labnerd: I have a question regarding oil choice for new vehicle. I'm looking to get a new ranger soon and i believe it calls for the new 5w20 that Ford is using. I've seen where it is said to be a semi-synthetic, is this true? If so, how does it compare to Castrol GTX 5w20 and Chevron 5w20 that I've seen you recommend in other posts? If it were you're money which oil would you use and why? Is the semi-syn better than Castrol & Chevron? Will the motorcraft semi-syn keep the engine clean like other full-syns do? What about Castrol & Chevron? My wife also bought a new car, Mazda MPV. It has the Ford duratec engine from the contours. It's a 3.0l V6 and uses 5w20 as well. The manual shows 2 service intervals, 7500 and 5000 miles. This seems to be a departure from the past. Seems like they used to say 7500 and 3000 miles. Is this because of the semi-syn motorcraft oil although the manual didn't specify an oil, just the grade? I'm thinking about 4000 miles to be safe, old habits die hard. I need to get maximum life out of these new cars and want to treat them right w/o overdoing it. I plan to use purolator or motorcraft filters since the engine was designed for these.

Thanks for the info!

 

For normal driving, the Motorcraft and Chevron Supreme will give you great performance, a clean engine, and lots of life in the motor. The advantage that Castrol has is marginal as it also contains moly. Moly protects the engine in extreme heat when the boundary lubrication starts to break down. Truth is, if you NEED the moly, your pushing the engine to the limit and it's just about to come apart anyway. Any of the three mentioned oils should give you satisfactory service. Used oil analysis on any of these suggests an oil change interval of 5,000 miles or less.

 

Thanks for the info.

Turns out the 4.0l V6 calls for 5w30. Any recommendations for this weight oil? Still Castrol GTX or Chevron Supreme? Apparently the 4.0 may be harder on oil so I want to use a good oil to make this engine last.

 

The 4.0 is a high stressed engine. I almost makes 1 HP per cubic inch. As I remember correctly .88 HP per CU. Either the Castrol or Chevron thru the warranty period should do fine. You might want to consider running Amzoil in it after that and change oil every 7500 miles. This is one motor that you should consider a quality synthetic in. Most engines I don't advise using synthetics as they aren't needed but if you are going to run this for the long haul, use a good synthetic. Mobil one is a synthetic and is popular but the additive package is weak for your needs. If you want to run a synthetic, use the Amzoil. Otherwise, the Castrol and Chevron should give you decent service life.

 

which amsoil? i'm guessing by the 7500 miles you mean the XL7500 oil? (I think I have this right). How often do you change the oil filter for this oil? Is it good for all 7500 miles?

 

Use the Amzoil 5w-30 100% Synthetic Motor Oil. The 7500 is a Gp III dino that isn't much better than the Chevron or Castrol. The 5w-30 has a HT/HS rating of 3.5+ which is good and the pour point is around -40F so you shouldn't have any winter cold start problems. It retails from their website at $5.85 qt. Might run the first batch thru it and change at 7500 miles and at 10,000 miles after that. Your new engine is going to be making lots of heat so you really need to stick with a high quality synthetic. If you decide to do the longer oil change intervals, use their oil filter, for extended changes, it's hard to beat. I wouldn't run it past the 10,000 miles regardless of analysis. For what it's worth, one of the guys that frequents here sells Amzoil, Mike Sparks can help you if you can't find it locally or if you want to deal with somebody you can visit with, his website is at www.lube-direct.com if I remember correctly. Congratulations on the new truck. I always had the big rigs and out of the blue bought a Ranger in '98. 3.0 V-6 with all the options. Put 80,000 miles on it in 2 years. Really enjoyed the ride, it was a fun truck. I think you will be happy with yours as well.

 

I'll second that. The XL7500 is a great group III based oil, but for just a few penny's more you can get a true synthetic that is PAO/Ester based, which will hold up even better during high temps.

Two other options could be: since you don't see extremely low temsp in Virginia the 10w30(ATM) for the same price would work, this formulation does not contain any VII(Viscosity Index Improvers).These are polymers that help control the viscosity and are used in virtually all multigrade oils. The 10w30 becuase of the multi-vis nature of the PAO's and Esters doesn't require any.

Also if you want the top of the line 5w30 the HDD Heavy Duty Diesel oil has the beefiest additive package around. Combined with a better (more esters) base stock. I've seen good analysis numbers in several gas engines on this.
Though some will say that the higher ZDDP will poison cats early, which my rebuttel to that would be becuase of the better pistion ring seal you will have less blow-by, combined with a lower noak volitility(oil burn off) Your Cats will last just as long if not longer. (But that is an arguement for another time)

 

Thanks for all the great info!

Another question. Since you recommend the amsoil full syn 5w30 would I benefit from going to a bypass filter system? Can you actually go 20k+ mile oil change intervals? This would really make the oil changes cheaper than dino every 3000 and since I drive 15-20k per year it would make it so I don't have to climb under the truck but like once per year instead of every 6 weeks. What interval would I have to get analysis done with a bypass system? Anyone have experience with these setups?

My dad's chevette went 200k and ran like a sewing machine, the body died long before the motor. I have read on the ranger boards, f150 boards, even the dreaded toyota boards about all these people with 200k, 250k, even 300k+ and I don't think any of them have bypass w/syn oil. I want to treat my engine right but no need to overkill. But if I can save time (more important than saving money) it might be worth it.

Thanks again!

 

Well would I recommend this for sure. But is it for everyone?? As you said, it can save time and money, but you have to be dedicated to a program of Oil analysis and changing filters. You would set up an interval that would be determined by the analysis.

The way I look at it, is that by-pass filtration is what makes synthetic lubricants cost effective. By extending the drains and monitoring engine condition, you are absolutely right. The engine will outlast the rest of the truck.

If you go to: http://www.oilguard.com/index.php there is a lot of information regarding the effectivness of this type of filtration.

Do a google search on by-pass filtration, you will find more information than you could imagine.

Once you decide that it's right for you, then it's time to decide on which brand.. Of coarse you know which I am partial to, I think it's the best system out there the design of the dual remote, along with the spin on filters is so easy and conveniant.

But just like chosing the proper oil, there are others that are good as well.

oops forgot a link to the Amsoil setups: there is good info there too. http://www.amsoil.com/products/bf.html

Here are a bunch of different setup on various pieces of equipment: http://www.amsoil.com/bypassfilters/index.htm