Im not sure if this has been beat to death or not, but...

I just got my oil changed today, and told them to put in high mileage, because I have 112,000 miles. Now, it's an 02 and runs perfectly. I want it to stay this way, but have also been reading online to not use the high mileage (or switch engine oils) until you experience engine problems, or weakness, rough idle, etc..the whole "if it aint broken, dont fix it" thing.

also, my uncle has a 97 4.6 f150, and after 212,000 miles, it finally quit running right; he's loosing oil pressure at startup. anyways, he's had it since it was brand new and knows a lot about it. he was telling me that some oils have a certain chemical/additive in them that creates build up/sludge, but only certain brands do. I cant remember what it was though.

going back, before my f150, I had a 92 ranger. I always used gtx castrol high mileage, and started using a can of Restore at every oil change after a few years, and definately noticed a difference. up until I got rid of it before christmas, it ran smooth as silk, with 160,000 miles.

basically I'm wondering what you guys think of Restore and what oil you guys recommend. I've been using restore in my truck since I got it, based on my results with the ranger.




jeff

 

if you use a quality oil and filter every 3k should be fine.im not a fan of "restore" type stuff. i use castrol 10/30 and motorcraft filters.no problems at all.if at 200k hes losing oil pressure maybye his screen is clogged, sending unit is bad. need to hook up a mechanical gause to see what oil pressure really is.

 

A lot of the aftermarket additives are feel good gimmicks, like Slick 50 or any other PTFE additive. They add no benefit to a quality oil, but you think you are doing something good for your engine. Some other additives pack a bunch of moly into them, or high doeses of additives already found in the oil you are using.
If you use a quality oil, you dont need additives of any kind.

 

i agree, remember those dura-lube pro-long commercials?? they would freeze the engine in a solid block of ice ,pour that crap in and start it up??lol what a joke. or the one they take off the valve cover and throw sand eveywhere lol, please!!!

 

Look on the back label of the extended drain oils.
Mobil 1 brand extended oils are not reccomended for heavier duty use, towing etc and to follow the OEM oil change intervals if this oil is used.

So that means to me you get no benifit form these Mobil oils.
Any other brands I looked at, have no indications on their labels.
I would use 5 w 30 MC oil if you think you need more hot protection.
The price of the oil is certainly right for a blended, hydrocracked oil when you compare prices to the other brands in the same class.

 

I agree about gimmick additive products, I only started using restore after two mechanics (whom I trust) recommended it for my rough idling ranger. it definately did the trick, and had no long term side effects. so I dunno. I'll stick with the old high mileage GTX/restore combo since it worked for my ranger. I sound like a newbie




jeff

 

The one where they threw sand in it doesnt count. It was a Slant Six Mopar. After a Nuclear War the only survivors will be Roaches and Slant 6's.

Restore is a bandaid for damaged engines. I would not use it in a engine in good condition. Most of the HM oils just have a bit larger additive package and a seal conditioner / sweller. It can help stop leaks if the seal has only shrunk or hardened and is not actually damaged. However there are much better products for this like AutoRx. It is a Group V Ester additive that cleans the engine and conditions the seals while driving. It is not a solvent like engine flush.

I have seen nothing in the typical HM additive package to make me think it would be any more sludge prone than anything else. The most popular HM oil, Valvoline Maxlife in 5W-30 form is actually a 80% Group II (Severely Processed Petroleum) / 20% Group IV PAO (Synthetic) Blend. HM oil is primarily marketing. There is nothing in it that would harm an engine with 0 mi or 300,000 mi.

I bet the same mechanic will tell you that Pennzoil and Quacker State sludge engines because they are "Wax". Bad news all modern petroleum motor oils are "parrafinic" and sludge is caused by Nitration. This is usually the result of low operating temps, rich fuel mixtures, coolant leak, air leak into crank case, moisture in oil, inoperative PCV valve, over extended oil drain, etc.

 

thank you for the information. just what I wanted to hear. I'll keep it all simple unless something goes wrong. Besides, something tells me that my engine will be good for a while. I mean 112,000 miles and running smooth as silk. It's pretty convincing...

knock on wood.




jeff

 

Avoid that "mechanic in a can" nonsense. No oil is going to "fix" a legitmate problem with the engine. Just change the oil and filter every 3-5K and the rest of the truck will fall apart before there's any oil related issues.

 

Oil additives tend to create more "sludge" inside of your engine as well.

 

Thats not true. SYnthetic is more or less just additives and they don't sludge at all. The additives aid in reducing breakdown and heat dissipation.