ford 4.6 54,000 miles , go to full SYN???

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MillerMan

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2005 mercury grand marquis, 54,000 miles. It doesn't burn or leak oil of any amount with motorcraft 5w20 syn blend in it.
I have only owned the car the last 3,000 miles, I am unsure what oil was used before.

been think going to full syn, maybe Mobil 1. is too late for that? if so what weight, been thinking 5w30 in summer, 0w30 in winter. or just stay with 5w20?

car is in MN/WI, I will towing my 2000 pound boat this summer, with overdrive off
 
I have that engine in my mustang. 80k miles on it, i've had it for about 6,000 miles.
The first thing I did was switch to synthetic 5w30- no problems. It's good since i drive it hard for an hour to the track every friday night and drag about 5 times, with the car idling in between runs. If your towing- i think it would be a good idea to switch to a synthetic.
Won't hurt- unless the vehicle was horribly maintained- i can't imagine 54,000 miles being anything to worry about. I consider it new.
 
good info, I was thinking about throwing in a little seafoam in the oil about 75 miles before the oil change/oil switch too
good or bad idea???????
 
I run 4 or 5 quarts of PP 5-20 and 2 or 1 quart, respectfully, or PP 5-30 in my Gramp Marquis, now with 60,029 miles on it. I run just over 10,000 miles with this oil, 99% highway, using a Motorcraft Fl820S filter. UOA's show I can run it much further...my latest one is posted in the UOA section.

Unless you are running the car at a track, 5-20 is going to be perfectly fine. I only put a little 5-30 in mine because I had stockpiled so much 5-30 before I got this car, that I need to use some of it up, so it won't get "old".
 
I am 12 hours/7 miles into a switch from MC 5W-20 to PP 5W-20, in my 4.6 with 85K. Shocking that it ran exactly the same this morning on synthetic as it did yesterday on a blend.......
whistle.gif


Being serious, I am looking for longer OCI and a cleaner engine.
I will see how it goes.
 
Originally Posted By: Cmarti
I am 12 hours/7 miles into a switch from MC 5W-20 to PP 5W-20, in my 4.6 with 85K. Shocking that it ran exactly the same this morning on synthetic as it did yesterday on a blend.......
whistle.gif


Being serious, I am looking for longer OCI and a cleaner engine.
I will see how it goes.


how much cleaner will it be on straight synthetic?
 
Originally Posted By: 02zx9r
Originally Posted By: Cmarti
I am 12 hours/7 miles into a switch from MC 5W-20 to PP 5W-20, in my 4.6 with 85K. Shocking that it ran exactly the same this morning on synthetic as it did yesterday on a blend.......
whistle.gif


Being serious, I am looking for longer OCI and a cleaner engine.
I will see how it goes.


how much cleaner will it be on straight synthetic?


Don't know, and PP is not a PAO base, so maybe not at all.
But I had a PCV valve problem, and I have pulled the covers, and cleaned the throttle body of gunk. I am hoping the PP claims of cleanliness come true.
 
I see my 2005 has a crazy fancy maybe electronic PCV, unlike my old grand marquis that had the old simple vacum type.

is this new type PCV valve system a problem?
 
97' Mercury Villager switched to full synthetic (Castrol Syntec) @ 92k miles. I just drain and refill. Now it is running with Amsoil ASL @ 97k miles. Mine has no leak before and after using synthetic. Dino oil was changed every 3k or less.

Mobil & Castrol say synthetic and dino oil are interchangeable. 54k is never too late.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: MillerMan
I see my 2005 has a crazy fancy maybe electronic PCV, unlike my old grand marquis that had the old simple vacum type.

is this new type PCV valve system a problem?


Well it costs more than $3.95...... Just check and replace more often than I did. Mine has a pressurized coolant line in it($50). It gunked shut. One of the problems on the F150 were vacum leaks in the plastic lines, not necessarily with the valve itself. The leaks will cause a 171/174 lean code.
 
Originally Posted By: MillerMan
2005 mercury grand marquis, 54,000 miles. It doesn't burn or leak oil of any amount with motorcraft 5w20 syn blend in it.
I have only owned the car the last 3,000 miles, I am unsure what oil was used before.

been think going to full syn, maybe Mobil 1. is too late for that? if so what weight, been thinking 5w30 in summer, 0w30 in winter. or just stay with 5w20?

car is in MN/WI, I will towing my 2000 pound boat this summer, with overdrive off


Its never too late, switch over.
 
well I put mobil 1 0w30 green cap in it. used a napa gold oil filter.

looking to change oil every 6,000 miles or so, also looking for good flow in winter time at start up.

maybe I will put 0w20 in it next fall
 
I have a 1997 Mustang with the 4.6 and 55,000 miles, it's been on dino since day one and I think it will stay that way.
 
Stick with the 5w20 motorcraft, and you must use a motorcraft filter with this motor.

Other than that, its a tank.

The rest of the car will rot away before you have to open up the motor for ANY service.
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
Stick with the 5w20 motorcraft, and you must use a motorcraft filter with this motor.

Other than that, its a tank.

The rest of the car will rot away before you have to open up the motor for ANY service.



must use a motorcraft filter? why?
I use motorcraft filters sometimes, but I don't care for the socket style, my oil filter socket works on it but I like the other type socket on the napa gold better.

I had a 94 mercury grand marquis before this one, It was the best car I ever owned. it had 236,000 miles on it when I gave up on it a few months ago. it ran almost like new yet. the motor and tranny were strong yet. motor was never touched except for oil changes and tune ups. tranny was never touched except for fliud changes.

but it had problems due to salt, time and miles, ball joints were going, AC was out, the orignal exhaust system was about done. the power drivers door window busted. It would need new steel brake lines and gas line due to rust/ blow out fear. plus a few other things. needed a brake job soon etc......... I just couldn't see putting money into it. in the last 30,000 miles I hardy stuck a dollar into her except for oil changes and air filter. really the car was just starting to rust body and floorboard wise, very solid yet. The radiator, starter, altenator, water pump, fuel pump, most ball joints, all hoses were original yet
 
The Motorcraft filter seems to have a very good ADBV that prevents start up rattles.

Wix filters are also of high quality should be fine.
 
With 56K on the car I wouldn't bother going to synthetic oil. The MC 5w-20 is a good oil and will do just fine in that engine if changed every 5K or so. Those 4.6L Fords aren't known to sludge up and they tend to show good wear numbers on nearly any oil.
 
Originally Posted By: ewetho
The Motorcraft filter seems to have a very good ADBV that prevents start up rattles.

Wix filters are also of high quality should be fine.


Correct!

Stick with those motorcraft filters, many other brands will cause a start up rattle everytime you start the car cold in the morning.

You can get them at walmart for a few cents more than a supertech filter.
 
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