5w-40 / 0w-40 Success!

[Navi]

I can report back here that both myself and my buddies have had no issues using either 5w-40 or 0w-40 in either the Ford Ecoboost 3.5 or the GM 5.3 / 6.2 V8. Going into the future any vehicle we get in here will get 5w-40 unless there is some odd issue which prevents that.

My buddy used 0w-40 in a GM 5.3 V8 and still had some oil burning. We got it in here, used Liqui Moly Engine Flush and in the new oil added Liqui Moly Motor Oil Saver. We did follow the directions exactly. 2 cans of flush 15 minutes at idle and after the oil change it was 2 cans of Motor Oil Saver in the new oil. That resolved the oil burning issue..at least for now.

Im a big fan of Liqui Moly products and believe they all work well as designed.

Walmart is the "go to" place and I stocked up on 5w-40 from Mobil 1, Castrol and Valvoline when they were on sale.

 

[Kira]

Where in the city is your garage?

 

[Cujet]

The Ford engines do very well on 40 viscosity oils. It eliminates a large number of phaser and cam chain wear problems. However, make sure to change the oil regularly. 5000 miles on the 3.5's. The 8 quart 5.0's can go a bit longer, but even so, the newer 5.0's wet oil pump belts require clean, non contaminated oil for long life.

 

[Navi]

The Ford engines do very well on 40 viscosity oils. It eliminates a large number of phaser and cam chain wear problems. However, make sure to change the oil regularly. 5000 miles on the 3.5's. The 8 quart 5.0's can go a bit longer, but even so, the newer 5.0's wet oil pump belts require clean, non contaminated oil for long life.

I sometimes wonder why Ford didnt make the 8 quart pan universal to its vehicles.

 

[SupremePossum]

Would a 2.7 Benefit from 40wt too?

 

[edyvw]

Would a 2.7 Benefit from 40wt too?

Yes. You don't necessarily have to go to W40. You can go Euro XW30. They are almost 40 grade with a minimum HTHS of 3.5.

 

[cptbarkey]

What is the definition of success OP? You gave zero details.

 

[Pablo]

What is the definition of success OP? You gave zero details.

I was going to ask the same

What were you expecting? How do you know either way??

 

[Hermann]

These success claims with no data give me at least one good laugh a day. (BTW It's healthy to Laugh) All I can say is the DATA on my truck says my 0w-33.33 Frankenblend is costing me 1-2 mpg compared to Motorcraft 0W-20.especially if a lot of short trips in a tank.

 

[Navi]

Would a 2.7 Benefit from 40wt too?

The 2.7/3.0 Ford Ecoboost is the most reliable Ecoboost engine Ford makes. The jury is out on the new Gen 3 3.5 Ecoboost but it is more reliable than Gen 2 and does not have the same issues.

The answer here is the 2.7/3.0 line of engines shouldnt need as much handholding and TLC. The Ford Tech on Youtube only had 1 2.7 in the shop for a timing job and it looked like that engine lacked maintenance with obvious heavy varnish and sludge.

I guess it comes down to where you are at and what you do with the truck. If you are in Phoenix I would put a thicker oil in any engine all day long. If you working construction or oil field go thicker. ...Yeah the 2.7 should not need the kind of close attention the other engines require so I would only go 5w-40 if what you do and where you are call for it.

Even super reliable Toyota suggests thick 40wt oils in places like Saudi Arabia keep in mind. So the oil viscosity stated in the owners manual should only be considered for an average climate like Maryland or Ohio. However for real hot places go thicker.

Another factor is how long will you keep the truck? If you tell me 300,000+ miles I would say go thicker with any engine. Oil tends to leak from hoses and seals as they age. After 300,000 miles parts wear out. A thicker oil will help the engine keep going with less issues.

 

[Panda87]

5w-40 improved my gas mileage in my old Ford 5.4. I have no idea how, why, or under what mechanism it’s happened, but I’ve gone from 14.5-15mpg unloaded over my run to the Birmingham VA and back at an average of 60-65mph to 17.5-18mpg. I went from the spec 5w-20 to a 5w-40, changed nothing else, and my mpg improved. I literally don’t understand, but the engine runs smoother, so I’ll take it.

 

[kschachn]

5w-40 improved my gas mileage in my old Ford 5.4. I have no idea how, why, or under what mechanism it’s happened, but I’ve gone from 14.5-15mpg unloaded over my run to the Birmingham VA and back at an average of 60-65mph to 17.5-18mpg. I went from the spec 5w-20 to a 5w-40, changed nothing else, and my mpg improved. I literally don’t understand, but the engine runs smoother, so I’ll take it.

Whatever it is (weather, gasoline formulation changes, etc.) it isn't the oil.

 

[Panda87]

Whatever it is (weather, gasoline formulation changes, etc.) it isn't the oil.

We shall see. My mpg improvement has been consistent, even around town, which was 11.5-13.5mpg is now 14-15.5mpg.

 

[kschachn]

We shall see. My mpg improvement has been consistent, even around town, which was 11.5-13.5mpg is now 14-15.5mpg.

Well what I meant was that it's undeniable that a thinner oil will improve fuel economy, automakers and blenders wouldn't be chasing them and spending untold millions of dollars if that were not the case. The physics is there.

At the same time you will never see it in uncontrolled everyday driving. Any change due to grade is deep in your noise. It's about a 1% to maximum 2% change per grade, and considering that the energy of the gasoline changes up to about 4% even at the same gas station that can have a noticeable effect. Dial in the seasonal formulation changes and weather and you're way beyond what is attributable to the oil.

 

[Panda87]

Well what I meant was that it's undeniable that a thinner oil will improve fuel economy, automakers and blenders wouldn't be chasing them and spending untold millions of dollars if that were not the case. The physics is there.

At the same time you will never see it in uncontrolled everyday driving. Any change due to grade is deep in your noise. It's about a 1% to maximum 2% change per grade, and considering that the energy of the gasoline changes up to about 4% even at the same gas station that can have a noticeable effect. Dial in the seasonal formulation changes and weather and you're way beyond what is attributable to the oil.

Agree completely! Like I said, I don’t know what it is, but if it improves my mpg, I’ll take it regardless of the cause. My towing MPG with my camper has improved as well. At 65mph, I’m now pulling at around 8-8.5mpg, where prior I was around 6.5-7. I really have no idea why, lol…but I’ll take it!

My only suspicion is MAYBE the HPL has cleaned more and more carbon from my engine and it’s helping in that manner? The filter I cut open 3rd one with HPL with only 1200 miles on it was full of carbon grit in the bottom of the can. I still haven’t cut the media yet as it’s still draining.

 

[Jesse_NE]

Companies that do their own maintenance on vehicle fleets don't have time to mess with a library of oil viscosities. They use what works across the board with what they run.

People here would have a meltdown seeing me dump 15W-40 into an irrigation motor that clearly says 5W-30 on the oil cap. They somehow run for thousands of hours on the "wrong oil" though.

 

[tcp71]

I ran Edge 0w40 in my 2009 F150 5.4 3V. I've run Edge 0w40 in my 2016 Eco since new.

 

[tojo7089]

My '19 F-150 with the 3.5 ecoboost is currently in the shop for a cam phaser job. I've been running M1 EPHM 5w-30 in it. I'm considering the M1 ESP 0-30 in it. I live in MT and I like the fact that it's a 0w for the winter but has a higher viscosity and similar flash point to the EPHM.

 

[scrllock]

What's success here? Not blowing up? This is even worse than the "I changed to a 40 grade and my Fe ppm/1K is down by 2!" posts.

 

[tired]

Agree completely! Like I said, I don’t know what it is, but if it improves my mpg, I’ll take it regardless of the cause. My towing MPG with my camper has improved as well. At 65mph, I’m now pulling at around 8-8.5mpg, where prior I was around 6.5-7. I really have no idea why, lol…but I’ll take it!

My only suspicion is MAYBE the HPL has cleaned more and more carbon from my engine and it’s helping in that manner? The filter I cut open 3rd one with HPL with only 1200 miles on it was full of carbon grit in the bottom of the can. I still haven’t cut the media yet as it’s still draining.

Wow even after 3 changes with HPL you're still filling up filters with carbon?? Did you do the HPL Engine Cleaner first?