want to use Motorcraft 5w-20 Synthetic Blend, but am curious about a couple things. First, I live in NW Montana, where the winters get well below 30 degrees for most the year. would the oil I want to use be the best option for the 5.4l? Lastly, during the summer months (it pretty much goes from winter to summer here) it can get in the 90's +, so I want to keep a year round oil. I am more concerned about the oil making it to the top of the engine during winter. The one I just replaced with the reman had 130k and every issue you can think of with the 5.4l that are possible, so I opted to start fresh. I also replaced the entire exhaust because the cat was pure junk. So everything from the engine to the exhaust is brand new. I even went so far as to replace every single fluid (including f&r dif's), got a new PS pump, alternator, new radiator, new brakes/rotors/rims/tires/steering & suspension incl a level for the front. It's basically been rebuilt without replacing any electrical (fingers crossed) so I just want to get the most life out of it so I can focus on the rest of the truck (body and interior) now. This thing needs some TLC and some bedliner ASAP. I spent A LOT doing this, but am still very skeptical about the engine oil. Any help or advice would be great. Thanks.

 

Looks like you aren't getting any takers on your questions.
Might be helpful to know if the vehicle has, or will have a block & battery heater, or will be in a heated garage during the cold months, or will it be sitting outside?
Will it be doing heavy lugging/tugging work, or running the interstate at high speeds for long times, or is it just going to see short around town trips?
Knowing how the vehicle will be equipped, garaged/stored & used, can help in deciding on how to tweak its lubrication to fit the operating conditions & use it'll see.
Then you could opt for some timely UOA's to see how your choice of lube is doing for your equipment under its use conditions.
Some thoughts for pondering, would be interesting to hear what you decide & how it goes.

 

For the 5.4, Motorcraft 5W-20 syn. blend is as good as anything out there. If you're towing larger loads in the heat of summer then maybe bump up to the 5W-30.

 

Mostly just short trips but once or twice a week makes a round trip of about 50 miles on the highway. After reading your comment, I picked up a block heater. I have never even heard of a battery heater before. This is only my second winter somewhere like this, but if you think it will help, I would rather have it than not. Can you give me a quick run down on both those things? Could I go out in the morning a half hour before I need to drive and plug them in then be good when I need to start or do they have to be plugged in all night?

As for the oil, Id like to just do the 5w-20 MC but I am open to advice.

New engine runs great and I plan on changing the oil here in about 500 miles then accordingly every 3-4k and at least once mid winter.

 

Well lets see, since its going to be sitting outside in NW Mt in the dead of winter & short tripped often, what is the lowest cold temp it'll see? The answer to that question could help decide if a 0-20 would be worth consideration.
I've not had to use winter vehicle heaters, so don't have any updated info to offer up, but I'll bet a local battery supply or maybe a Ford Dealer would have some good experience to offer up on worthwhile types & brands of heaters.
I'd think on a really cold night you'd want to keep the block & battery heater on all night, so that puppy is ready to crank first thing in the morning. Letting both of those cold soak overnight, would require a lot of wattage, or a long time to meaningfully warm up that much mass for a cold start.

With short tripping not being able to have the alternator keep the battery at full charge & the cold naturally sapping the battery strength by making it less efficient, you'll also want to have a temp compensated, computer controlled battery charger on hand, to keep the battery SOC properly topped up too. Temperature control means the charger won't under, or over charge the battery as temperatures change with the seasons.
Also make sure the ignition system is in good shape & the newer design fine wire iridium enhanced center electrode with platinum pad ground side wire plugs can help get us going on those cold starts by making a hotter spark kernel, when the battery is having to work its hardest when its the least efficient & at its lowest voltage, trying to crank the cold engine, run the fuel pump & have the ignition system make a good hot spark to light things off. A temperature compensated computer controlled battery charger like the Clore PL2310 http://www.cloreautomotive.com/sku.php?id=502 or the like would be a good choice for consideration. If you think you'd likely need a boost option too, you could opt for a more expensive start boost model charger, or opt for one of those rechargeable jump start boost packs.

A block & battery heater & 0W-20 crank case lube can make it easier on the battery & the 0W lube can flow to the bottom & top end of the engine quicker to get a lube job done on those cold high rpm starts.
Seeing as how you seem to want to stay with a Motorcraft product, they're offering a synthetic blend 0W-20 that has a good low temp pour point of -53F that might be worth consideration for your outside cold winter starts, https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/main/product.asp?product=SAE%200W-20%20Synthetic%20Blend%20Motor%20Oil&category=Moto r%20Oil, scroll down to the additional info bar to open the specifications page to find the viscosity numbers.
Short tripping in winter means the oil isn't likely to get up to operating temp to have the PCV valve keep condensation purged from the crank case, so the engine will likely approve of those 2 weekly 50 mile round trips to get everything up to operating temp so condensation can boil off & the PCV system can thoroughly purge the crankcase & the alternator can top off the battery charge.
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The operating conditions your describing are a good definition of Severe Service, so your being mindful of that & trying to think ahead to mitigate the conditions in a positive manner is wise, so your vehicle is likely to appreciate that.

 

Thank you so much for all the advice. I will admit, most the battery advice is way over my head, but I will come back to this as a reference. I googled the average temps for where I live. Average low was around 10 degrees fahrenheit with an average high of 30. Starting this month, the temps start dropping.

Here is a link to the website I used: Montana Average Temps
Unfortunately, I am in an odd spot between Whitefish, Kalispell, and Hungry Horse... Columbia Falls. So I just tried to average all those as well. I am in the upper portion of the valley that travels up to Glacier National Park and live right on the Flathead River, so it gets pretty cold here. So much difference it can be 10 degrees difference between here and my work, which is less than 4 miles.

However, I think the 0w-20 may be a bit extreme. It does get below zero here occasionally, but with a block heater and allowing the vehicle to warm up before I drive it I think the 5w-20 will be okay. I never run the truck cold. Maybe my short trip average is a bit of an exaggeration, but during those months I do drive less. I think if anything, maybe a 5w30 would be optimal for the summer months here, where it never drops below 70 and easily gets above 100. Also factoring in the elevation changes I go through during those months can be something to ponder. I did change out the PCV valve upon installation of the reman, along with damn near everything else as well. Even a new radiator because I did not like how beat up the old one was, and even after multiple distilled water/cleaner flushes, it was still showing me buildup. I am going to change the oil here next week for some of the 5w-20, but if it gets to a point where I am worrying about it due to temps, I will change it for 0w-20. I will also keep an eye on operating temps both for the engine and coolant when running those short trips and longer trips, to see if maybe a grille guard can be of some use too. I don't think that will be necessary though, but time will tell. It's going to be an experiment this year, that much is for sure. The only thing that truly scares me... is my electric bill with a block heater always running. If it means keeping my new engine in better condition, guess I'll have to bite the bullet.

Also, for reference, I opted for 5w-30 syn blend for the first 500 miles. I just felt like it was a safer choice with the greases and lubes in the reman and wanted something a bit thicker to break it in.

 

Wow, the record shows its no where near as cold where you are as I had imagined it might be in the middle of winter. I imagined you might see -20F to -30F for lows some nights.
So your choice of 5W-20 will likely be fine & it would seem you don't need engine block or battery heaters, unless you want to use them to tweak/cut cold high rpm start up engine & starter motor wear & make things easier on the battery & starter motor & engine before a cold start, which doesn't hurt.

You wouldn't have to leave the heaters plugged in all the time, just turn them on before an especially cold night, or before going to bed, or put them on a timer to come on well ahead of need, so they can have things warmed up for a cold start.

You could hook up your temp controlled battery charger if you think its down from all of the short tripping. We need about a 30 min run time to put the start charge back in the battery. If our short trip is less run time, the battery is never brought back up to a full charge, so the plates begin to sulfate & over time that sulfation will harden if we never fully recharge the battery by driving long enough, or never use our temp compensated battery charger to bring it back up to a full charge which will break down & re-dissolve the soft sulfation, putting it back into the electrolyte solution & that makes the battery last longer & keeps its capacity rating closer to new. Its all a vicious circle, so if we take the time to tend to the details, we'll likely have more joy than woes!!!!

Your expected temps don't really call for 0W-20 either, but its PDS says it is back specified for engines that had 5W-20 specified, so no harm in using the Motorcraft 0W-20 in winter, as it would make for less wear & tear on the engine, starter motor & battery by flowing easier & quicker on a cold start. A 0W, or 5W are way thicker at cold temp than they are at the 20 weight viscosity range when at hot Operating temp, so no problem on a cold start with thinking the the 0W would be too thin, it isn't. In fact it'll flow easier, faster & do a quicker lube job on a cold soaked morning start.
Have a look here at these 2 ESSO videos of what various vehicle lubes look like at -35C/-31F in their cold soak room. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post14697140

Have a look in this Battery Tutorial https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...-tutorial.html, for regularly updated info & answers to all sorts of battery questions we might have.
With three different battery types available & each needing its own charge profile, we need to have a temperature compensated, computer controlled charger, with a choice of selectable charge profiles, to properly recharge the three different battery types we might have in older & newer vehicles, Or if we decide to Change the battery Type for cost, or performance reasons.

For instance if we decide to up grade the older design Flooded cell battery to a AGM, which is more tolerant of being under charged from vehicles not frequently being driven & having the parasitic drain slowly discharge the battery, the older vehicle flooded cell charging profile will Over Charge the AGM design battery & cause bubbles in the electrolyte that can't be absorbed & that would lower the battery power delivery/capacity, or eventually kill it before its time.

On the other hand, if we have a newer vehicle that came with a AGM battery, but we want to replace it with the older design flooded cell type battery, because it costs less, then we'd want to have the charging system charge profile set to recharge a flooded cell battery, as the AGM profile won't allow a flooded cell battery to be fully recharged, so over time having the flooded cell battery operating under charged, will have its plates sulfate, the sulfation will harden over time & the flooded cell battery will loose capacity & slowly weaken & refuse to take a Full charge, because the hardened sulfation can't be broken down & reabsorbed back into the electrolyte, so it'll have to be replaced before its time.

SO, if we Change the battery Type from that which the vehicle was delivered with, we need to be mindful to also make sure the vehicle charging system is changed to match the chosen replacement battery type, lest the replacement battery suffer a early demise & Murphys Law says it'll happen when it'll cause the most aggravation, or serious problem!!!!

 

I forgot to link Ford Tech Makuloco's site on his inputs on your 5.4L engine, so have a reference look see on his inputs for your engine here. https://www.youtube.com/user/FordTec...able_polymer=1

 

Well, even on the reman there is a tick. I have tried 5w-30 and it was super sluggish and hurt the fuel economy in a major way. 5w-20 I hear it all and fuel economy still sucks, but not as bad as the 5w-30. Recently, I put 0w-40 in it and it's quieter, much quieter, and the fuel economy skyrocketed. I mean, I went from barely getting 300 per tank if I was lucky to almost 360! Cold start ups are decent, but about the same as with the 5w. Temps have been in the single digits and below zero a couple times, but warms up to the teens in the day. I am pretty skeptical about the 40w, but listening to the engine with it in there almost soothes my soul, same with the fuel mileage. I am going to run it and see how it goes. I have heard of 0w-40 burning up so hopefully that is not the case. I am also going to do a BG flush this week to flush all the remaining 20w out and clean things up a bit. I have tried it all, and so far, the 0w-40 seems like it is running the best. I know Ford specd the 5.4 for 20w for a good reason, but being a reman, maybe the clearance deserves something thicker. All I know right now is that the 0w-40 sounds and runs amazing. It definitely runs better than the 5w-30 and gets up to speed easier too. Hope it works out. I also got a bottle of BG ATC + for the trans and am going to flush the transfer case out again since I have no idea what the mechanics who flushed my fluids used in the transfer case. I got XL-12 for that. Pretty sure they originally put straight ATC instead of Mercon V in the tranny. So I flushed it once the simple way and will do it again before I add the BG ATC + with some more Mercon V.

 

So who's 0W-40 did you use, that made it sound so much better, on I assume a Cold start ?

EDIT: Have you checked out TSB 06-9-11 here, http://www.bbbind.com/free-tsb & checked for a acting out lash adjuster?

 

I have not broken anything down and when I took it back to the shop that put it in, they said "it sounds like a ford". At this point, with the engine under warranty, I am just going to drive it. I can't afford any more work and even under warranty the shop will find a way to charge me something. I am going to stop by again and mention the lash adjusters, but with this ticking noise on a reman, it could be anything. I also hear the timing chain upon initial acceleration that sounds like the chain is slapping the guides. I only hear it when I let off the pedal, say, at a drive through stop and go. TBH, it sounds the same as my old engine, but with better oil pressure. Sucks, because I had the high volume oil pump and all the parts are OEM. The engine was bought directly from Ford.

As for the oil, it's mobil 1. As it warms up there is a slight tick, but not as much as the previous oils. Last thing I want is for the oil to cause more issues, which is why I am skeptical about the 40. I got those BG fluids on the way and I will probably run the flush through with the 40 weight then swap back to 5w30 just because I want to make sure it's not too thick. I am really hoping the flush will clean it out, but if it is a lash adjuster, it probably won't work. Worth a shot. Really in between a rock and a hard place about all this because I cant afford to ruin the engine over oil, and I cant afford to be without a truck again or the fees a shop would charge even being under warranty. The dealership is pretty shady. I want to avoid them at all costs but I don't have the tools for this stuff anymore. Long story.

 

Have you watched any of Ford Tech Makuloco's videos in post #8 link above on the 5.4L Triton engine noises like this one,
If the engine is new, or low mileage, it isn't likely mucked up inside, so no reason to use cleaners.

I'd not add any after market chemicals to the Mobil-1, it doesn't need any after market help to do its thing & since we don't know whats in either products recipe, no way to know how they may interact, or react with the engine seals & gaskets. Just run the Mobil-1 for a while & see how it goes, then when its time for a change, pull a sample for UOA & a used oil filter test, to see how its performing in your engine, under your drive cycle conditions. The used filter analysis can help determine where the wear is coming from & Makuloco's videos can help you locate the noise area & the likely culprit that lives there.

 

What oil filter are you using? These engines cannot handle oil starved start ups, Must use a filter with anti back drain valve otherwise oil drains down from upper end/camsphasers and will kill them.
These motors are not silent by any means..
injector noise, phaser noise is normal but timing chain slap is not. Could be worn tensioner or oil starvation IMHO.

 

From what company did you buy the engine? Any issues with it?