08 Ranger 3.0L, MC 5w20, 2132 mi

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Bought this Ranger in Sept of last year. Did a UOA on the existing oil of unknown brand and miles and it showed high metals but no other indicators about why the metals were high (fuel, antifreeze, water and insoluables were all normal). Maybe 24ppm silicon indicates poor air filtration, but this current sample is with a new Motorcraft air filter and it's similarly high at 17ppm. This is my first UOA with known oil and miles (Motorcraft Synthetic Blend 5w20, new M/C oil filter, 2132 mi). I was looking at wear metal ratios and did see that iron is way down compared to AL (4.1-1 vs 3-1 on current sample). Copper is also down, but they're still all high for the miles. I can only guess as to the oil type and miles in the original sample, but based on the 3.0 TBN it should have been between 3-4k miles, assuming it wasn't synthetic. If synthetic, that TBN of 3 could indicate 5k+ miles. So I'll continue with 2-3k oil changes to flush the engine and hopefully see trends going down.

The Motorcraft additive pack looks nice with 160ppm Moly, healthy amounts of Boron, Magnesium and Phosphorus. Also, the viscosity is pretty high for a 20w oil. Maybe not ideal for winter (we average temps in the 20s-40s where I live).

At this oil change, I switched to Supertech Full Synth High Mileage 5w20, with another Motorcraft FL-400S oil filter. I'll run it at least 2100 miles before changing and sampling again.
08ranger020521.jpg
 
Bought this Ranger in Sept of last year. Did a UOA on the existing oil of unknown brand and miles and it showed high metals but no other indicators about why the metals were high (fuel, antifreeze, water and insoluables were all normal). Maybe 24ppm silicon indicates poor air filtration, but this current sample is with a new Motorcraft air filter and it's similarly high at 17ppm. This is my first UOA with known oil and miles (Motorcraft Synthetic Blend 5w20, new M/C oil filter, 2132 mi). I was looking at wear metal ratios and did see that iron is way down compared to AL (4.1-1 vs 3-1 on current sample). Copper is also down, but they're still all high for the miles. I can only guess as to the oil type and miles in the original sample, but based on the 3.0 TBN it should have been between 3-4k miles, assuming it wasn't synthetic. If synthetic, that TBN of 3 could indicate 5k+ miles. So I'll continue with 2-3k oil changes to flush the engine and hopefully see trends going down.

The Motorcraft additive pack looks nice with 160ppm Moly, healthy amounts of Boron, Magnesium and Phosphorus. Also, the viscosity is pretty high for a 20w oil. Maybe not ideal for winter (we average temps in the 20s-40s where I live).

At this oil change, I switched to Supertech Full Synth High Mileage 5w20, with another Motorcraft FL-400S oil filter. I'll run it at least 2100 miles before changing and sampling again.
View attachment 44838

Do not worry about 5w-20 and 20-40f weather. Its -14f here right now and 5w-30 is flowing just fine.
 
You got any funny noises? like belt squeak in the back of the motor?

The cam synchronizers are notorious on these and mine threw some extra metal when it was on the way out. Check my UOA threads.
 
Kind of wonder why we do UOA on such little mileage, unless we are looking for a contaminant.
Establishing wear metal trends. First oil change with a known oil and miles. Not patient enough to wait several more months to hit a higher mileage. I'm going to do another at about 2100 miles to see if metals drop from this UOA. Assuming they do, I'll resume normal OCI (4-5k miles) and another UOA at that point.
 
You got any funny noises? like belt squeak in the back of the motor?

The cam synchronizers are notorious on these and mine threw some extra metal when it was on the way out. Check my UOA threads.
Nothing in the back of the motor. The main belt does squeal occasionally on startup, but quickly goes away once driving begins.
 
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