I just bought a '96 F150 w/ a 4.9L. It has 168,xxx miles on it, and runs great. What kind of things can I do to help extend it's life. I have heard Lucas oil treatment works great, but I just would like to hear some opinions

 

If that engine has been well maintained until now, all you will have to do is continue that with regular oil and filter changes. Follow the rest of the maintainence in the owners manual. As far as the Lucas, in my opinion all that does is thicken the oil. I once read any good motor oil has all the additives it needs already in it and using an additive will only upset the formulation of the oil. I firmly believe that. Rather than adding Lucas, if necessary, I would just use a little heavier weight oil. I have used Lucas in worn out engines, but I wouldn't use any oil additive in a good engine.

 

Use good oil (I prefer Castrol, Havoline, or MotorCraft), change it and the filter every 3-4Kmi, use a good filter (NO Fram - use MotorCraft, Wix, WM Tech2000), & use the correct weight of oil for your climate AND the time of year. For a hi-mileage engine, I'd go up ONE grade from this chart. I run 10W40 in winter & 20W50 in summer because mine has over 300Kmi.



A K&N drop-in air filter is effective & safe, but don't use too much oil on it, or you'll contaminate your MAF sensor.

Change the coolant on schedule, and DON'T use "long-life" coolant. It doesn't last as long as regular stuff, and it costs more.

Basically, follow the recommended maintenance schedule in your owner's manual or the Haynes manual.

 

Change the oil pump. What usually kills the 300 is oil pump failure.

Shell Rotella T 10W-30 (Winter)
Shell Rotella T 15W-40 (Summer)
Change every 6 months or 6000 mi.
This oil has a TBN (Ability to Neutralize Acids) more akin to Synthetics than Conventional Passenger Car Oil and can be run longer.

Use a Motorcraft Filter.