2010 FX4 | PU 5w-20 | 5.4L | 6100 Miles

[CarbonSteel]

Here is the third UOA on my FX4; continuing with Pennzoil Ultra 5w-20. I originally planned to maintain 5,000 mile OCIs, but PU is doing quite well in the truck and so I will go to 7,500 OCIs and stop there (warranty still in effect).
I am starting to run E85 on a regular basis now and may perform a TAN on the next UOA just to see where it is when using E85. We made quite a few trips to CO during this OCI and spent quite a few miles below 0F (worst was -20F), but the 5w-20 seemed to function normally even in these cold conditions (glad I only visit during those temps)! Up next is the transmission, transfer case, and differential fluid changes; I will post UOAs of those when I get them.

Comments about the UOA are always welcome!

 

[hate2work]

Very nice. Your truck really seems to like this oil. Si and cu have dropped off nicely. Nice to see some imperical evidence that early and often changes are beneficial.

Have you decided on fluids for your tranny and gear boxes?

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: hate2work
Have you decided on fluids for your tranny and gear boxes?

Because there is quite a bit of labor involved on the front differential and because my warranty is still in effect, for this change it will be Motorcraft fluids at the dealer (rear differential is synthetic though). I would hazard a guess that most trucks do not see fluid changes in the transmission, transfer case, and differentials until many more miles have passed and like the engine early and often changes will remove most of the contaminants.

 

[Boomer]

You are wise to get the diff and transfer case fluids exchanged. When I bought my Frontier new, I did these within several months of purchase and could not believe how nasty the fluids looked. I refilled with Mobil 1 75w-90 in the diffs and Matic D (Nissan) in the T-case. Redid them again about a year later and they looked very nice. I would think leaving those original fluids in could not have been good.

 

[ChiTDI]

Nice vehicle, good luck with it.
Does the owners manual state any change in OCI or type of oil when using E85 or ethanol of any other percentage?
I ask because I don't know, I'm not trying to suggest anything.

 

[addyguy]

Nice numbers on an engine still breaking in.

It'll be interesting to see what you get on a regular 7.5k run.

 

[Scienceman]

Great engine!

 

[chubbs1]

Was the factory fill PU??? Looks almost the same. Great oil great engine keep it up this is a 7.5K oil for the rest of the warranty, then you can go farther!

 

[Blaze]

I am relatively new here and its been tough to figure out the abbreviations etc. PU is?

 

[Blaze]

OK read more in depth.. Pennzoil Ultra.

 

[unDummy]

PU is an easy 10k OCI with your driving style.

Any consumption?

 

[Lakersguy]

Originally Posted By: unDummy
PU is an easy 10k OCI with your driving style.

Any consumption?


Yes, I'd like to know also if you had any makeup oil? I just recently went to PU from Motorcraft as well on my 07 5.4 Lincoln Mark LT

 

[Jim Allen]

Yeah, that looks very nice. 7.5K will be an easy run with that combo. Insolubles nice and low.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: ChiTDI
Does the owners manual state any change in OCI or type of oil when using E85 or ethanol of any other percentage?

Thanks! Yes; the manual has some notes about E-85 (and glad that you prompted me to read it again):

Use of E85 50% of the time or greater (flex fuel vehicles only)

• Every 3,000 miles – If ran exclusively on E85, fill the tank full with regular unleaded fuel.
• Every 5,000 miles or 6 months – Change engine oil and replace oil filter.

So if I use E-85 more than 50% of the time, I will need to resort to 5,000 mile OCIs until the warranty is over (which was my initial plan until I saw the good results with PU). I filled up with it yesterday and it took about 15 miles to 'settle down', but it is like I added another 100HP under the hood. Too bad the economy is not as good, but I will have to do a cost per mile comparison as opposed to a straight MPG comparison to see the true difference (other than the difference of sending my $$$ overseas which I despise).

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: chubbs1
Was the factory fill PU??? Looks almost the same. Great oil great engine keep it up this is a 7.5K oil for the rest of the warranty, then you can go farther!

Factory fill was Motorcraft 5w-20 Synthetic Blend. You can see some differences in the TBN (which I know is not linear but look at the TBN difference for MC 991 vs. PU 3509), the calcium, and in the viscosity.
I also know that more expensive (PU) does not mean better (MC), but I have had great luck with Pennzoil Platinum and Mobil1 from years gone past and like synthetic oil so PU was an easy selection for this truck.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: unDummy
Any consumption?

At this point, there has been zero consumption. But this could be due to the (by most standards here) relatively short OCIs

. Overall, I am very happy with the performance of the truck. It was great in -20F Colorado weather in the snow; 4x4 did its job quite well.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
When I bought my Frontier new, I did these within several months of purchase and could not believe how nasty the fluids looked.

I had a 1991 Chevrolet C-2500HD (RIP - drunk driver hit me head on and I am sure the truck saved my life and the 2 children that was in the other vehicle as my truck stopped the other from going into a river) and a 1992 Chevrolet C-3500 back in 1991 and 1992.

Both trucks had the heavy duty floating axle differentials and I changed the fluid in them at 10K miles with Mobil1 and was blown away by the grey metallic creamy goo that was in the magnets inside of both. While there are many that run original fluids for the life of the vehicle, I am a firm believer is early and frequent changes. I will probably do a 10K, 40K, 80K and so on OCI on the F/R differentials, T-Case, and Transmission.

The FX4 has the 6R80 transmission which has no dipstick to check the levels and although it **should not** need to be checked, I would not want to drive the truck without checking for 30K miles. A 10K initial OCI followed by 30K thereafter is cheap insurance in my book.