'01 3.0L Vulcan Oil Choice

[volk06]

New to me Taurus with 95K on it, PO said he used the cheapest Full Synthetic at menards at 5K OCI. My guess is that was Quaker State Ultimate Durability. He said it burned 0.5qt last OCI. I have a list of all previous oil changes and maintenace.

Since this is a new to me car, I'm going to do a short 3K OCI and then 5K OCI. I would like to use a high mileage oil.

I'm debating between and would like to use maxlife or Mobil Super 5000 High Mileage. would consider Pennzoil or Defy. Wont have the need to run Full Synthetic in this car. Does this engine have a preference and seem to favor one type of oil over the other?

 

[KD0AXS]

I think that engine would love some Maxlife, but you can't really go wrong with the MSHM either, and it's a little bit cheaper. On the other hand, starting tomorrow Menards has Quaker State Ultimate Durability on sale for $3.99/quart.

 

[accent2012]

Pennzoil conventional
or
castrol gtx

worked great on my taurus when I had it.

 

[levi]

Had a 98 Sable with the 3.0 Vulcan that we put over 200K on before replacing. No oil usage/burning/leaking at all.

Here's what worked for me:

Pick your favorite color/design oil jug. Buy it on sale. Enjoy. Sleep well.

.

 

[volk06]

I see that engine has been spec'd to 5w-20... and I just happen to have some Valvoline Nextgen conventional in my stash.... hmmm

 

[demarpaint]

I just junked a Vulcan Aerostar with just under 212K on it. NYC roads and rot got the best of her. I ran 5w30 conventional, whatever I could find on sale. I tried 5W20 a few times too, w/o issue, although it leaked a bit more with it. I'd use a 30 grade if I were you. The engine won't set any records for power, but it was one of the most reliable I ever owned.

 

[KD0AXS]

Originally Posted By: volk06
I see that engine has been spec'd to 5w-20... and I just happen to have some Valvoline Nextgen conventional in my stash.... hmmm


I see no reason not to use it then. Might as well use up what you have in your stash before buying more.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: volk06
I see that engine has been spec'd to 5w-20... and I just happen to have some Valvoline Nextgen conventional in my stash.... hmmm



Problem solved. I can't see that motor being harsh on oil.

 

[yonyon]

That engine doesn't care too much about oil so long as you don't let it run out. It's a bit picky about having fresh coolant, but any decent 5w30 is all it wants for oil. Well, that and it wants you to get the oil flowing with the revs over 3.5k at least once every few days.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Good point on the coolant. The Vulcans like to turn the coolant brown pretty quick. Some people say that the block isn't grounded well enough (to what ... not sure?) and that causes the cooling system to corrode.

Vulcan powered Taurus seem to have a lot more problems with the cooling system corroding (read: heater core) than the aluminum duratecs.

My Taurus had 5w-20 since new. Around 75K, the oil light would flicker on hot idle. I'm sure some 5w30 would have cured that, but the car was so rusty it wasn't worth it.

Oil, they aren't picky. Oil is oil is oil to a Vulcan!

 

[tig1]

Myself and my son put 354K on a 91 Vulcan using Mobil 1 10w30 with 10-14K OCIs. Engine ran great when sold.

 

[Falcon_LS]

I think the PO's preference was good enough. Personally, I would just run PU or Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 in it. First run or two to 5,000 then 7,500 miles thereafter.

 

[fdcg27]

Anything you want to use.
We had a '97 Aerostar with this engine.
In the 176K we owned it, I used all sorts of different brands and grades and the engine didn't seem to care what was in it.
These things also seem to hold up very well.
Ours had no oil leaks and consumption was low enough that adds were never needed.
Good engine that can't make enough power to wear itself out.

 

[volk06]

I think I'll just the nextgen I have for a couple 3-4K OCI. Probably use MC, P1 or WIX. I have gift cards for OAP and AZ so I'm sure I can find a good filter for cheap.