5W-20 in a 5.0L Ford

[Russ]

'95 F-150, 5.0L, 138,XXX miles. No significant leaks, doesn't burn a drop of oil, level stays the same throughout the OCI. Used mainly for city driving (short trips no longer than 6-8 miles one way) with an occasional run on the highway.
The Motorcraft website recommends using 5W-20 in this engine. Should I do it? I haven't had any problems in the past 5 years with 10W-30 (this is what the owner's manual recommends).
What say you?

Thanks.

 

[LarryL]

Why would you consider changing something that works? Are you just looking for something to experiment with? That's my usual excuse. If you want to change something have you though about splitting the difference and trying a 5w-30 something or other? This 5w-20 vs 5w-something heaver is going to polorize a lot of people, but if you engine did not start out with a recommendation for 5w-20 then learn what you can before you try it. I'd try 5w-30 and if I wanted to do more, I'd check the tire pressure or wash it.

 

[oilpan49]

I'd say stick with it. With those short trips, it's a good thing you get it out on the highway some to burn off moisture etc... My truck is a 98 and while the manual reccomends 5w30, other places and the Amsoil reference site reccomends 5w20. The 5.0's were good engines and a truckload of mods you can do to them,,,,AR

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, let's throw a contrarian view in here

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You're doing shorter trips with in a 4 season climate. Your oil never gets up to anywhere near 100C/212F unless you're on the highway for a good bit ..never during most of the useage ..so you're probably at a 40 weight when you turn off the key..


So, you probably could use it and you may even save a few drops of gas in your commute over the 10w-30.

I've use MC 5w-20 in two vehicles spec'd for 5w-30 and have found no compelling reason to use a heavier weight. No lack of pressure ...no abnormal consumption. I would give it a try and see if any undue valve train noise or whatnot occurs and see how it annoys you. Due to your short trip commuting, I would imagine that you use time as your OCI criteria.


btw- do you have the oil/coolant heat exchanger on your F150 that was available for that year? It should be sitting under your oil filter if you do

 

[medic]

Gary beat me to it. I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to try 5w-20 in this engine. My only concern would be to keep an eye out for any potential consumption issues. At this mileage, many people are switching to heavier oils just because they think the engine is worn out.

Give the 5w-20 a shot and let us know what happens.

 

[Russ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Gary Allan:
Well, let's throw a contrarian view in here

.

You're doing shorter trips with in a 4 season climate. Your oil never gets up to anywhere near 100C/212F unless you're on the highway for a good bit ..never during most of the useage ..so you're probably at a 40 weight when you turn off the key..


So, you probably could use it and you may even save a few drops of gas in your commute over the 10w-30.

I've use MC 5w-20 in two vehicles spec'd for 5w-30 and have found no compelling reason to use a heavier weight. No lack of pressure ...no abnormal consumption. I would give it a try and see if any undue valve train noise or whatnot occurs and see how it annoys you. Due to your short trip commuting, I would imagine that you use time as your OCI criteria.


btw- do you have the oil/coolant heat exchanger on your F150 that was available for that year? It should be sitting under your oil filter if you do

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My thoughts exactly. I just wanted to get the board's opinion first.
The 3-month interval will be over in a couple of weeks. I think I'll try Motorcraft 5W-20 this time (have always used FL-1A's in this engine no matter what). I will report on the results.

As far as I can tell, there is no oil/coolant heat exchanger on this engine (actually, this is the first time I've ever heard of such a contraption). There is, however, a power steering fluid cooler

 

[427Z06]

If you can collect some fuel mileage data before you change it, it'd be interesting to compare it to the Motorcraft 5W-20 given your type of usage.

 

[drums57]

Russ dont switch, this engine was not designed to run on 5w20, stay with 10w30. If it drops below zero than use 5w30. You did not state what brand you use Havoline would work great in this engine so would Valvoline Maxlife. Dont change whats working for you.

 

[darkdan]

Since when has ford ever recommended 5.0 have 5w20?

It's not on the TSB last I knew.

 

[medic]

quote:

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Originally posted by darkdan:
Since when has ford ever recommended 5.0 have 5w20?

It's not on the TSB last I knew.

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TSB 02-1-9 includes the following 5.0L engines for the switch to 5w-20:
• 1993-1995 5.0L Mustang/Mustang Cobra
• 1993-1993 5.0L Thunderbird/Cougar
• 1997-2001 5.0L Explorer/Mountaineer
• 1993-1996 5.0L E-Series, F-Series, Bronco

One of the few engines that didn't get upgraded to 5w-20 is the 4.0L V6 which is common in the explorers and rangers. This engine is also currently being used in the new Mustang and I think Ford is still calling for the use of 5w-30 in it.

 

[TomJones76]

The estimate I saw for the fuel economy gains you'll experience with 5W20 are "no more than 0.3%".
I would say that on drives under 20 minutes in moderate or cold temperatures (all you'll get in most of the Midwest where you're from) you'll probably have slightly lower wear with 5W20.
With drives of 30 minutes or more in moderate or cold temperatures, you'll probably have lower wear with 5W30.
In the end, the differences between 5W20 and 5W30 in terms of both engine wear and fuel economy are negligible in your application.
From a strictly financial standpoint the best advice is probably to run the cheapest API SL or SM oil you can find in 5W20, 5W30 or 10W30.

 

[TallPaul]

quote:

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Originally posted by medic:
• 1993-1996 5.0L E-Series, F-Series, Bronco

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I have one of these'uns ('95 4.9L six)and I'm happily running 10w40 in it.

 

[medic]

quote:

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Originally posted by TallPaul:

quote:

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Originally posted by medic:
• 1993-1996 5.0L E-Series, F-Series, Bronco

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I have one of these'uns ('95 4.9L six)and I'm happily running 10w40 in it.

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Uhh, we weren't talking about the 4.9L I6 engine, but interestingly enough, it is also listed in the TSB as one of the vehicles to be switched to 5w-20.

quote:

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•1993-1999 4.9L E-Series, F-Series

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[haley10]

I also have the same truck to maintain, as well as a Lincoln Navigator SUV. The 5W-20 will work, but I could honestly not detect any fuel economy gains. The Navigator has an mpg monitor and I could not ever tell a differentce between Motorcraft 5W-20 and 5W-30.

The 5W-20 will be fine, just don't expect any miraculous mpg increase. Keeping the correct tire pressures do make a noticeable difference.

 

[medic]

quote:

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Originally posted by drums57:
Russ dont switch, this engine was not designed to run on 5w20

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Uhhh, are you sure? This engine was designed to run on exactly that, A 20 WT OIL. When this engine was built, multi-weight engine oils consistantly sheared to a thinner grade. In this case, the oil would shear to a thick 20 wt. Now, oils are very shear stable and a 5w-20 will shear very little, if any at all due to the very limited amount of VIIs need to produce it.

 

[Gary Allan]

In his typical service ..it wouldn't matter if it sheared a good bit. It's still at (probably) a 40 weight when he reaches his destination. Even starting out at 100F ...it won't be to 160F in 8 miles.

If he was flogging it on a daily basis ..or doing something really odd to it ..then we'd have to think about it a little. In this service ..he could probably run something even thinner and still be in (adaptive) spec.

 

[Big John]

FWIW,I ran M1 0w20 in a 01 5.4 pu at work for 6500 miles with no consumption..It had a steady diet of 5w30 for the first 4 years and 52000 miles of it's life.The engine was noisey especially in winter and it ran rather harsh(rough) or so it seemed..I did the switch on my own and on my own $$$.The guy that usually drove it came back from vacation and without me saying a word noted a definite improvement in noise and overall engine smoothness,miniscule mpg increase..

 

[TallPaul]

quote:

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Originally posted by medic:
Uhh, we weren't talking about the 4.9L I6 engine, but interestingly enough, it is also listed in the TSB as one of the vehicles to be switched to 5w-20.

quote:

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•1993-1999 4.9L E-Series, F-Series

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Oops!

Minor overlook, but I knew my engine had been back specified. So the example is still good. I would say, if you are going to run 5w20 in the 5.0 (technically a 4.9 L, but marketing decided to say 5.0), only do it if you have good oil pressure. In my case, 30 weight already is below spec oil pressure, so I would not run 20 weight in mine.

Now my motorhome is not back specified, but I potentially may run some Redline 5w20 I got cheap. It is a '90 460 V8, but gets 60 psi, so has plenty of room for a viscosity reduction.