Not looking for a war! Just want to know if any of you guys have regularly used 5-30 in place of 5-20 in Fords, especially those around 10 or more years old, or in 4.6's. What your opinion on this, how did it work out? Thank you all.
5-30 in Fords calling for 5-20,
- Thread starter gfh77665
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My mother's 4.6 was back-spec'd to XW-20. Always had and always will use XW-30. Might put in M1 0W-40 but there is really no need. The way she drives M1 0W-20 would be fine too.
Hope this helped.
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This is what gets used in the fleet at my work, which consists mostly of Ford vans with 5.4s. Most of them have over 200K miles on them, and some have over 500K. I know there's at least one over 600K.
Crown Victoria 4.6 motor - 271,000 miles
We've used 5w20 and 5w30,doesnt make a bit of difference.
Currently using 5w30 Maxlife.
We drive it EVERYWHERE,you tell me how it's working out so far.
My 2003 ford F250 gets Mobil 1 5w-30, and always has. Doesn't burn or use oil at 130,000 miles.
5W20 to 20W50. Ford modular's will run on just about any grade.
I'm in NW NJ so winter is cold. My wife's 2005 Explorer with the 4.6 gets a late April and Late October OCI, around 8,500 +/-miles. I've been using 5W-30 and 10W-30 synthetics for the last 2 April changes. Even in the still really cool temps even the 10w-30 has performed perfectly, no cold start engine noises and no noticeable loss in mpg. However for the cold temp times I will use 0/5W-20 oil. My F-150 with the 4.6 has gotten a steady diet of 5W-20 syn blend since it takes 18 months to reach 7,500 miles. It may get a mix of 5W-20 & 30 synthetic to use what I have. That should be more than fine in the winter.
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So one would assume that running 5W30 in a 2005 Ford Focus -2.0 wouldn't be any different than the modular V8s ?
I cannot give you a long term observation, but I did experiment for the first time with a 5w30 in place of 5w20 in my 4.6L. The major difference I observed is a much rougher idle when the engine reaches operating temperature on 5w30. I'm not panicked over the rough idle at all, but I will be returning to 20 weight with my next oil change.
I've used 5W-30 in my sister's 2001 Windstar that was back-specced to use 5W-20. No lubrication related problems. It originally called for 5W-30 anyways. I think it has over 230,000 miles on it now. I don't know what the previous owner used in it.
We've also used a 10W-30 in our fleet Ford Mods at work with no problems noted, as well as both Ford Vulcans and a Focus for which 5W-20 was the recommended grade.
I used this four cylinder Focus on a below zero morning in January and it started up just fine, with no noises beyond the general racket any engine makes when very cold.
We converted my son's high mileage Ranger to 5w30 Maxlife from the 5w20 Motorcraft it supposedly had always had before. No known issues whatsoever, and the Maxlife appears to be doing a good bit of cleaning to boot.
I run 5w20 in my 5.4, but have a buddy that has run 5w30 in his 2006 5.4 ever since he changed his oil for the first time. Neither of us have ever had any oil related issues. Now if you are talking spark plugs, that would be your worse nightmare with these engines.
I've been using whatever 5w-20 I've found on sale in my girls windstar for a few years now. It's got over 320k on the odo as of right now and consumes nothing between intervals.
I'm also running the filter for 2 oci if it matters to anyone.
Thru the fill cap the head looks very clean without any varnish or deposits.
As far as oil choice in a mod motor from experience I can tell you thicker affects the free rev ability of the engine and that's about it. They will run forever regardless of grade used.
In the mods I've owned and maintained I've seen firsthand 2v 5.4 trucks with in excess of 400k on the odo,work trucks used as such,that ran 5w-20 their entire lives and they are still running and getting beat on daily.
The mod motor is at least as durable as the Windsor it replaced and tolerant of pretty much any grade you choose to use in the sump. Using a heavier grade will not affect longevity whatsoever and should only be considered if used in a heavy duty fashion where oil temps will be elevated well in excess of "normal".
My friend has a 2001 f-150 with 350k on the odo. It's the fully loaded variety he bought new.
He tows his trailer with 4000 pounds of stucco equipment daily,to and from work and chances are he's got sand in the box with the trailer attached.
He's had it since new,he's operated it in the manner since new,used 5w-20 conventional in it at 5000 mile intervals since new and with the exception of brakes,tires and oil changes has done nothing else in regards to maintenance.
If ever I saw a 1/2 being run to the very limit this truck is it yet unhook the trailer and clean it out and it looks,and runs as good as new.
So my personal experience has proven to me that going thicker is pointless unless there is some reason to do so. A mod motor just doesn't notice or care.
Thank you all for the reassuring words. I was positive 5-30 would work OK, but I wanted some words from those with real life experiences. I just bought my son a 2001 Grand Marquis, and it has the 4.6 with 148K miles on it.
I have a huge stash of 5-30, and I really DID NOT want to go buy any more oil. Especially with the lack of cold temps here, I will run the 5-30 for sure.
Thanks again to all.
5w20, 5w30 ,10w30 or 10w40. Anything would be fine in that 4.6. We have company trucks with over 200,000 Ford F-150's with 4.6 engines, a steady diet of 10w30 and abusive company employees.
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
5w20, 5w30 ,10w30 or 10w40. Anything would be fine in that 4.6. We have company trucks with over 200,000 Ford F-150's with 4.6 engines, a steady diet of 10w30 and abusive company employees.
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