thinking about switching to a thicker oil for my truck. it its over 100k and is burning 4qts in 3k miles. i figure it has more serious problems but it still runs fine and only smokes a little under full throttle. i ran 20 50 in my chevy and sold it with 193k on it so i was wondering about thicker oil in this. i bought it last year at 92 k and dont really know what oil the previous owners(2) have run in it..

 

Your oil usage is excessive for the mileage on the engine. My guess is that you have stuck ring packs which can be an issue on these engines. But it can be fixed without breaking the engine open. I would suggest the following and in this order. I'd run the gas down to half a tank. Put in 2 bottles of Gumout with REGANE. It must say REGANE on the bottle or it won't help. This will start the carbon removal in the chambers which is the likely cause of the stuck ring packs. Run that at least 100 miles and then change the oil. Depending on how deep yer pockets, I would suggest a dose of Auto-Rx in the oil. It's a lanolin ester based product and is slow in cleaning up carbon deposits and any sludge. There is the treatment phase and then the rinse phase and you must follow the instructions or it won't work. It costs about $30.00 for one bottle. It can be found here:
http://www.auto-rx.com/
Don't read anything into the advertising hype. It's a fabulous cleaner only. It won't cure warts and it won't keep yer girlfriend from getting pregnant. But it will loosen stuck ring packs and any debris or sludge in the engine.
If you don't have the jack for the Auto-Rx, I'd suggest changing the oil to Pennzoil Ultra with a Motorcraft filter. You'll need to change the oil at least every 2500 miles for the next 3 times using the Ultra and MC filter. You can use the viscosity rated oil of 5w-30 if you are using the Ultra. Once the oil usage has fallen, you can go back to a 5w-20 Motorcraft oil or any oil wearing the Ford spec 945-A preferably or 930.
If stuck ring packs are the issue, and I believe it is, this will stop or nearly stop the excessive oil usage. Just going up in viscosity will cure nothing but it will result in failed cats if you keep driving it like that. And that, my friend, is an expensive fix.

 

thanks for the info...

 

were you saying to puy 2 bottles of gumout in 1 tank or run 2 tanfulls with gumout???

 

ordered my auto rx today and going to get another bottle of gumout with regane now

 

looked at walmart and that penzoil ultra is pricey. 26 bucks for 5 quart jug and 6 bucks a quart after that. bout 45 bucks for an oil change,diy.... i have been putting conventional oil in it is that a problem switching from conventional to synthetic?????????

 

Not a problem if you go conventional to synthetic. Now back in the day that was a big no no.

What price was the Motorcraft oil at Walmart??

 

motorcraft was a little cheaper. think it was in the 15 buck range for 5 qt jug

 

If I were you I'd run the Motorcraft. You'll have no problems.

 

The Ultra is an alternative to the Auto-Rx. The Auto-Rx is the cheapest way to go but the Ultra will accomplish the same thing and you can spread the cost over several months depending on how many miles you put on it a month. You DO NOT use any synthetic while using Auto-Rx. If you do, it won't work.

Use 2 bottles of Gumout with Regane in a half tank of gas. You are looking for the concentration of the polyol esters that are in the mix. No hiway driving is required and usually town driving with lots of heat/cold cycles works best.

 

what the **** are we talking about

 

Labnerd, What's so special about the Ultra Synthetic? I run that oil in my 08' with 34k. Thanks.

 

Pennzoil Ultra and Platinum series of motor oils have Hyper Cleansing Technology in the formulation. It is a modified ZDDP and ZDTP along with other proprietary additives that do not appear in normal spectroscopy. If wanting a clean engine is the goal, these are the oils to use. Otherwise, there is nothing in formulation that brings anything to the life of the engine.

 

thanks, thats the info i needed. i was a little unclear on which oil to put the auto rx in also , got it now. i will give it a shot before i bust out 4k to get another engine.... put my gumout in today and may change the oil this weekend...

 

Do you work for Pennzoil? I've used Platinum since the truck had 10k miles (ran Motorcraft blend prior to that). I just switched to Ultra the last time I changed the oil.

I've heard from most that Ultra is just a decent oil and that it doesn't actually have any crazy cleaning abilities. Are there tests that prove this?

I'm not doubting you, as I use Pennzoil, I am just curious. Thank you.