Canadian Motorcraft 5w-20 motor oil

[adal148]

We bought a new 2005 Ford Freestyle which my owners manual states to use Motorcraft 5w-20 meeting Ford's specs. WSS-M2C930A. Since my wife will be the principal driver 95% of the time it is expected to be low mileage driven approx up to 10K km/yr. This being the case I plan to do the oil change myself with the above Motorcraft 5w-20 at the 5K/km OCI to stay within the warranty requirements.

I've got two concerns about this Motorcraft oil and hopefully someone else who knows more about this can shed some additional light.
(1) I went to 2 Ford dealers to get the 5w-20 oil recommended and when I looked at the label it says the API rating SL meeting Ford spec. WWS-M2C153-H for 2001 Ford vehicles onward.I was quite skeptical that this must be old stock they're trying to get rid of and in both cases the parts people and service advisors cannot give me a definitive answer by saying it doesn't matter as long as it says Motorcraft 5w-20.I did not buy their 5w-20 oil.
BTW I looked at the bottom of the bottle and it shows the 3 stars which symbolizes it's made by ESSO. So I checked ESSO EXTRA 5w-20 and sure enough it says API SM & ILSAC GF-4 meeting Ford specs WSS-M2C930-A and also WSS-M2C153-H.
So is there such a thing as Motorcraft 5w-20 with the API SM rating with the M2C930-A spec.other than getting the American version across the line which I believe it also states it's a synthetic blend.

(2) While I was at my dealer's I also made an appointment to get an oil change done. They took one look at the odo and said ugh!ugh! it read only 1500km, it was too wasteful and they talked me out of it and follow the recommended 5K/km schedule. Normally I would have insisted but since it was to be a complimentary oil change I accepted that fact to keep the good relations since I get along very well with their service dept and also getting a decent discount from their parts dept.
My oil life reading says 44% and also the oil on the dipstick looks clear as new oil and no feel of any gritty particles. Should i stay on this course?
I don't see the need for more expensive synthetics at my planned OCI even with ESSO EXTRA 5w-20 or the U.S.Motorcraft 5w-20 if I can get it.
Any other helpful comments will be appreciated.

 

[VTEC01EX]

I'm not going to be much help as far as finding the oil is concerned, but I'd definitely want that factory fill changed if it was my new car. Honda did the same thing to me, my dealer flat out refused to change it until at least 5K miles had passed. I lost patience around 3.5K miles and changed it myself, then started my complimentary oil changes at 8K miles.

I wouldn't worry too much about the exact specifics of the Motorcraft 5w20. It's an excellent oil and will definitely keep you within warranty specs (especially if your dealer sells it to you specifically for your car).

 

[adal148]

Sorry for the double post. My mistake.

 

[adal148]

I guess I could at this early stage just change the oil and just leave the factory filter as is. That seems like a feasible solution. This way I could go back and still get that complimentary oil and filter change at around 6K.

That could even be a better time for them to check for any leaks,squeeks, rattles, bolts, etc. The only thing is I'll have to delay installing a Fumoto oil drain valve which will make the procedure a lead pipe cinch.

Thanks for the great idea.

 

[PFP]

Out of curiousity, how much does Ford want for each litre of thier oil? I paid $3.03 per litre for Esso Extra 5W20 (SM rated) last month, buying a flat of 12 from my local bulk distributor. I looked into it, and I really think the Ford oil and the Esso are the same thing. I'm trying to find out who makes thier Mercon V tranny fluid in Canada. It does not come in Esso bottles.

 

[cyclic]

The WSS-M2C153-H is just the old (2001-2004) rating, the oil never changed, just the rating for 2005 to WSS-M2C930A, and it is the same as WSS-M2C153-H.

I have a 2005 Tribute and had to figure this out as well. I also figured out American Motorcraft 5w20 is semi syn made by Conoco Phillips and the CDN Motocraft as you said is pure dino made by Esso. Still a good oil I am sure, but i but a cpl cases of the Conoco stuff when I was over the border a few months back.

 

[adal148]

The dealer I bought the car from quoted me a discount price of $2.69/litre on the 1st 4 cases (12per case), and over that it's cheaper still. Unfortunately they're located out of town 55 miles away.

The local dealer in town has it on sale at $2.95/litre so i'll just buy a half dozen btls locally to tide me over.

cyclic,perhaps you are right in also saying the Ford specs M2C930A is the same as M2C153-H, but I'm still not quite convinced because I believe it was only recently that ESSO was supplying Ford with the Cdn Motorcraft oils.Why would it still show API SL rated with the old M2C153-H spec. I know I'm being somewhat picky about this and that they may have just slapped on the old label.
Strangely I also looked at the Motorcraft 5w-30 and it shows API SM rated.Used to do a lot of cross border shopping in the past but without a passport I don't want to get hassled by U.S. border officials.

 

[427Z06]

The most significant difference between the WSS-M2C153-H specification and the WSS-M2C930A specification is that the WSS-M2C153-H used a double length Sequence IIIF test, whereas the WSS-M2C930A uses the Sequence IIIG test. In short, the Sequence IIIG wasn't developed yet when Ford started specifying 5w20.

Is there a difference that should influence you to buy one over the other? I wouldn't be concerned. I would buy on convenience or price, whichever is of higher value to you.

 

[adal148]

Hey thanks 427Z06 I did some further checking around and you were bang on about those Sequence IIIF and IIIG tests.There are numerous pages in PDF format with too much technical data way beyond my understanding.As far as I'm concerned the IIIF (SL) and the IIIG (SM)tests show almost identical performance characteristics.See also this link from the Detroit Advisory Panel:
http://www.ilma.org/resources/fordltr_recommendations.pdf

I just bought a 6-pack of Motorcraft 5w-20 with the API SL and Ford spec 153-H and will do my own oil change without any worries.I think by the time the next OCI becomes due the Motorcraft 5w-20 will be re-labeled with API SM and the updated Ford spec.WSS-M2C930A which is already shown on their supplier's own brand (Esso Extra 5w-20)meeting both the 153-H and 930A specs.

 

[adal148]

Also adding some interesting comments...

When API brought out the SM oils and ILSAC GF-4 was introduced, Ford changed its Engineering Material Specification for 5W20 oil to the new WSS-M2C930-A spec. I noticed that it no longer requires that 5W20 oil meet the double length ASTM Sequence IIIF test that WSS-M2C153-H did. The new spec calls for the ASTM Sequence VG test.

you might be right about that VG test since the Ford specification requires better test limits than what ILSAC allows for in their published standards. I've also learned since I first made this post that the GF-4 standard replaced the Sequence IIIF test with the Sequence IIIG test, and the IIIG test has even better viscosity thresholds than Ford originally allowed for in the 153-H spec. As I understand it, GF-4 was intended to improve emmisions by reducing the amount of the zinc additive in oils, among other things. So it looks to me like Ford simply updated their 930A spec for 5W20 oil to reflect the revised, and tougher, tests in the new GF-4 standard, which net, net probably results in a better quality oil for us consumers.

 

[adal148]

Just got my first oil change done at 1600km and while the oil on the dipstick still looks brand new the oil collected on the drain pan was a weird looking greenish/gray colour. What the heck do they use in the factory fill, sure different from their recommended Motorcraft 5W-20. Just curious, anyone know?

 

[427Z06]

Possibly leftovers from assembly lube?