5.4 L triton E350 van oil?

[snydely]

I bought a new van to me. It is a 2002 E350 van with 135K miles and runs like a top. I've only put about 2K miles on it with valvoline synthetic 5w20. and it is doing great. I would like to switch to amsoil (or other extended drain) oil. I'm thinking I'll use the amsoil filter too. I will put about 50K miles a year on this vehicle. I'm leaning towards the ASM 0w20 and the first drain around 15K or so for an UOA. What would you guys use?

Thanks,

Chad

 

[sw99]

MC 5w20 is all you need.

 

[StevieC]

Amsoil 0w20 for 15K with an EAO filter sounds great! Any further than that and I would do a used oil analysis to make sure it's holding up in your application.

I do heavy driving like you and use Amsoil myself!

Drive happy and with confidence with their products!

 

[Billy_D]

I wouldn't go beyond 10k without UOA.

 

[J_Myler]

I wouldn't use motorcraft for that many miles in a year. Amsoil will work awesome for that many miles in a yeah. Make sure your also changing your other fluids to

 

[chevrofreak]

With that many miles I would do an Auto RX clean and rinse before proceeding to an expensive synthetic like Amsoil.

 

[ADFD1]

The ASM 0W20 is one of the best oils Amsoil makes, and should hold up well in your van. I would do a used oil analysis at around 10,000-12,000 miles if you plan to take advantage of their extended drain benefits just to be certain. IIRC they claim 1 year or 25,000 mile drain interval for normal service and 1 year or 15,000 miles for severe service.

AD

 

[Johnny]

I would pull the first oil sample at 5K just to see what was going on. There will be some serious cleaning going on with the Amsoil 0W-20 for the first couple of oil changes with it. The EaO filter is an excellent choice for the extended drains and I would also recommend one of their EaA filters if they make one for you van. As others have said, don't over look the transmission and the rear axle services.

Nice van.

 

[Ben99GT]

I would use SSO in that van, after a few runs of Auto-Rx and PP.

 

[snydely]

What is auto RX and PP. I'm guessing those are to clean the engine but I've got no idea how to use them or where to buy them. I would like to do it right the first time so I can get some good reliable used oil analysis.

Thanks,

Chad

 

[Ben99GT]

http://www.auto-rx.com/

Note: "Auto-Rx® is compatible with all lubricating oils, conventional, Group III, semi-synthetic, and full synthetics and does not alter your host oil in any way. We urge customers to use conventional or Group III oil for best results during rinse mode."

PP is just the common acronym for Pennzoil Platinum, one of the better over the counter oils going right now and it just happens to be a primarily Group III oil that's also very high in detergents.

 

[StevieC]

Chad,

Auto-Rx is an additive that you can buy from Auto-Rx's website. It's sort of a mixed bag here on BITOG on whether or not it actually works. I have used it myself a few times with excellent results, but others claim to have seen nothing or very little from it. Frank, who owns the company used to be a site-sponsor of BITOG.

As for PP, this is Pennzoil Platinum engine oil. It can be purchased anywhere that sells engine oil. It's a very robust grp-III synthetic that works very well with Auto-Rx in it's clean/rinse cycles. (I have used this combination)

I would recommend going 5K miles on the clean/rinse cycles instead of whats on the back of the ARX bottle if your engine has seen normal service and is just being cleaned up as regular maintenance. The reason for the 5K is I feel you will see much better results from the cleaning/rinse cycles. The 2500 miles that is advertised on the back of the ARX bottle is there as a safe mileage for all engines in all types of conditions.

 

[vmcboss]

We have a fleet of (ten) 2002 E350s in Michigan. We used Amsoil 10w30 originally with Amsoil foam air and oil filters, then Schaeffers 9000 5W40 (we had a Dodge Sprinter) and now have gone to Schaeffers 7000 5W30 with Amsoil filters (we buy our oil in 55 gal drums). We have used oil analysis to verify that we can go safely to 10,000 miles with the Schaeffers 5W30 and still have a safety margin. We also put @ 50K a year on each van. Each van is loaded with spare parts weighing more than 1 ton. We have not had an engine failure yet. We also change all the fluids (synthetic) at 50K miles.

I would recommend you use a synthetic 5W30 and verify with used oil analysis to determine your oil change interval, especially if you are driving in the Arizona and neighboring mountains with a load.

Lastly, search the forum for more discussions on this engine (5.4) and look at the used oil analysis section.

 

[snydely]

vmcboss - how come you guys switched to schaeffers oil. I've never really seen that oil before. Is it better for you application? Heck it might be better for me too.

Thanks,

Chad

 

[vmcboss]

1. Cost less
2. has moly in the formulation, which we find useful as the engine wears.

Fuel economy is why Ford recommended 5W20. The 5.4l engine can use up to a 50 weight oil (GT40) We had good luck with the 5W40, but decided on the 5W30 because we have other vehicles under warranty that require 5W30 and we consolidate to one barrel of oil.

You need to look for Scheaffers UOA to find Mark Smith at Specialized lubricants, he can steer you to a delaer in AZ, we also use Schaeffers ATF in the transmission.

Although I originally recommended 5W30, you may want to consider 10W30 or even 5W40 for the Arizona climate. I lived in Glendale in 1991-92, Every winter I cuss that I moved back to Michigan.

NOTE: The engines are bullet proof it you maintain them!! Make sure you clean the intake and throttle body and watch the blower selector switch.