Isn't that something? I read about that to when I was thinking of changing from LE to SDE for my motorcycle. I do run Delo 400 LE in my Harley, and now it's got 30k+ miles and it runs like a champ. I guess keep doing what works.

 

Hey guys new member here. I have a 99 4.2 standard cab manuel. I bought my truck new in 99 when i was 16 years old, it now has 280,760k on it. I have always used havoline with pro deposit shield 5w20 and motorcraft filter. I at 200k mark switched to havoline high mileage same same mitorcraft filter. I go 5 to 8k in between and never one internalnoise or problem. My truck runs just as goid ad my fathers 2015. Thanks just my 2 cents

 

280k is going good for a '99. Next year it will be 20 years old! lol

 

Recently, I noticed that Walmart is selling Havoline synthetic blend 5W30 in 6 qt boxes for $14.99. So, that is what I used. The oil is in a plastic bag inside a cardboard box, so the box can be recycled and less plastic goes to the trash dump. Maybe that is a good idea.

 

I reuse the bottles for when I dump my used motor oil.

 

I use a 5 gallon gas can to collect used oil and when it gets full, I take it a 1/4 mile down the street to Autozone for recycling.

 

Good thread.
Here is more experience for the di-hard.
Most trucks don't have an honest working oil pressure gauge to track oil presser over time.
Therefore can't see the effects of internal wear effects on oil pressure.
I installed a gauge early on due to towing and intended long term ownership.
This 02 now has 285000 miles, engine is quiet, as much performance as new.
Oil has been changed on average 5 to 6k miles with 820s filter and 5w20 each time.
Cold start pressure is 75 psi depending on ambient temperature.

Hot idle of course is always the same and dependent on oil pump wear and engine rotating clearance wear.
Normal highway speeds on OD at about 2000 rpm runs a pressure of 48 to 50 psi.
I depend on the added oil pressure gauge to indicate when the engine gets to the point pressure is being lost as fast as the pump can generate flow by indicating a drop at idle.

That's the signal to begin making a decision even though there is a lot of life left.
Every performance engine application uses an oil pressure gauge.

 

But the bottles still get sent to the dump after dumping the used oil?

 

Yeah, but then I don't have to deal with getting oil all over me again.

 

Just to add something interesting and different, I built and ran Brigs & Stratton single cylinder 5hp engines for Go Kart racing in the World Karting Association.
They ran on Alcohol fuel, turned up to over 7000 rpm in stock blue printed form.
Sportsman modified class making about 17 hp ran up to 10,000 rpm on Alky fuel as mandated by the rules.
These motors are all based on the 5hp flat head utility engine.
The crank case lube was synthetic and water thin, changed two times each race meet due to Alky contamination.

These engines have no oil pump being Rod Dipper splash lubed.

Never lost an engine to thin lube.
As long at metal parts can be kept separated with lube that does not break down due to temperature, weight is not the all governing parameter.

 

I'm new to Fords, and found this thread interesting. I just picked up a 2001 Screw with a 5.4, 2wd, automatic trans. Previous Owner wasn't much for maintenance, and claimed that he was adding oil at every 4th or 5th fill up, but couldn't tell me how that related to actual miles.

The truck starts up and runs just fine, but has a bunch of sludge on the top of the engine on the passenger side, especially around the dipstick. I'm planning on changing the plugs and all the fluids (engine oil, trans fluid, differential, power steering, etc.) to get to a maintenance baseline.

Since I don't know what oil he was running (per P.O.: whatever the guy at Firestone put in there), any recommendations for what I should go with? I've had good luck with Mobil 1 and Amsoil in the other vehicles in my fleet (mostly Japanese stuff), and would value any advice on oil and filter selection for this situation. My son had an older Jeep Cherokee with the 185K on the original Straight 6, and we ran Rotella 15-40 in it, based on a recommendation from a well-researched post on the Cherokee forum. It worked out well.

Thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

 

When I bought my 2002 F150 with 110K miles on it, I checked the required oil and used the same, only HM (High Mileage), in my personal preference:
Mobil1 10W/20 HM. That was 10K miles ago and two oil changes ago (I change @ 5K intervals.) and my 4.2L V6 loves it. It stays clean for a long time and it hasn't burned a drop. The HM has additives to preserve the gaskets and seals.

 

Since you don't know what the previous owner used or if he ever used the same oil twice, I'd suggest a round of Rotella 10w-30 or Rotella 30. Both have great detergent packages to clean up any mess that might be inside the engine. I'd watch the color of the oil over a 3500 mile run of it and if it starts smelling bad, change it earlier followed by another dose. Most likely though, the Rotella will clean it up with one dose of it. After that, the Pennzoil 10w-30 still is beating any synthetic on the market in volatility testing. That would be the ASTM D 5800 test where the oil is weighed, then heated to 250C or 302F for one hour. After it cools, it's weighed again. The loss of fluid is represented in a percentage of weight lost due to high heat evaporation. Mobil One for an example is in the low 11% area while the conventional based Pennzoil 10w-30 is at 4.2%. Lower is better in this test which means less oil cooked off due to high heat. If you're a Mobil fan and want to stay with Mobil, use the EP version. The Mobil One synthetic 5w-30 oils have been failing the IVA test for years now. Mobil remains silent about it. The IVA test is a cam wear test on a pushrod engine. The EP version does not have the issue.

I'd be concerned if I were you. A motor oil with a not so good detergent package will keep the oil nice and clean a long time. That means it's failing at cleaning up deposits and sludge. Before bragging about it, I'd suggest next oil change to use something different. You might just find that the engine is filthy inside and the different oil turning colors quick due to having to clean up the mess left behind by your current oil. FWIW, all engines regardless of age or design leave behind deposits. They also burn oil, all of them. Some burn so little we don't really see it on the dipstick which is not exactly a scientific instrument. But oil usage is there. If your oil is not a brown color at 1500 miles, I'd be looking for a different motor oil. Obviously one like that is failing at keeping the contaminants in suspension.

Another FWIW. Since the Advertising Council decided in the case of Mobil vs Castrol that any base oil that does not appear in nature is considered a synthetic oil, all base oils with the exception of the Gp I solvent refined base oils are a synthetic oil. That means yesterdays conventionals are now todays synthetics. If choosing or looking for a new oil, I'd strongly suggest previewing test results at the PQIA website. I'd be looking particularly at the ASTM D-5800 test. The lower the number, the more heat stable the oil is. It might surprise some of you to know that some of the synthetics on the market are all but failing the test. API and ILSAC says 15% is absolute max. Again, lower is better in this test criteria.

 

Not reading the whole thread, but use OE specified weight. Back in the day, you could put heavier in an older engine to help bandaid things, but these computer controlled engines are different. Use OE spec.

 

And that's where the problem is. The subject engine of this thread is the 5.4 engine. It started life with a 5w-30 spec. Then it changed to a 5w-20. Then Ford issued a memo that for users with a noisy 3V engine to use 15w-40. Then the engine went thru high performance division which speced 5w-50. Kinda opens up the world to use whatever you like. And, using an oscilloscope, the oil viscosity has very little, if any, effect on the computer controls of the engine. Oil related failures are rare in any engine regardless of brand or viscosity of oil used. Ford and others trying to squeeze every mpg out of the engines have been playing with a 0w-16 oil. So far, no failures but that's getting mighty thin at full running temp. Any failure of the oil film and it's game over. At one time viscosity is what kept parts from rubbing against each other. Now it's about the film strength of the fluid and the additives ability to handle lubrication normally at the boundary lube state rather than at the hydrodynamic state.