I have an 03 SCrew 4x4 that I just put a 3" body lift and 35s on. It's a 5.4L engine and calls for 5w-20. The engine just topped 83K miles. I bought the truck used and this is my first oil change on it. My wife just picked up a FRAM oil filter and 5w-30 Vavoline Synthetic Oil.

Do you think if I run the 5w30 synthetic from vavoline and the FRAM filter that I will be OK? I've searched the past threads and all the opinions vary, but I am just concerned about going from 5w20 to 5w30 synthetic. Any opinions??? Would you run this???

 

Fram Filters = El Stinko! Stick w/ Motorcraft Filter, & the prefered Viscosity being 5w20!

 

I run 10W30 Mobil 1 in my truck. 130K miles, tow a lot, supercharged.
I wouldn't hesitate to run a good 5W30 synthetic in it.

I'm certain others will chime in...oil is a hot topic around here.

 

I agree about fram. 5w20 motorcraft is synthetic blend. I also think the motorcraft filter is better.

 

5W-20W, 5W-30W, 10W-30W. Either dino or synthetic will work just fine. Your engine will be protected with any of these. I would hold off on 10w-30w until warm weather but other than that not a biggy... The Mustang Shelby engine actually leaves the factory with 5W-50W Synthetic in it. We have tested the 4.6 and early 5.4 with straight 50W just for oil pressure numbers. The engines show no difference in wear regardless of oil weight. Fuel economy is the reason for the 5W-20W suggested fill.

 

Just as long as ya get the oil in yer good, but cheeze and crackers! Ditch the fram!

Motorcraft all the way...



Adrianspeeder

 

Really any decent oil, dino or synthetic or a blend(many oils labeled as "synthetic" are often a blend. Look for oils that say "full synthetic") will provide ample protection. Stay away from super cheapo store brands, those are fine for lawnmowers and tractors, but for advanced car engines you really should have something better. I put plain old dino Valvoline 10-30 in my 300 and there's no problems at all. There's full synthetic QState in my boat I/O(and a Fram filter-eek! ) and that hasn't been changed for years and it still looks like new. Granted, the boat only runs maybe 20-30 hours a year. But that P.O.S Mercruiser motor still takes a good 30 seconds of cranking, pumping the gas, more cranking before it starts. Then it won't idle until the engine is FULLY warmed up, except I can't tell anymore because it's thermostat broke. The boat is now 3 years old. Hooray Mercury, huh?

The 5-20 is recommended in the interest of jacking MPG figures. Probably technically lighter oil does put less load on the motor, but the difference is so minute you'd never notice it in daily driving.

Oil filters- I buy whatever's on sale, though I don't get why people bag on Fram so much. Not that I think they're super great or anything, but they seem to work as well as any other brand. The filter is really easy to get at on the straight six, so I don't need the uber-expensive ones that come with a $0.02 nut on the top and cost $15. Some people swear by one brand or another(brand fanboy-ism at it's peak), but if you keep up on your maintenance the oil will get changed long before any of them get clogged or so deteriorated they won't filter effectively. Chances are half the brands come from the same place anyway stuffed into different boxes. Prestone and Autolite are both made by the same company as Fram filters, and there's probably more. Just wipe a bit of oil on the seal before you tighten it and you'll be just fine. You'd be surprised how often people don't do this, the seal breaks and leaks oil, and then they parrot that that brand of filter sucks.

 

Cool... Thanks guys for the input. So many choices and opinions, maybe I just won't run any oil at all

Later! I appreciate it

 

WAL-MART!!!! $10 for the 5 qaurt jug of Motorcraft Syn Blend and like $3.50 for the FL-820

 

Don't forget the sixth quart

 

What is the major difference between motocraft and Fram filters? My step dad is a master mechanic and he used Fram on every vehicle

 

Take one of each apart and you'll see!In other words,the FRAM is a POS! Stick with factory Motorcraft and you won't have to come here and ask these questions!

 

And a sub par anti drainback valve.

Our walmart doesn't hardly sell motorcraft anymore. Last year they discounted the stock to 2$ a filter and I stocked up.

20 FL-820's, 16 FL-1A (go figure there was less of what I need more of), and 10 FL-1995's.



Adrianspeeder

 

I don't know why, but Fram has always been good for us, hell, Quaker State and el cheapo filters you get free have worked just fine also. But to answer the original guys question, I don't know about the synthetic use, I'd stick with regular oil, but use 5w-20, not 30. Fram is fine, no difference in my opinion. As long as you use the right oil and filter, even close on the oil, you'll be fine if you change it at regular intervals. I use to change the oil at 3000 km's, then 4000 km's with either Motorcraft oil/ filter, but mostly Castrol oil/ Fram filter. Noooooo problems, to each his own.

 

I can tell ya what to do with that Castrol GTx, but you probably wouldn't like it much..