2008 Ranger 3.0L, ST FS HM 5W-20, 2600 mi

[himemsys]

Well, our Ranger is still exhibiting high wear metals even after two oil changes. It's definitely gone down a lot since the existing oil when we bought the truck was tested, but still much higher than universal averages. Rather than posting Blackstone's report, I'll post my spreadsheet which breaks it down by PPM per 1000 miles. One thing to consider - this oil run included the severe winter in February that included 4 days below 0 F and overall much colder winter than usual. That might have had an impact on the wear metals and low TBN. The other thing to consider is the truck is driven by my teen son in a small town with lots of short trips, dirt roads, and very hard driving. The oil is the SN+ version of Supertech Full Synthetic High Mileage 5W-20 and the filter was a Motorcraft. What went in was the SP version of Supertech Full Synthetic High Mileage 0W-20 (VOA results are pending) and a Fram XG3600. Any comments or feedback on the wear metals is greatly appreciated.

edit: a third consideration is we've done a lot of work on this truck during this oil change. All fluids were changed out (differential, ATF and AT Filter, PS and Brake), throttle body, MAF, PCV and IAC valves were cleaned, spark plugs and wires were changed, fuel filter followed by a bottle of Techron. I can't see how most of this would have any impact on the UOA, but I'm putting it here for consideration.

 

[Zaedock]

That Vulcan does not like 20 grade. I would step up in viscosity and see how it responds.

 

[himemsys]

That Vulcan does not like 20 grade. I would step up in viscosity and see how it responds.

I've thought about doing that. But look at the oil analysis of the unknown oil that came with the truck. The viscosity looks like on the low end of a sheared 30 weight oil and the wear metals are through the roof. So I'm not sure. Maybe on the next oil change after this one, we'll try a mixture of Mobil 1 HM 0W-20 and 0W-30 to beef up the viscosity just a hair.

 

[MParr]

I agreed with @Zaedock . I had a 1991 Ranger with the same engine. I used a 5W30. Of course, that was what was specified at that time. Motorcraft Synthetic Blend has more Moly and would be a good choice. So would Chevron Havoline Synthetic Blend. Valvoline High Mileage is another good choice.

 

[DuckRyder]

The Blackstone report would be easier to read for me.

Have a look at some of mine if you're interested in 30 vs 20 I've run both.

 

[himemsys]

The Blackstone report would be easier to read for me.

Have a look at some of mine if you're interested in 30 vs 20 I've run both.

 

[ka9mnx]

Is this a 3.0 or 4.0?
EDIT: Ooops. Pays to read the thread better!

 

[Tdbo]

I'd run a 5W30 and retest.
I generally run 5W30 in mine.
I've never had a Vulcan that didn't consume oil on 5W20

 

[Artem]

I've thought about doing that. But look at the oil analysis of the unknown oil that came with the truck. The viscosity looks like on the low end of a sheared 30 weight oil and the wear metals are through the roof. So I'm not sure. Maybe on the next oil change after this one, we'll try a mixture of Mobil 1 HM 0W-20 and 0W-30 to beef up the viscosity just a hair.

A hair? Waste of effort. I’d run a 10w40 in that for the summer if it was mine.

 

[himemsys]

I'd run a 5W30 and retest.
I generally run 5W30 in mine.
I've never had a Vulcan that didn't consume oil on 5W20

This is my first Vulcan and it specs 5W-20, and I generally like to stick to the manufacturer recommendation. It's also pretty widely recommended on these forums to use what's called out in the manual. But I can see in this case, the engine wasn't designed with 20 weight tolerances in mind, it was kind of back-ported after the fact.

This engine does consume a little of the 20 weight I've been feeding it -- lost .5 qt in the 2600 miles on this interval. But since it's got fresh 0W-20 in there right now, I'll take it another ~2600 miles, test again and think about throwing 5W-30 in afterward. But like I said to Zaedock, if you look at my trends, the wear metals are less per 1000 mi the lower the viscosity gets, so I'm not sure. I'm also pretty sure my teen son is lead-footing this thing on lots of short trips. I'd love to drive this truck myself for 2500 miles just to see if the wear metals go down with my conservative driving style, but then he wouldn't have a vehicle.

 

[Lubener]

That Vulcan does not like 20 grade. I would step up in viscosity and see how it responds.

I sure wouldn't be putting 0w-20 in a Vulcan 3.0..

 

[Creekside]

My 03 Ranger with the 3.0 lives on 10w30 Gray Bottle Rotella and a pint of Schaeffer oil treatment. When the stash of Rotella is gone it’s getting 5w40 Schaeffer same as everything else. Bear in mind I am the guy running 5w40 in several Ford 5.4s where it’s supposed to be a no-no and also in my 94 Toyota Tercel. I’m not afraid of a little thicker oil.

 

[joegreen]

I have had a 1998 Ford ranger 3.0 almost since new. It’s still a daily driver and drives 40-60 miles of commute per day. It has always gotten some form of 5 or 10w30. It has 210k on it now and still runs fantastic. I have never done a uoa but the 30wt has been working for me. I believe my year was originally specd for 30wt but was given the ok to use 20wt at a later date from Ford. I assume that’s for fuel economy.

 

[MParr]

Is the air cleaner and intake ducting in good shape? I used either Motorcraft or NAPA Gold air filters in my ‘91. Same with the oil filters.

 

[930.engineering]

Good point as silicon numbers seem raised a bit. I agree on trying some 5W-30 and retesting.

 

[dnewton3]

Generally the Vulcan is an incredibly durable engine (mainly because of a lower power-density so it's not stressed at all).

This series of UOAs is clearly showing elevated wear from somewhere. Yes - it's getting better, but it's still high for sure. There's nothing wrong with trying a 5w-30 syn.

I realize you said that some work was recently done; was it internal to the engine? The reason I ask is that the Si values seem high for such short duration OCIs. It is possibly you have an air intake leak allowing dirt in, and given that you said it's operated in a dirty environment, that might be the cause of the Fe and Al wear. The UOA cannot discern between silica and silicone, so that's why I asked, but if there's no explanation as to how fresh silicone got exposed to the lube, then I'd be looking for an air leak somewhere!

 

[Zaedock]

This is my first Vulcan and it specs 5W-20, and I generally like to stick to the manufacturer recommendation. It's also pretty widely recommended on these forums to use what's called out in the manual. But I can see in this case, the engine wasn't designed with 20 weight tolerances in mind, it was kind of back-ported after the fact.

This engine does consume a little of the 20 weight I've been feeding it -- lost .5 qt in the 2600 miles on this interval. But since it's got fresh 0W-20 in there right now, I'll take it another ~2600 miles, test again and think about throwing 5W-30 in afterward. But like I said to Zaedock, if you look at my trends, the wear metals are less per 1000 mi the lower the viscosity gets, so I'm not sure. I'm also pretty sure my teen son is lead-footing this thing on lots of short trips. I'd love to drive this truck myself for 2500 miles just to see if the wear metals go down with my conservative driving style, but then he wouldn't have a vehicle.

This is cause enough to step up at least the summer viscosity, IMO. My kids range from 17 to 26 and my wife commutes in a Stinger, so I know all about lead-foot. The factory recommends 5W20, but that's only a back-spec recommendation. Given my auto experience (shop owner and hot rodder), I suspect the Fe is from the valve train and timing chain. We all know what Cu is.

Again, I think a 30 grade is warranted. I also don't think adding a qt of 30 is going to make much difference. To be honest, I like @Artem 's 40 grade summer recommendation, which would shift your trend to the other end of the spectrum. Either way, thanks for posting up and the effort to have the oil tested. These trending UOA posts are a highlight for me and are appreciated.

 

[himemsys]

Is the air cleaner and intake ducting in good shape? I used either Motorcraft or NAPA Gold air filters in my ‘91. Same with the oil filters.

It is. We've used only Motorcraft and Wix air filters on it and the air system looks to be in good shape. His last air filter lasted less than 5k miles because of all the dirt roads and it was changed out on the most recent oil change.

 

[himemsys]

Generally the Vulcan is an incredibly durable engine (mainly because of a lower power-density so it's not stressed at all).

This series of UOAs is clearly showing elevated wear from somewhere. Yes - it's getting better, but it's still high for sure. There's nothing wrong with trying a 5w-30 syn.

I realize you said that some work was recently done; was it internal to the engine? The reason I ask is that the Si values seem high for such short duration OCIs. It is possibly you have an air intake leak allowing dirt in, and given that you said it's operated in a dirty environment, that might be the cause of the Fe and Al wear. The UOA cannot discern between silica and silicone, so that's why I asked, but if there's no explanation as to how fresh silicone got exposed to the lube, then I'd be looking for an air leak somewhere!

No internal engine work. The only work we've done that's part of the air intake system is cleaning the MAF, IAC and TB, which we did about 1000 miles before this oil change (they were dirty enough that I suspect it had never been done before). I inspected the air filter housing and air intake hose and could not see any leaks. But I agree the Si numbers are a little high for such low miles, so I'll keep looking.

The other work we've done during this oil use interval:
-changed plugs and wires
-changed fuel filter and threw a bottle of Techron in on the next tank of gas
-dumped transmission pan, changed tranny filter (used Wix brand), and refilled with Motorcraft Mercon V.
-replaced diff fluid with Valvoline 75W-90.
-exchanged power steering and brake fluids

I sure wouldn't be putting 0w-20 in a Vulcan 3.0..

You guys are starting to tempt me to dump the brand new 0W-20. LOL. Seriously, though, from everything I've learned, the engine shouldn't be able to tell a difference between 0W and 5W. In fact, a lot of VOAs show a slightly higher starting viscosity for 0W and many believe that 0W uses a higher quality base oil.

The factory recommends 5W20, but that's only a back-spec recommendation. Given my auto experience (shop owner and hot rodder), I suspect the Fe is from the valve train and timing chain. We all know what Cu is.

Again, I think a 30 grade is warranted. I also don't think adding a qt of 30 is going to make much difference. To be honest, I like @Artem 's 40 grade summer recommendation, which would shift your trend to the other end of the spectrum. Either way, thanks for posting up and the effort to have the oil tested. These trending UOA posts are a highlight for me and are appreciated.

Thanks, Zaedock. I do appreciate your and everyone else's help as well as your politeness. I seriously am tempted to dump the brand new oil since the summer heat and humidy is just starting, but that would be such a waste. I did share some of the comments here with my seventeen year old and his face dropped and he said he'd not drive it so hard anymore. LOL.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My old Taurus would always set the oil pressure light at hot idle in gear with 5w-20. That was from when I got the car at 29k miles to when I had to basically scrap it due to rust at 71k miles. I don't think these engines do well on 20 grade oil.

I don't mind light oils. My 5w-20 spec'd focus had no problems with 0w-20 for 10K! The vulcan engine is not a fan.