Motorcraft is perfectly fine - comes out of the ground just the like the rest of them.

;-)

 

Motorcraft is a synthetic blend and is supposed to be pretty highly rated as far as synthetic blend oils go. It's all I run at this point in time.

And in regards to bringing the oil right up to the fill mark, this is actually overfilling the engine. At the fill mark just after an oil change doesn't take into account that there's oil in the valvetrain that'll eventually bleed back down and wind up in the pan. About midway through the crosshatches is perfect.

 

My 97 F-150 had over 225,000 thousand miles on it, when I handed the keys to my little sister. That bad-boy is still running strong, albeit with a little more body damage than it started with (chicks, including my lil sis, can't drive).

My truck was used everyday as a delivery vehicle, so with all of the idling it did, it probably has over 300,000 miles on the engine. I changed the oil every 3,000 miles with Pennzoil 10-30W and never had a problem.

Whatever you use, change the oil as recommended and don't beat on your truck. It should last you for a while.

 

The only real benefit with synthetics is the extended intervals. If you are going to change every 3K then by the cheapest quality oil available that meets Fords requirements. Synthetics would be a waste because they are still good at 3K and you would be throwing away money.

 

I've been using SYN (Mobile 1) since I bought my truck with 45,000 miles on it and I just went back to regular oil last change and I have 110,000 miles on it now. I guess I got to the point where I thought why spend $35 for all the material, when I can buy a case of oil and a filter for under $20.00

I've been changing my oil every 3000 miles so regular oil will do just fine.

 

I would probably shy away from switching to a synthetic on a 100k vehicle, especially if the previous owner had used dino or semi-syns. A lower cost dino on 3k -5k OCI's will serve you just as well, and let's face it -- with a Ranger you won't likely be towing any unusually heavy loads for long distances......

 

I get both of my vehicles oil changed at the ford dealer where they were bought, no I'm not rich.....The oil is semi-syn and a ford oil filter....They rotate the tires also, all for 25 bucks and some change.....But I'll have to make sure they are topping my truck off with the 6 or 7 quarts....

 

Motorcraft is fine oil

All 5/20 oil is semi-synthetic, its the way its made. Its purpose is to reduce emmissions out put.

THats a false statement. The benefits of synthetic are lost just the same as conventional, but it is less visably apparent. I tested this with my new 05 aviator. I ran on the change meter (changed at 13% life left) and the 5/20 looked like brown water. It is my opinion, that running extended ranges on any oil, synthetic or conventional, is a crap shoot. One day, the odds are going to get you, and its giong to cost you more than haveing just done it the way the OIL MANFUFACTURER says to do it. Do you ask your dentist how often to get immunized against flu? Or your doctor about when to have your teeth cleaned? No, you go by the info the person who is keenest on the subject.

 

I don't trust doctors, I get my medical advice from the vet.

I can't tell if you are talking about 5/20 motorcraft semi-syn or something else - but according to Amsoil (and likely others) extended drain intervals are perfectly acceptable and expected when running their product. Further to that point, European standards often indicate extended intervals. Companies specifying 3000 mile intervals are only too happy to have you purchase more oil.

 

I have switched to AMsoil 5w30
I have 3k miles on the oil.
I have 1k miles on the new bypass filtration set up.
I plan to do an UOA at 5k miles.
I intend to simply refresh the oil by topping off when changing filters, and change only when UOA tells me it need to be changed. I daresay that may be never due to the fact of superior filtration, plus refreshed additives.
I also intend to run a maintenance dose of AutoRx, refreshing it every 6-9 months.
Will try to let you know how the analysis turns out.

 

excellent - please do, I'm quite interested in your findings!

 

Don't run AutoRX if you do not plan to change your oil. It is a cleaning agent. It will not be needed with your setup.

 

AutoRx is indeed a cleaning agent. It also prevents build up of sludge. I agree with that.
I believe that it is recommended to run 3oz for a maintenance dose, too.
I'll check with Mr. Frank to see what he recommends, and will let you know.

 

You wont have any sludge with Amsoil (or most other quality oils as the modular motors are not prone to sludge build up).

 

Most doctors aren't trustworthy these days, they are controlled by the insurance companies. THerefore they do only what they know they can be paid for. Now, that being said....

5/20 (synthetic or not) should be changed at intervals as dealer recommended. (also, buying 5/20 full synthetic is a waste of money) According to amsoil, you can run forever on one oil change. Marketing is an amazing thing if enough suckers buy it. Yes, European automakers have for quite some time used extended intervals. I have in the past two years seen two 740iL's require new motors due to sludge buildup. I had to entwine myself in a teardown and rebuild of a friends recently purchased mercedes with high mileage due to the same stupid extended interval changes. I work in the industry, I see hundreds of examples of this every month. Sure, some will chime in and say "you work in the industry is why you scream 3000 miles" however thats not true. Quite frankly, as long as I don't have to work on you're problem, I really don't care. I just offer the advice to save you the money on such problems.

Several Amsoil (snake oil) users here talk about how great it is, but when you bring up the fact that they require 3000 mile intervals on toyota 4 bangers due to extreme sludge buildup and damage claims, its suddenly an anomoly. You can verify that problem with a simple google search.

Companies selling oil also spend millions of dollars putting oil through various testing for every possible scenario in all kinds of engines. They do this to test their product under the most severe conditions and deem what is the appropriate time or mileage to replace used product. Its kinda like blaming Ford for the firestone tire hoopla. Sure, ford gave some bad advice saying run lower tire pressure, but in the end whose fault was it? The person driving the car 99% of the time. But then, who wouldn't be happy with a product that has a 1% failure rate? Nothings perfect. Point is, auto manufacturers know about their cars and the parts they build them with, not the tires, oil, or other parts supplied by other manufacturers.