I've got a 97' Mustang with the 4.6, it recommends 5W-30 but I've been tempted to try the motorcraft 5W-20. How far back has Ford okayed the use of 5W-20 in their vehicles? Thanks
5W-20 question
- Thread starter MustangGT
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As I understand it all mod motors were included in the 5w20 recommendation. I am now running it in my 97 F-150 5.4. No problems so far.
I'm using 5W30 Red Line in my "PI" 03 GT (4.6L).
If you're using a dino 5W-30 then I'd give the Motorcraft 5W-20 a shot. It seems to be a higher quality oil than the dino 5W-30's and shows really good wear numbers in the Ford modular engines. If you're using a quality true synthetic such as Mobil 1, Redline, RP, Amsoil or even the Schaeffer 7000 series blends and you're happy and don't mind paying the extra, stick with those, especially if you change your oil at 5,000 plus miles. But if you change your oil in the 3,000 mile to 5,000 mile range then the Motorcraft 5W-20 is hard to beat for protection and value.
Whimsey
Whimsey
"Oh ye of little faith"
Whimsey
OK, I guess I just don't understand the Midwestern dialect
Whimsey
Ford has back recommended 5w20 through the earliest of the 4.6l motors at this point.
Shouldn't be a problem switching to it in a '97.
I switched my '97 F150 with the 4.6 to 5w20 at 162,000 miles on the odometer with no ill effects... (Still running fine at last cheack - I sold it...)
Shouldn't be a problem switching to it in a '97.
I switched my '97 F150 with the 4.6 to 5w20 at 162,000 miles on the odometer with no ill effects... (Still running fine at last cheack - I sold it...)
well i just picked up 6 quarts of the 5w20 motorcraft from wallie world. Im going to give it a shot. Been using m1 full syn. 10w30 then swtitched to 5w30. Getting a little expensive at 3000mile int.
Exactly, so kick the dino the curb and grab a group IV 5w30. =)
I just had a friend blow a "bulletproof" 4.6L "PI" mustang engine (2002 GT). The oil that was in the engine when it blew: 5W20 weight Motorcraft.
All I knew is that he had 40,000 miles on that engine, and now he will be buying a forged longblock to replace it.
Mustangs are built to be abused. Whether that statment is true or not, many mustang owners abuse their engines, so that is why I balance out the equation of CARE vs ABUSE.
The more you abuse your stang, the more you have to care for it. This is Why I put Red Line 5W30 in my 03 GT, which runs in the high 12s in N/A form.
20 weight may be okay for conservatively driven street vehicles, but if you are going to put any stress on that motor, go with a 30 weight.
All I knew is that he had 40,000 miles on that engine, and now he will be buying a forged longblock to replace it.
Mustangs are built to be abused. Whether that statment is true or not, many mustang owners abuse their engines, so that is why I balance out the equation of CARE vs ABUSE.
The more you abuse your stang, the more you have to care for it. This is Why I put Red Line 5W30 in my 03 GT, which runs in the high 12s in N/A form.
20 weight may be okay for conservatively driven street vehicles, but if you are going to put any stress on that motor, go with a 30 weight.
Patman
Staff member
So run it longer than 3k! Problem solved.
Whimsey, read m150's post, that's what I'm talking about. Most people will occasionally dog the 'Stang....why??? Because they can and it's a 'Stang. Now, do you want that watered down oil in that crankcase when you stomp the be-jesus out of it? The common UOA's will show that the engine is fine, however, I really wonder what other things would pop up if you had a detailed more expensive UOA done. 5W-20 is CAFE. That's all there is to it.
If you have run the 30 weight for the past 7 years, I would be hesitant to change this late. As much as 5w30 dino is dogged for thinning out, there have been a lot of vehicles clocking high miles using it. I think the key is changing it at reasonable intervals. For the reocord, MC 5w20 appeears to be good stuff and I am going to use it for winter oil (-49 pour) in my '02 ranger post warranty.
I've had 3 4.6L SOHC engines, two with PI heads, cams, etc. The lightest oil I've ever put in them is a 5W30. The 97 Lariat has almost 209,000 miles on the engine with *NO* problems.
At the 200,000 mark we decided to have a compression check done on all the cylinders. Virtually no wear served as evidence to the effectivness of a 10W30's (Mobil 1) ability to lubricate this particular modular engine.
One question remains:
If you can SAFELY run a 10W30 weight oil and expect virtually no wear-out after 200,000 miles of service, why did Ford/Honda decide to run a lighter weight oil in all of their cars/trucks?
Food for educated thought.
PS- I'm not saying that 5W20 cannot effectively lubricate the *conservatively* driven street vehicle, nor am I saying that the UOAs posted on this board are not reflective of a potential for a great energy conserving lubricant, but 5W20 is not going in any of my engines until I have seen, with my own eyes, engines that have been run and tested for hundreds of thousands of miles on 5W20.
In short, there is no reason for me to switch from a 30 weight oil to a 20 weight.
At the 200,000 mark we decided to have a compression check done on all the cylinders. Virtually no wear served as evidence to the effectivness of a 10W30's (Mobil 1) ability to lubricate this particular modular engine.
One question remains:
If you can SAFELY run a 10W30 weight oil and expect virtually no wear-out after 200,000 miles of service, why did Ford/Honda decide to run a lighter weight oil in all of their cars/trucks?
Food for educated thought.
PS- I'm not saying that 5W20 cannot effectively lubricate the *conservatively* driven street vehicle, nor am I saying that the UOAs posted on this board are not reflective of a potential for a great energy conserving lubricant, but 5W20 is not going in any of my engines until I have seen, with my own eyes, engines that have been run and tested for hundreds of thousands of miles on 5W20.
In short, there is no reason for me to switch from a 30 weight oil to a 20 weight.
Sounds like your defense of MC 5W20 is primarily based on "good UOAs."
Besides that, all your doing is falling into teh same "sin" catagory as me...expressing personal experience.
my mustang has drag radials on it during the summer weekends. It also can run the drag strip at a higher/faster speed than a number of mustangs out there. I have a FRPP 4.30 ring and pinion, Moser 31 spline axles, Eaton Posi set-up for teh rear-end alone, which revs teh engine higher at all RPMs.
lets not get into what I've done with the rest of the car. In short, it's set-up for naturally asperated drag racing, which in fact does put more stress on a car engine that or a normally driven/towing truck.
As I mentioned before, I'm not saying that 5W20 is goign to cause problems, but after all the money I've spent on my ride, there is no way that I will put a 520 weight in the heart of it all.
I have a close relative working at a Big Three dyno room and this relative says absolutely do not use 5W-20. The 5W-20 oil was edicted by upper management with no money to support engine improvements. This company now finds itself with oil related engine failures at durability dyno test, where they were uncommon before switching to 5W-20.
I don't blame you. I would not run 520 weight either. In fact as adventuresome as our Australian friends are in using thick motor oils I dont think they've gone past 70 weight
Whimsey
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