'24 Ford Transit 250 3.5 Castrol GTX HM 7800 miles

[unkillsam]

Why did you use a high mileage oil?

I was able to get a 12qt box for less then other comparable semi-synthetic oils that met the Ford spec.

 

[wareze]

For the lowest grade of Castrol oils, I'd say it's a good report

 

[kschachn]

To see the Castrol out of grade at 7800 miles is a huge let down to me.

The problem is that with the method Blackstone uses to estimate fuel dilution you never know what the cause is behind a viscosity deviation. If it's fuel dilution (which is likely) then the oil brand is mostly irrelevant, if thats what's letting you down. Blackstone is incapable of distinguishing between fuel dilution and mechanical shear of the VM. Mechanical shear is far more uncommon.

 

[unkillsam]

The problem is that with the method Blackstone uses to estimate fuel dilution you never know what the cause is behind a viscosity deviation. If it's fuel dilution (which is likely) then the oil brand is mostly irrelevant, if thats what's letting you down. Blackstone is incapable of distinguishing between fuel dilution and mechanical shear of the VM. Mechanical shear is far more uncommon.

Would you suggest swapping for a different brand for an oil change interval to test your suggestion? Or to just keep sticking with the Castrol?

Also, if its fuel dilution thats really disappointing as well because 7500 miles is the severe oci recommended by Ford, regular use is 15000 recommended by Ford, and I was trying to split the difference at a nice round 10000 miles.

Also i think I agree with you about the fuel dilution because the flashpoint dropped from 450 to 400 based on the VOA I posted.

 

[kschachn]

Would you suggest swapping for a different brand for an oil change interval to test your suggestion? Or to just keep sticking with the Castrol?

Also, if its fuel dilution thats really disappointing as well because 7500 miles is the severe oci recommended by Ford, regular use is 15000 recommended by Ford, and I was trying to split the difference at a nice round 10000 miles.

Also i think I agree with you about the fuel dilution because the flashpoint dropped from 450 to 400 based on the VOA I posted.

Brand won't make any difference with fuel dilution. The only way to help mitigate that is with a higher grade or very frequent OCI. A better suggestion would be to have the oil tested by a different laboratory that can find out the actual cause of the viscosity deviation.

 

[bullwinkle]

Well, I guess the next step will be to pull the Castrol at 10000, send out for testing and replace with the Quaker State FS.

I really thought I would be good considering Ford changed from a 5w20 to 5w30, doubled the oil capacity, and is recommended 15000 oci with Motorcraft semi-syn.

To see the Castrol out of grade at 7800 miles is a huge let down to me.

When did Ford change the recommendation on these? My ‘21 has had 5W20, both blend & full synthetic (PP & Service Pro) for almost 90K, and burned NO oil, shown no sign of issues at all, changed at 7500. We have over 150K on some of them-the 3.5 is light years better than the 10R80! Edit: I see in 2023 Ford bumped the 3.5 Duratec up to 12 quarts of 5W30 from 6 of 5W20 (like my ‘21). So much for CAFE in the light commercial van world, guess 5W30 was fine all along!

 

[bullwinkle]

Would you suggest swapping for a different brand for an oil change interval to test your suggestion? Or to just keep sticking with the Castrol?

Also, if its fuel dilution thats really disappointing as well because 7500 miles is the severe oci recommended by Ford, regular use is 15000 recommended by Ford, and I was trying to split the difference at a nice round 10000 miles.

Also i think I agree with you about the fuel dilution because the flashpoint dropped from 450 to 400 based on the VOA I posted.

Did you catch what your OLM percentage was when you changed the oil? My ‘21 routinely extrapolates 10K, although company wants 7500, they get 7500. Blackstone isn’t highly regarded as far as fuel %, might want to splurge for Polaris or Wearcheck.

 

[bullwinkle]

Would you suggest swapping for a different brand for an oil change interval to test your suggestion? Or to just keep sticking with the Castrol?

Also, if its fuel dilution thats really disappointing as well because 7500 miles is the severe oci recommended by Ford, regular use is 15000 recommended by Ford, and I was trying to split the difference at a nice round 10000 miles.

Also i think I agree with you about the fuel dilution because the flashpoint dropped from 450 to 400 based on the VOA I posted.

If you’re going to run a commercial van 15K OCIs, big sump or not, I would run a tougher oil than Castrol HM blend. Shame you weren’t around when Advance was blowing out Total C3 LL & Castrol Edge EP gold 5W30s for $10/jug!

 

[Gasbuggy]

With all the 3.5 timing chain issues, I would keep the changes < 10k

 

[unkillsam]

If you’re going to run a commercial van 15K OCIs, big sump or not, I would run a tougher oil than Castrol HM blend. Shame you weren’t around when Advance was blowing out Total C3 LL & Castrol Edge EP gold 5W30s for $10/jug!

The OLM monitor was at 47% at 7800 miles. Im about to pull it again tonight at 9500 miles and test again.

Im not planning on running 15k oci, only 10k.

 

[Bill7]

Service schedule is 15000 miles. Severe use service schedule is 7500 miles. The vehicle isnt thrashed and doesnt tow so i thought a 10000 oci would be safe, i wouldn't push it to 15000 miles ever, probably not even on full synthetic.

One of my other options would be to try QS Full Synthetic?

Any Group III full synthetic should be able to handle a 10k OCI, but 5,000 OCI is very safe.

 

[unkillsam]

Any Group III full synthetic should be able to handle a 10k OCI, but 5,000 OCI is very safe.

Well one of my options would be the Quaker State that i mentioned. It would cost me roughly $8 more for 12 quarts vs the Castrol.

Or I could even go to Valvoline Conventional for $10 less then the Castrol and shorten up the oci that I am trying to achieve.

My goal is to determine how i can spend the least amount of money protecting my vehicle considering I change my oil every 3 to 5 weeks. My preferred oci is 10000 miles. On my previous vehicle it was 6000 miles on full synthetic with a 6qt capacity. New vehicle has 12 qt capacity.

 

[Bill7]

Well one of my options would be the Quaker State that i mentioned. It would cost me roughly $8 more for 12 quarts vs the Castrol.

Or I could even go to Valvoline Conventional for $10 less then the Castrol and shorten up the oci that I am trying to achieve.

My goal is to determine how i can spend the least amount of money protecting my vehicle considering I change my oil every 3 to 5 weeks. My preferred oci is 10000 miles. On my previous vehicle it was 6000 miles on full synthetic with a 6qt capacity. New vehicle has 12 qt capacity.

So the only oil I use is: SuperTech Full Synthetic High Mileage @ $18.98 for a 5 quart jug at Walmart - $1 (5% online cash back with Walmart Credit Card) = $17.98 / 5 quarts = $3.60 a quart for a Dexos 1 Gen 3 approved Full Synthetic oil.

I purchased an Exacto knife on Amazon so I can cut around the circle of the spout to easily remove the anti-tamper plastic covering the spout.

If you prefer Quaker State Full Synthetic instead, you can get the 5 quart jug at Walmart for about $21 - $1 cash back = $20.

Either way you get a high quality Group III Full Synthetic Dexos 1 Gen 3 oil for an extremely low price.

So there's no need to be buying Group I or Group II conventional or synthetic blend oil that is more prone to turning into varnish/sludge
with higher engine temperatures.

 

[unkillsam]

So the only oil I use is: SuperTech Full Synthetic High Mileage @ $18.98 for a 5 quart jug at Walmart - $1 (5% online cash back with Walmart Credit Card) = $17.98 / 5 quarts = $3.60 a quart for a Dexos 1 Gen 3 approved Full Synthetic oil.

I purchased an Exacto knife on Amazon so I can cut around the circle of the spout to easily remove the anti-tamper plastic covering the spout.

If you prefer Quaker State Full Synthetic instead, you can get the 5 quart jug at Walmart for about $21 - $1 cash back = $20.

Either way you get a high quality Group III Full Synthetic Dexos 1 Gen 3 oil for an extremely low price.

So there's no need to be buying Group I or Group II conventional or synthetic blend oil that is more prone to turning into varnish/sludge
with higher engine temperatures.

My cost $3.18 a qt for the Castrol and $3.86 a qt for the Quaker State.

I checked and their are no conventional oils I have access to that meet the Ford Spec even though they all technically semi-syn anyway so not going down that road.

Changed the oil last night with 9,450 miles on the Castrol and put in 12 qt of Quaker State. Have not noticed a difference driving it around. So far so good, QSFS better then the Motorcraft just like the GTX.

 

[Bill7]

My cost $3.18 a qt for the Castrol and $3.86 a qt for the Quaker State.

I checked and their are no conventional oils I have access to that meet the Ford Spec even though they all technically semi-syn anyway so not going down that road.

Changed the oil last night with 9,450 miles on the Castrol and put in 12 qt of Quaker State. Have not noticed a difference driving it around. So far so good, QSFS better then the Motorcraft just like the GTX.

Sorry. Not understanding. Are you using conventional, semi-synthetic, or synthetic oil?

 

[unkillsam]

Sorry. Not understanding. Are you using convention, semi-synthetic, or synthetic oil?

The Castrol High Mileage is a semi-synthetic. I just switched from that to Quaker State Full Synthetic the regular kind, not the Ultimate Durability 20,000 mile stuff

 

[ripcord]

If cost is an issue, I buy Dexos approved Kirkland synthetic at Costco when they have on sale a few times a year. It's made by the same company and is supposedly identical to SuperTech full synthetic and Amazon Basics synthetic. The sale price has been 3 bucks a quart for a while now.

 

[Bill7]

If cost is an issue, I buy Dexos approved Kirkland synthetic at Costco when they have on sale a few times a year. It's made by the same company and is supposedly identical to SuperTech full synthetic and Amazon Basics synthetic. The sale price has been 3 bucks a quart for a while now.

You have a great strategy by only using a low cost full synthetic.

I just can't bring my self to use conventional or semi-synthetic as I don't want Group I or Group II oil in my engine, since it will more easily turn to sludge/varnish with higher engine temperatures.

 

[Bill7]

The Castrol High Mileage is a semi-synthetic. I just switched from that to Quaker State Full Synthetic the regular kind, not the Ultimate Durability 20,000 mile stuff

That sounds good. Quaker State is an excellent name brand oil.

I think using SuperTech or Quaker State full synthetic oils will provide identical outcomes if used from brand new car to when it hits 300k miles. The only difference would be less money spent if SuperTech was used.

 

[thastinger]

Don't the transit engines have large capacity oil pans?