80K miles on Motorcraft 5w20 blend

[Zacharyx]

I was running the stock bottom end up until the rings went, and decided if it was going to be apart there is no reason to put any weak parts back in. Now it is up t0 302 ci.

I have helped build 3 500+hp 2v cars and have seen the 1019hp one MPH built. I don't see the need to go to the 4v heads to make power, one friend has $15,000 in a 4v with whipple swap into his GT and is putting down 590hp and when mine is together it should put down at least 650hp at the boost level he is running and I barely have $20,000 in mine including the price of the car.

On an oil note, the shop who built the engine said I should break it in on 20w50 Valvoline VR1 but since it is an OHC motor I am scared of oil that thick so I am going to run 10w30 Castrol GTX ( only dino oil I have in the garage)for start up, let the car run up to temp then drain in and run the 30 weight vr1 with the Comp Cam break in additive 500 then again for another 2000 or so. I figure the rings will have no way not to have sealed by then and I will go back to the last of my stash of Havoline Syn and once it is gone may go to PP or AMSOIL.

With as long as the car has been down think I may be on syn in about 10 days

 

[coffee]

I think the GTX will be a fine choice and keep us posted on the progress.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Zacharyx
I was running the stock bottom end up until the rings went, and decided if it was going to be apart there is no reason to put any weak parts back in. Now it is up t0 302 ci.

I have helped build 3 500+hp 2v cars and have seen the 1019hp one MPH built. I don't see the need to go to the 4v heads to make power, one friend has $15,000 in a 4v with whipple swap into his GT and is putting down 590hp and when mine is together it should put down at least 650hp at the boost level he is running and I barely have $20,000 in mine including the price of the car.

On an oil note, the shop who built the engine said I should break it in on 20w50 Valvoline VR1 but since it is an OHC motor I am scared of oil that thick so I am going to run 10w30 Castrol GTX ( only dino oil I have in the garage)for start up, let the car run up to temp then drain in and run the 30 weight vr1 with the Comp Cam break in additive 500 then again for another 2000 or so. I figure the rings will have no way not to have sealed by then and I will go back to the last of my stash of Havoline Syn and once it is gone may go to PP or AMSOIL.

With as long as the car has been down think I may be on syn in about 10 days


Nice numbers! A buddy of mine (a tuner) had an '03 Termi which he swapped a set of twins onto. ~800RWHP on 94 Octane pump gas, conservative tune at 14psi. If I were buying a new Mustang, I'd get an 03/04, I can't get over how over-built those cars are engine-wise from the factory.

If you want a good, readily available synthetic, I'd get the M1 TDT oil. You can pick it up at Walmart. It's basically the old Delvac 1 formulation.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Consider the following oils: M1 0W40,M1 5W40,M1 10W30 HM, M1 10W40 HM, Redline 5W30,Redline 10W40 and last but not least RTS 5W40. I would change the oil every six months and the heck with the milage! Like others have said make sure the PCV system is in good shape and that the air box is nice and tight. If you decide you want to try Redline the best deal OTC is Carquest. Some other people told me bavarianmotorworks has good prices and shipping. Amsoil cost way too much right now especialy with your proposed OCI! If you where to use Amsoil I would try their 10W30 ACD product as it seems to represent the best value currently on thier site for a true synthetic. My favorite product of their is their Series 3000 5W30 but their price for it is way too high.

That is what every engine used to look like with 80,000 miles on them even with 1500 mile OCI's back in the 1980's so I have no problem with the idea that the oil is the main culprit or at least a contributing factor. If the varnish was soft it was not too much of an issue other then that it was the main cuase of seal failure.

Oh and I listed the oils in the order I thought you should try them in! I think doing an ARX treatment is a wise move!

 

[cobrapaul]

My 96 cobra has used 5w20 and 5w30 since new, zero varnish (at least from what I can see under the valve covers)...

 

[ponderosaTX]

In perusing past threads on this forum, this thread caught my attention as perhaps shabbiest cheap shot at a particular oil. The title of the original posting states "80K miles on MC 5w20 blend" but when you read the content of the posting, the anecdotal account is really about 48K miles on MC 5w20 Synthetic Blend following 32K miles of completely unknown maintenance by a prior owner. The previous owner may never have changed the oil at all. Since the internal varnish/sludge condition of the engine was completely unknown when the car was acquired, the author of the posting is being disingenuous in suggesting that his subsequent maintenance using MC 5w20 Synthetic Blend created the problem. Moreover, the false title on the posting ("80K miles on MC 5w20 blend") suggests that the author had an ulterior motive.

 

[Mustang2008Z]

Wow, after seeing the engine from an older Ford Mustang, if it had a diet of Motorcraft Oil, then Conoco-Phillips must be doing something that Ford wants done.....Yikes....Now that makes me think why my selling dealer sells a different oil than Motorcraft. (Valvoline) even though the dealer's invoice said one thing, and I got something different, based upon the invoice and number used for the Valvoline Oil.

My 1995 Mercury Cougar, though, ran on Motorcraft 5W-30 Synthetic Blend, but ran like a wonderful automobile, that is why I bought the Mustang I own now...Ford made an excellent Mercury Cougar in my opinion, and I wanted to buy another Ford product, again....

 

[grease_monkey]

I would definatly replace the pcv, it is the most over looked when it comes to services, and it only costs $ 4.00
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
This seems like a PCV /breather issue.
Does that engine have inherent problems? Check into specific forums for your car.
Maybe it was bad before you got it, though.
MC is not known for producing crud in engines - people love it around here.

 

[Mustang2008Z]

I think that from now on, I am going to provide the oil that I want put into the Mustang's engine, air filter, and oil filter too so that the dealer will put what I think is best for my car and still meet Ford's Warranty.....Just a thought.....

 

[Mustang2008Z]

My ex-wife, before I met her, owned a new Ford Taurus, when they first came out, and when it reached 100,000 miles, the transmission died on it, and she was told, by a Ford mechanic, that that was what Ford had designed into the car, for the transmission to die around 100,000 miles.....I have to also state, that I owned a 1991 Ford F-150 that the transmission died the moment/day it was traded in for the 2000 Nissan Pickup that I own now. Mileage on it was a little over 100,000 miles......Interesting coincidence....