Hey fellas,

My first post ..... I have been a professional mechanic for over 15 years. I used to work in a Ford dealership in the late 80,s as a driveability tech. And now work for a major airline as a fleet mtc. jack of all trades mechanic. We use only Penzoil lubricants there. I used to think the same way about the stuff as many of you do, but the proof is in the pudding as they say. I guarantee that no one uses a personal vehicle as hard as the trucks and other equipment we have gets used. We dont use mileage as the determining factor for oil changes. We chage by hourmeter readings. I have never( in 15 years) seen a vehicle we own sludge with the use of Penzoil. I have never seen a oil breakdown related failure either. Most of the damage we get is form vehicles being run out of oil. I dont care what oil you use if its not in the pan it does you no good.
Just my 2 cents, oh and we use 10W30 in everything.

 

788597fordman -- Welcome aboard.

I am not a mechanic, but I do work closely with the fleet department. Where I work we have a fleet of about 60 big rig trucks. We recently had two road calls due to oil breakdown. The oil pressure dropped drastically as the oil became extremely thin. A mechanic described the oil as having the consistency of water. Upon investigation we found that our shop was using recycled oil and they had extended the oil change intervals in order to cut costs. Fortunately, the engines were not seriously damaged.

The decision to use less expensive oil was made by a non-mechanic executive type who wanted to improve profits. I thought some of you might be interested in this oil story.

RB

 

I sure can appreciate the situation you are in. In the current economic situation we all are dealing with. Lots of companies put trust in people who have never even seen the inside of an engine to make calls about mtc. They think that statistical information and trends are all thats required to make sound decisions. Well I have news for them I can read all the medical journals in the world and be very informed about my body and healt. But I want someone who has seen the inside of a human body to make calls reguarding my health and well being......man I carry on sometimes.....
It quote all the old timers......you get what you pay for....and to quote my dad you get out of what you put into.....CAL

 

RoundBoy, According to your last post you have used regular non-synthetic oil for years with good results and have decided to switch to Mobil-1. I am in the same boat because I am thinking of switching to Mobil-1. I have used Exxon Super-flo 10W-30 for 22 years on all of my vehicles and have never had engine problems. I want some more reasons why synthetic oil is better if the owner changes his or her oil every 2500 - 3000 miles. It has been proven for years that regular changes of real oil lead to hundreds of thousands of engine trouble free miles.

 

threeforks -- You are absolutely right! Why did I switch? I am sitting here trying to think up a really good answer. The only thing I can come up with is "just because."

RB

 

Those numbers seem odd given current service intervals for many new cars. I wonder if the service station recommendations are overkill to get you to buy more oil, come in more often for service, etc. One quick lube center up here tried to tell me I needed to change my rear differential synthetic oil at 25,000 miles, despite my owners manual saying it was good for life so long as the axle is not submerged. (It never was submerged) They also insisted on replacing my manual transmission fluid at that time, though the manual said it was good for 100,000 miles. I refused both and never went back there again, only to go through the same thing again at another quicklube center from a different chain on my next oil change.

At one time it may have been conventional wisdom to change at very short intervals, but I think the quality for both engines and engine oils have progressed to the point where "conventional" oil change recommendations, based on service habits that are now over 30 years old, may no longer apply.

The owners manual for my 2002 F250SD 5.4 liter V8 calls for oil and filter changes every 10,000 km (6240 miles) for normal usage. For severe service, they call for more frequent changes, but even the "severe service" change interval is over 3000 miles. At one time that would have been considered a "normal service" change interval.

With my 1997 and 1998 V6 F150s that I used to own, I drove them hard and fast, frequently with a trailer on the thruway, often on a race track without the trailer, and put on over 25,000 miles a year doing it. They never saw oil changes before 5,000 miles, yet never burned oil, knocked, pinged, sputtered, required repair, or did anything but start reliably and run well hard when required. I just turned the 1998 one in for a 2002 F250, after some 115,000 miles. Before doing that I had the truck smog and engine checked, and there was no trace of appreciable wear, at least as far as exhaust pipe emissions and oil sample analysis was concerned.

While having good oil in the engine is important, I wonder if we're under-estimating just how good the current crop of engines AND engine oils are.

Within the next few years, I think you are going to see a lot more "smart" vehicles with sensors that will monitor current oil condition, and signal you when it's time to change the oil. Expectations are that the typical highway driver may get up to 10,000 miles or more out of regular oil, and 25,000 or more out of synthetics.

 

csury --

You make some good points. I remember when 6000 mile oil changes were the standard and my wife had a '92 Mazda that recommended 7500 mile oil changes.

That oil change sensor you mentioned would be awesome. Maybe you should patent that.

I think most people on this site take exceptional care of their vehicles. Some of us learned the hard way (me) that not changing the oil is the fastest way to screw up a motor. Anyway, most of us will continue to change our oil at minimum intervals regardless of who tells us we don't have to. That's just what we do...can't help it...I think its genetic.

 

Chevy has the oil sensors on their Silvercrudo 1500 HDs. I wonder if the sensors get dirty?

 

I am sticking with the old school. I will lways change my oil & filter between 2500 and 3000 miles with Exxon superflo 10w 30. The cost is to inexpensive for me to change my habits and I have never had an engine problem in the 22 years I have used Exxon Superflo.

 

The most important thing is to change the oil! How many people do we all know that just "add" occasionally and never "change" As long as the Quality seal is on the quart of oil.... (like Motorcraft has, Quaker State, pennzoil, etc.), it's going to be pretty decent oil, ..if changed every 3000 miles. But, a lot, maybe even most people don't change the oil that often....then wonder why they have problems in the future.

I'm sure we all have stories of miricle vehicles with 150,000+, 200,000+ miles with a certain oil with no problem. But I'm sure those stories have at least one very thing in common...the oil was changed on time every time. That is the most important factor.

 

A quick question. . .I have a XL 2wd with 300 miles on it. I have two questions:

1. Does Ford use a "break in" oil? They recommend a change at 5000 miles and that just seems too long, unless it is a break-in oil.

2. What is the procedure for changing to synthetic oil? Is there anything special that needs to be done? Do I just drain and replace?

I'm not taking my truck to the dealership for a 25$ oil change worth 5 dollars, unless there's a reason for it.

The DOG

 

Now I can only say that Pennzoil in my 1982 Honda CB650 (Motorcycle) air cooled motor started breaking down at WOL at around 900 miles. (Motor would start to ping at high RPM's) I switched to Castol oil and it would not start to ping to around 1300 miles. That is why to this day I use castrol in all my rides, bikes or truck.
Just my 0.02

 

SO how many of you are using the "recommended" weight of 5W-20??

It sounds like most are using 5w-30 and not even worrying about it...is that accurate?