First, thanks to all those who furthered my knowledge here on different things regarding oil. A few months back my engine was a complete mess with a horrible cold start rattle and diesel like sound. It ultimately turned out to be the cam phasers and underwent a month long repair at the dealership as a result of backordered parts. This post is in regards to the Ford F150 / Lincoln Navigator /Ford Expedition 3.5 liter Ecoboost cold start rattle and pinging noise.
I wanted to deliver the results of my investigation to this forum so if someone Googles it they might find some solutions.
#1. The main reason why a camphaser would fail is oil viscosity. The wrong viscosity oil will eventually cause problems with a camphaser. Now I know there are some guys who would put a 5W40 in an engine which normally specifies 5W30. That might work with some engines, but I dont believe it will work reliably all the time with these Ford Ecoboost engines. Here is an article which better explains the role of the camphasers and lists reasons why they fail.
Article on CamPhasers
#2. The 3.5 liter Ford Ecoboost engine...a turbo charged direct injected engine...is really good at shearing or thinning or diluting the engine oil. I have examined many different used oil analysis or "UOA" and it seems the Ecoboost makes short work of the usual Mobil 1 and Valvoline oils. So normally these engines will take a 5W30 but by 5000 miles that oil is now a 5W20. This might be the problem with the camphasers going bad eventually.
#3. The only two 5W30 oils I found which seem to hold their grade...not turn into a 5W20 by 5000 miles...are Amsoil Signature Series 5W30 and Shell Rotella T6 5W30 MultiVehicle. These oils seem to stay in the viscosity range of 5W30s.
#4. There are some guys out there running Shell Rotella T6 5W40 but I just cant be sure what will happen to the camphasers or the catalytic converter after prolonged use. The Ecoboost engine was clearly not designed for it. It might be just fine in there over time, but its such an expensive situation Im not sure if I want to give it a try myself.
#5. Liqui Moly makes a moly additive called MOS 2009 which should help prevent chain/cam wear. This additive might be a good preventive measure
My conclusion is the best preventative maintenance is to utilize one of the suggested oils Amsoil or Shell, performed used oil analysis through Blackstone to figure out an exacting OCI and to use a moly additive. Pay special attention to CST values of the used oil analysis. You dont want that value getting under or shearing to 9.3 or below.
In regards to warranty the dealer never asked me what oil I put into the car. Thus is you simply "clam up" about such issues you might be fine. If you dont use Ford approved oils you might find yourself in a bind if you admit to using those oils. Thus be slick if you have to put it into the dealership for warranty work.
Keep in mind this post is just theory and not proven fact. My theory is shearing is causing the cam phasers to fail. The reason why Im getting so granular and looking into this so closely is because I really need this truck and I need it to keep working ...
I wanted to deliver the results of my investigation to this forum so if someone Googles it they might find some solutions.
#1. The main reason why a camphaser would fail is oil viscosity. The wrong viscosity oil will eventually cause problems with a camphaser. Now I know there are some guys who would put a 5W40 in an engine which normally specifies 5W30. That might work with some engines, but I dont believe it will work reliably all the time with these Ford Ecoboost engines. Here is an article which better explains the role of the camphasers and lists reasons why they fail.
Article on CamPhasers
#2. The 3.5 liter Ford Ecoboost engine...a turbo charged direct injected engine...is really good at shearing or thinning or diluting the engine oil. I have examined many different used oil analysis or "UOA" and it seems the Ecoboost makes short work of the usual Mobil 1 and Valvoline oils. So normally these engines will take a 5W30 but by 5000 miles that oil is now a 5W20. This might be the problem with the camphasers going bad eventually.
#3. The only two 5W30 oils I found which seem to hold their grade...not turn into a 5W20 by 5000 miles...are Amsoil Signature Series 5W30 and Shell Rotella T6 5W30 MultiVehicle. These oils seem to stay in the viscosity range of 5W30s.
#4. There are some guys out there running Shell Rotella T6 5W40 but I just cant be sure what will happen to the camphasers or the catalytic converter after prolonged use. The Ecoboost engine was clearly not designed for it. It might be just fine in there over time, but its such an expensive situation Im not sure if I want to give it a try myself.
#5. Liqui Moly makes a moly additive called MOS 2009 which should help prevent chain/cam wear. This additive might be a good preventive measure
My conclusion is the best preventative maintenance is to utilize one of the suggested oils Amsoil or Shell, performed used oil analysis through Blackstone to figure out an exacting OCI and to use a moly additive. Pay special attention to CST values of the used oil analysis. You dont want that value getting under or shearing to 9.3 or below.
In regards to warranty the dealer never asked me what oil I put into the car. Thus is you simply "clam up" about such issues you might be fine. If you dont use Ford approved oils you might find yourself in a bind if you admit to using those oils. Thus be slick if you have to put it into the dealership for warranty work.
Keep in mind this post is just theory and not proven fact. My theory is shearing is causing the cam phasers to fail. The reason why Im getting so granular and looking into this so closely is because I really need this truck and I need it to keep working ...
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