5w or 10w30 okay?
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From: Toronto, Canada
5w or 10w30 okay?
Posted this in an existing thread already but didn't get a reply, so:
I have an '06 5.4L and have an oil change coming up. It's got almost 25,000 kilometres on it, that's about 15500 miles. I know we're advised to use 5w20, but a local auto place has a promotion for Mobil1 synthetic, but only in either 5w30 or 10w30. It's a good price, so I'm wondering if it's okay to change and which would be the better weight to change to.
Thanks
I have an '06 5.4L and have an oil change coming up. It's got almost 25,000 kilometres on it, that's about 15500 miles. I know we're advised to use 5w20, but a local auto place has a promotion for Mobil1 synthetic, but only in either 5w30 or 10w30. It's a good price, so I'm wondering if it's okay to change and which would be the better weight to change to.
Thanks
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From: San Diego, California
Stick with the 5W-20 Motorcraft Syn-blend. It's a good oil, and comes with the cheap dealership oil change service.
If you want full synthetic, spend a couple of bucks more and buy the M1 5W-20. If you must buy the stuff on sale, buy the 5W-30.
If you want full synthetic, spend a couple of bucks more and buy the M1 5W-20. If you must buy the stuff on sale, buy the 5W-30.
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From: South
IMO 5W-30 is just fine...M1 is an energy conserving oil...Which means it is at the lower end of the 30W scale...
The difference between a 5W-20 and an energy conserving 5W-30 is a very small amount
I didn't do the math but if you go to Bobistheoilguy.com you can....
Basically all the 5W-20's are in the neighborhood of a 5W-28 and the energy conserving 5W-30's run about 5W-32 range....
I would recommend using the 5W because at cold temps it is thinner and lubricates at a faster rate....
Just my opinion...I use a 5W-30 in a 2006 and hasn't caught on fire yet...
The difference between a 5W-20 and an energy conserving 5W-30 is a very small amount
I didn't do the math but if you go to Bobistheoilguy.com you can....
Basically all the 5W-20's are in the neighborhood of a 5W-28 and the energy conserving 5W-30's run about 5W-32 range....
I would recommend using the 5W because at cold temps it is thinner and lubricates at a faster rate....
Just my opinion...I use a 5W-30 in a 2006 and hasn't caught on fire yet...
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From: Rhode Island
Use the proper viscosity that the engineers designed the engine to run on,
plain & simple.......the 5.4 was designed to run 5w-20, the timing chain tension adjuster on the 5.4 is activated by the viscosity of the 5w-20 oil, among other important things in this modern modular v-8, it's your engine & your vehicle.........
plain & simple.......the 5.4 was designed to run 5w-20, the timing chain tension adjuster on the 5.4 is activated by the viscosity of the 5w-20 oil, among other important things in this modern modular v-8, it's your engine & your vehicle.........
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Originally Posted by stucandu
Posted this in an existing thread already but didn't get a reply, so:
I have an '06 5.4L and have an oil change coming up. It's got almost 25,000 kilometres on it, that's about 15500 miles. I know we're advised to use 5w20, but a local auto place has a promotion for Mobil1 synthetic, but only in either 5w30 or 10w30. It's a good price, so I'm wondering if it's okay to change and which would be the better weight to change to.
Thanks
I have an '06 5.4L and have an oil change coming up. It's got almost 25,000 kilometres on it, that's about 15500 miles. I know we're advised to use 5w20, but a local auto place has a promotion for Mobil1 synthetic, but only in either 5w30 or 10w30. It's a good price, so I'm wondering if it's okay to change and which would be the better weight to change to.
Thanks
5w-30's probably okay, but go the extra distance to get the recommended oil weight. I actually run over the the Falls to the WallyMart & save a bundle. Plus cheap gas, wings & beer.
The cam phaser/adjuster systems on the new 5.4's are kinda particular ...
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From: Toronto, Canada
Originally Posted by MGDfan
... I actually run over the the Falls to the WallyMart & save a bundle. Plus cheap gas, wings & beer.
( I know, you can order Blue or Canadian stateside too ...
)Anyway, thanks all, I'll take this under advisement.
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From: South
Originally Posted by risupercrewman
Use the proper viscosity that the engineers designed the engine to run on,
plain & simple.......the 5.4 was designed to run 5w-20, the timing chain tension adjuster on the 5.4 is activated by the viscosity of the 5w-20 oil, among other important things in this modern modular v-8, it's your engine & your vehicle.........
plain & simple.......the 5.4 was designed to run 5w-20, the timing chain tension adjuster on the 5.4 is activated by the viscosity of the 5w-20 oil, among other important things in this modern modular v-8, it's your engine & your vehicle.........
I would like to see that in writing...Everybody claims that the engine is engineered to 5W-20 specs...To my knowledge that is just a claim by posters...No one has ever proven anything other than it is recommended...
Not saying that it is bad oil or anything but I prefer the 5W-30 that I use...
And I'll say again I would like to see it in writing...That certain parts of the engine distinguish between say 5W- 28 which is what Castrol maps out to be and the 5W-32 that the oil that I use maps out to be....
Ford also recommends the Ford stock muffler....Which, like myself, have swapped it out for a Magnaflow...Which added about 1MPG to my gas mileage thus far
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From: Abilene
You got 5w20 in your engine. It's been parked over night outside and it's cold, so the oil is at a 20W condition now. Start your engine and drive to work, the engine is hot now so the thickness changes to a 5W. Maybe when the engine is cold the oil clearance is greater so you can use 20w but as the engine get hotter the clearance's gets smaller due to heat expansion so the oil needs to get thinner just to prolong it's life.
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From: South
Originally Posted by RacingJake
You got 5w20 in your engine. It's been parked over night outside and it's cold, so the oil is at a 20W condition now. Start your engine and drive to work, the engine is hot now so the thickness changes to a 5W. Maybe when the engine is cold the oil clearance is greater so you can use 20w but as the engine get hotter the clearance's gets smaller due to heat expansion so the oil needs to get thinner just to prolong it's life.
Jake it is actually just the opposite....Hope this helps
Multi-weight oils (such as 10W-30) are a new invention made possible by adding polymers to oil. The polymers allow the oil to have different weights at different temperatures. The first number indicates the viscosity of the oil at a cold temperature, while the second number indicates the viscosity at operating temperature. This page from the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ offers the following very interesting description of how the polymers work:
At cold temperatures, the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up, the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.
At cold temperatures, the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up, the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.
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From: Camas, Wa
Jake the W stands for winter. The lower number i.e 5 in 5W/20 is the viscosity index when cold. 5W/40, 10W/40 and 15W40 are all 40 wt. oils when hot, the lower number represents the viscosity when cold.
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From: Camas, Wa
The cam phasers may be designed for 5W/20 but I'll bet the bearing clearance for 5.4 2v is the same as the 3 valve engine. Do you really think Ford went to the trouble and expense the re engineer bearing clearances to accomodate using 5W/20. Instead the "engineering" went into the oil for one reason alone - fuel conservation - because big brother said so. My 5.4 3v is the noisiest engine I have ever owned with only 29k on the ODO. Dollars to donuts that these engines would work just fine and probably be a hell of lot quieter on 5W/30.
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From: Denver CO
The engine will perform just fine on 5w-30 or 10w-30 oil. The Motorcraft 5w-20 is an excellent oil at a great price and if changed every 5K with a Motorcraft filter the engine could last indefinitely while the rest of the truck falls apart. That said, you'll do no harm running Mobil 1 in a 30 weight in the truck. The viscosity difference is negligible and I could never tell a difference in fuel economy no matter how many decimal points I ran it out to. If you've bought the Mobil 1 use it. If you like the way the truck runs on it continue to use it, if not there's always the Motorcraft.
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From: Seabrook,NH
Originally Posted by RacingJake
You got 5w20 in your engine. It's been parked over night outside and it's cold, so the oil is at a 20W condition now. Start your engine and drive to work, the engine is hot now so the thickness changes to a 5W. Maybe when the engine is cold the oil clearance is greater so you can use 20w but as the engine get hotter the clearance's gets smaller due to heat expansion so the oil needs to get thinner just to prolong it's life.