I don't want to beat a dead horse but I did a search on the subject and couldn't really find any information to answer my question.

Turns out, this truck I bought last week had the cam phasers, guides, VCT solenoids, timing chain, spark plugs, and possibly other stuff I can't remember, all replaced right before I purchased it. Literally less than a couple hundred miles ago. Truck runs great and is really quiet and I hope it stays that way (knock on wood). Unfortunately, I had to find all this information from a third party rather than from the dealer I bought this from (they said they bought it from auction and know nothing about its service history), but I digress...

My question: Is there any type of break in procedure I should be following after this kind of work? Also, seems like the general consensus is to stick with Motorcraft 5w20 oil and Motorcraft oil filter, correct? Or is it okay to use other quality oil as long as I stick to 5w20 weight? What about different oil filters? This truck has 113k miles now.

It's my understanding that built up sludge is what causes cam phasers to become noisy. Would it be a good idea to do an engine flush ASAP, using BG Engine Purge or similar product?

Thanks for any info you can provide

 

Hi.

No special procedure.

You have documented proof that this work was done?

No need to get fancy or creative with oil and filter - MC semi-synth 5w-20 is about as good as it gets, and an MC FL820-S is a great filter.

Sludge - was there any mention of same when the engine was opened for the above work that causes you to be concerned? The VCT screens can get blocked with crap - no engine cleaner will really fix that -they should be manually cleaned or replaced. I think the only effect ive sludge treatment is AutoRX. It's not a quick process.

Failure modes include excessive phaser movement causing the roll pins to shear, oil pressure pulsations affecting the VCT solenoids which in turn cause unwanted movement ( noise) in the phasers, wrong oil viscosity, dirty screens and overall oil starvation due to wear.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...cussion-2.html

info: http://www.f150forum.com/f4/vct-sole...rdered-229336/

Hopefully yer maintenance included the new-style VCT solenoids.

good luck

MGD

 

I don't have documented proof in my hands, no. But I came across an older receipt from Big O Tires for the two newer tires that were put on this truck. The receipt is dated 6/29/2012 (over a year and a half ago), with the mileage stated 112,069. The truck now has 113,081. Only a thousand miles since almost two years ago? It kinda made me wonder who buys new tires just to have the truck sit for a while (previous owner's phone number is on the receipt but I'm not going to call him out of the blue). I found out about OASIS reports and called my local Ford dealer (not the dealer I bought the truck from). I was under the impression that an OASIS report will give information about any services done on this truck at any Ford dealership, but the guy on the phone let me know that OASIS reports only save service information before the warranty period was up. But he said he could look up the VIN and see if any services were done at their dealership. So I gave him the VIN, not really thinking he'd find anything since from the Big O receipt the previous owner lives almost two hours away (plenty of Ford dealerships between here and there). He said that the truck was in last December with 112,800ish miles with a bad knocking noise and in general rough running condition. It was diagnosed to have needed the above mentioned parts and those parts were replaced.

I could run an Autocheck or Carfax and maybe see what happened between 2012 and now. Truck was repossessed maybe, but probably traded in somewhere and then ended up in the hands of the dealer I bought it from (not the Ford dealer that gave me the service info).

As for whether or not they mentioned a sludge problem, they did not. I suppose I shouldn't worry about it then? They didn't mention whether or not they used new style VCT solenoids. The only things I can tell physically is that the engine bay is very clean, gaskets look new. No leaks. So far no other issues that I can tell. Truck runs great, no sign of any knocking or ticking, and has good power, it doesn't miss a beat.