Ford 2.0L Duratec; Rotella T6 15w-40 15k miles

[CT8]

Originally Posted by Chesterr
You have big blanks....I hear diesel oil has xtra detergents and can actually cause more wear in a gas engine...ford makes great motors for most part, I have had 2 outstanding focuses

There is lots of stuff we hear.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted by pbm
Originally Posted by CT8
Originally Posted by pbm
Duratechs are great engines....I was under the impression that they preferred thinner oils?

Am I correct that you ran two 15K OCI's and are now trying 20K?
preferred? seriously?



As somebody that currently owns 3 Duratechs (a 2.0, 2.3 and 2.5) and has a daughter with one (a 2.0)....I read most posts pertaining to them. Most agree that they are durable engines and easy on oil and several owners have mentioned that they prefer 5w20.
If you doubt it...that's fine...

My daughter has a 2010 Focus. I have run 5W-30 since the first oil change.

 

[pbm]

Originally Posted by CT8
Originally Posted by pbm
Originally Posted by CT8
Originally Posted by pbm
Duratechs are great engines....I was under the impression that they preferred thinner oils?

Am I correct that you ran two 15K OCI's and are now trying 20K?
preferred? seriously?



As somebody that currently owns 3 Duratechs (a 2.0, 2.3 and 2.5) and has a daughter with one (a 2.0)....I read most posts pertaining to them. Most agree that they are durable engines and easy on oil and several owners have mentioned that they prefer 5w20.
If you doubt it...that's fine...

My daughter has a 2010 Focus. I have run 5W-30 since the first oil change.


I have used 5w30 several times myself....but 5w30 and 15w40 are quite different.

 

[high_mileage]

I estimate that 70% of the miles are interstate. 70-85 mph. 5-speed. I do use an oversized filter that gives me about a third or half quart more capacity. I think its a PH3600 sized filter. I'd put an FL-1A on there if I could but it it too big in circumference! No worries about running higher grades of oil. Found an article in Machinery Lubrication Magazine where they disproved the myth that modern engines have tighter tolerances that thick oil cannot squeeze into. Writer showed were the bearing used in crankshafts and the like made 50 years ago were made as "tight" as they are today. Engines are more compact for the most part but the internal tolerances are pretty much unchanged over the years.

Indeed true about the clearances. I compared the rod and main clearances in my wife's 2005 Duratec 2.0 , my old '85 Mercedes diesel 3.0, and a 1959 vintage aircraft engine of 540cid. I verified that this unlikely group of engines all share overlapping rod and main clearances. In the order listed, each succeeding engine does have a bigger midpoint in those clearances, nonetheless, all could be machined within a narrower set of rod and main tolerances to share the same tolerances that would still satisfy each's original tolerances as well.
I did not pay close attention to the sliding clearances but if I recall correctly the same was essentially true there too.
This was my long winded way of saying newer car engines aren't radically tighter inside. By the way, I looked up a UK Ford Focus Owner's Manual and then compared that oil recommendation with what I see in my wife's US/Canada manual on my desk. When the owner a 2005 Ford Focus with the Duratec 2.0 in the UK opens up their owner's manual they see 5W30 is recommend but the owner of a North American Focus with the same engine sees 5W20 listed. Hmmm...

 

[Snagglefoot]

Originally Posted by Kira
Silicone (sand) is >4X higher in the second sample. Check your air filter.


If you read report.. it was the first sample, and it notes the use of sealer.

You’re both kind of right. Sand is silica which is actually silica dioxide. The process of getting silicon from it is described in the attachment. The silicon indicator will respond to the presence of silicon from silicone sealants and also silicon from silica (sand). But silicone is not the same as sand.