Deciding on which weight diesel oil for 2000 7.3L Ford Diesel

[Super-Fairlane]

Whatever weight oil you decide on make sure zinc and phosphorus PPM levels are above 1200.. and that it has a detergent package of at least 2,000 PPM..

Personally I don't think you can beat Shell Rotella products for diesels.. or flat tappet engines..

 

[RobbyDawg]

Also, International originally designed this engine to use 10w30. I read this in an article about the Ford/International partnership for the 7.3L diesel.

You are correct about this. Caterpillar and Navistar collaborated to design the HEUI fuel system. I’ve worked for a Cat dealer for years, and we’ve always recommended 10w-30 for the HEUI engines even back when we used 15w-40 on everything else. You want that high pressure oil pump (which is an axial piston pump) to receive oil supply quickly upon cold start. Since we’re in Canada, 10w-30 is what we now use almost exclusively. But somehow most people seem to think a diesel engine “needs” 15w-40. IMO what is more important in these particular engines than grade is regular changes. The fuel system components are not cheap, and sooty, abrasive oil WILL cause failures therefore I’d recommend 5k mile changes. Straight from Cat (these are all HEUI engine models):

That being said, in your climate it probably wouldn’t make any difference. I don’t recall any specific problems CAUSED by 15w-40 in these engines. But you can confidently run 10w-30.

 

[hansj3]

like the 7.3 are nothing like passenger car gas engines so you should not base anything off your previous experience.

You need to use a diesel rated oil and 15w40 is@

 

[Ruby]

When I owned my 2002 F350 with the legendary 7.3, great motor, I always used the Motor Craft 15w40 oil and the Motor Craft oil filter. I changed the oil and oil filter every 5000 miles. I would buy the Motor Craft oil and oil filter at WM (3) 5 gallon jugs and the FL1995 Motor Craft oil filter. Never any issues with these Motor Craft Products.

If I still owned my 2002 F350, I would not hesitate to use the Shell Rotella T6 5w40. I use the Shell Rotella T6 5w40 year round in my 2011 Ram 3500 with the 6.7 Cummins, great oil.

With either oil choice, with a good oil filter and proper change intervals you should be fine. If you are using the 15W40 oil like I did when I owned my 2002 F350, during really cold temps, plugging in always helped.

 

[NiwradND]

10w30 Rotella T5 Change oil and filter every 5000 miles Great engine 10w30 is all you need with the Huei injector system.

 

[Lawnfella]

I want to use a Pennzoil Ultra Platinum because in my other cars this oil keeps those engines incredibly clean but I dont see the diesel spec listed for these oils. I don't know of a similarly effective oil that works so well at cleaning the engine that is made for a diesel engine.

Pennzoil ultra is for gasoline engines

 

[ineptizoid]

Always interesting to see people acting like they want input to make a decision when in reality they’ve already decided. Probably it’s out of a desire for reassurance and/or validation but I’m no psychologist. Hell, I didn’t even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Thread title could’ve been I’m running 10w30 in my 7.3 and I don’t care what anybody says and I would’ve been impressed by the sheer honesty.

FWIW, everybody’s got opinions but facts are facts and Ford doesn’t recommend 10w30 in that engine for operation in temps over 90F. And it’s been known to exceed 90F during summer in the great state of Alabama, quite regularly in fact. So if you ran 10w30 during a hot Alabama summer day, you’d be going against factory guidelines. But then again, those guidelines only came from engineers—and what do those guys know, amiright??

 

[Lawnfella]

My manual says I should use anywhere from 5w30, 10w30, to 15w40 depending on the temperature outside. I live in Alabama so I see anwhere from 15 degrees fahrenheit to 100 degrees fahrenheit. I am thinking 10w30 would be a good compromise. I want to run the thinnest oil I can for gas mileage without losing engine protection. I will be towing a lot but I will drive it only occasionally so maybe 5-10k miles a year.

15w-40. Been running it since 1996. Never an oil related problem. 10w-30 shears too much because of the oil actuated injection system

 

[Ruby]

I always ran the Motor Craft 15w40 in my 2002 F350 Power Stroke with the Motor Craft FL-1995 OEM Oil Filter changing the oil and oil filter every 5000 miles. Never had any issues. I would plug in when needed if really cold for 3-4 hours before starting and the truck was happier. The 7.3 was a fantastic motor. If I still owned this truck, I would most likely run Shell Rotella T6 5w40 year round with the Motor Craft FL-1995 factory oil filter changing the oil and oil filter every 5000 miles.

My current truck, 2011 Ram 3500 Diesel, does well with the Shell Rotella T6 5w40 with the Fleetguard or Mopar oil filter. The Manuel states the oil change is every 7500 miles on my Ram. Due to the emissions stuff on the truck, the oil gets black shortly after changing the oil due to the emissions and soot. I have always changed the oil and oil filter every 5000 miles because of this. Some will argue that 5000 miles is too early, but I choose to change the oil and oil filter every 5000 miles because of the soot captured in the oil.

When I had my 2002 F350 Power Stroke, the oil was never that dirty between the 5000 mile oil and oil filter changes because of no emissions on the truck.