Low NOACK oil

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my expedition consistently uses 1qt ever 2,000 miles.

wondering if an oil with lower volatility would help.
any suggestions on which oil to try?

thanks!
mike
 
IMO, you need an oil with a fairly low price, combined with a fairly low NOACK.
I suggest MaxLife semi-syn 5w30, with it's 10.9 NOACK, and moderate cost.
Good cold flow abilities too, for your SD winters is a plus also.
 
Some more details would help here. What's the year, engine, and mileage? What oil are you using now? Have you established why it's using (burning?) oil yet?

Switching to Maxlife in a grade heavier than you're using now would be a good start, depending on the issue.
 
Are you looking at Quaker State Advanced, or Pennzoil Ultra? Have you used 5w-20 and 5w-30 in your Expedition? What grade seems to burn fastest? Shell Oil once stated thinner oil sometimes provides better ring seal than thick oil in some models.
 
Right, since all oils today have reasonably low volatility at generally less than 15% @250C it's no longer a factor in oil consumption.

As others have suggested you can look for some other causes such as worn valve seals and see if a high mileage oil remedies the issue, but if it doesn't 2,000 miles/qt wouldn't concern me in a high mileage truck.
 
Originally Posted By: meborder
my expedition consistently uses 1qt ever 2,000 miles.

wondering if an oil with lower volatility would help.
any suggestions on which oil to try?

thanks!
mike


What year, miles and what oil do you use currently in the engine.
Is the consumption something that has been gradually getting worse or did it just seem to start using oil?
Leak? PCV and PCV hose?

All questions and no answer but the more info there is to work with the better the solution may be.
 
Originally Posted By: Brybo86
Check your pcv valve


This. And the PCV valve tubing. Depending on the year you may be a candidate for the revised PCV hose.
 
as usual, i never seem to include enough detail ... sorry.

its a 2006 expedition with the 3v 5.4 v8. currently at 122k miles.

i purchased it this last december with 104k on the clock, with a completely unknown history before that time.

doesn't leak, doesn't smoke. but useage over the last 16k has been consistent and predictable at 1qt/2000 miles.

ive always used 5w20, except for this last oil change i tried some 5w30 to see if it would quiet down the timing chain noise (it didnt). i use trop artic in everything but i did try some NAPA synthetic with the same 1qt/2k consumption.

interestingly enough, i checked the oil this morning and with 2k on this OCI with 5w30, im down only 1/2 qt.

considering sticking with 5w30, but id rather stay with the 5w20 due to the known phaser issues with the 3v mod motors.

thoughts?
 
but they are flow sensitive, as is the rest of the motor, especially the top end of the engine.

the older 2v's were OK with 30wt oil, but the 3v's were never spec'd for anything but 20wt, due in part to the cam phasers.
 
Originally Posted By: meborder
but they are flow sensitive, as is the rest of the motor, especially the top end of the engine.

the older 2v's were OK with 30wt oil, but the 3v's were never spec'd for anything but 20wt, due in part to the cam phasers.


They received a higher volume oil pump as part of the upgrade to spec 5w-20 but you have to remember that oil temperature plays a much larger role in viscosity than the number on the bottle. 5w-20 in Edmonton is not the same as 5w-20 in Texas.

Also remember that your typical oil pump, like the gyrator style found in the Modular, is positive displacement, so unless the relief is open, it is moving the same volume of oil (same flow) regardless of whether it is 5w-20 or 5w-40.

The new Coyote engine spec's 5w-20 and 5w-50 for the same engine depending on whether you have the track pack or not and of course it also has variable cam timing
smile.gif
Engines are not as sensitive as we tend to think they are.

Now of course all that is to say that running a heavier oil than necessary is likely far from optimal and may have a very slight effect on fuel economy. But if it reduces consumption considerably, given the price of a quart of oil, it may actually save money.
 
Try this.
Next oil change get a can of Berrymans Chemtool and put it in the oil (cold engine). Run it 20 min at idle only them immediately drop the oil and filter.
Refill with PP 5w30 and stick with it for a while, it has good cleaning properties. It will take time and maybe 10K but it just might clear it up.

The Chemtool will loosen any carbon and varnish in the rings and varnish from the tensioners.
Done at idle it is harmless and it does work. Forget the scare mongering about cam phasers its absolutely untrue. This engine is used around the world and NA is the only one that specs 20w.
German specs a 5w30 for this engine and for the 2004 5w40. You could easily run 0w40 in this with zero ill effects except for maybe a slight hit in MPG. Don't forget the PCV and the PCV hose.

Quote:
MARKE: Ford USA MODELL: Expedition (1996 - ) TYP: Expedition 5.4 V8 (2005 - 2006)
Motoröle für Sie
Einsatz: Normal (Wechseln 8000 km / 12 Monate)
Castrol Magnatec 5W-30 A5


Now the gang is in an uproar i will go and
27.gif
 
Originally Posted By: meborder
my expedition consistently uses 1qt ever 2,000 miles.

wondering if an oil with lower volatility would help.
any suggestions on which oil to try?

thanks!
mike


Look around for some of the older Pennzoil Ultra in SN, there is still some around at Walmarts. Lowest Noack value you're going to find in the lighter oils, if you are talking 10w-30 and above there are far more companies who can get their Noacks done there. But in 5-20 and 5-30, Pennzoil Ultra is near impossible to beat..at least based on this particular metric.
 
thanks for the pointers, everyone.

PCV has been mentioned several times, and normally i would have changed it out first thing upon purchase.

the problem is that the PCV system on this particular motor is vastly different from a conventional system.

AFAIK, there is a PCV heater and hose that goes from the valve cover to the intake, but the actual PCV valve is an integral part of the valve cover and to replace it the entire valve cover needs to be R&R'd. not a trivial task..... but i'm open to suggestion.
 
i've been thinking more and more about this .... i guess i never gave much consideration to the idea that some of the timing chain noise i've been hearing could be due to varnish on the tensioners/phasers.

i'm not a huge fan of oil additives ect, but i have used seafoam and MMO in the past with great success.

wondering if i could top off with a quart of MMO once it gets down a quart. or perhaps add a can of seafoam in the last 2,000 miles of the OCI.

i'm sure the chemtool is great stuff, i just have no experience with it and i'm leary of "new" things.

interesting idea that i had not thought of .... thanks!

as it stands, it appears that the 5w30 has cut my consumption in half ... so that's a pretty big win for just doing nothing. could probably call it good enough with that alone.

Originally Posted By: Trav
Try this.
Next oil change get a can of Berrymans Chemtool and put it in the oil (cold engine). Run it 20 min at idle only them immediately drop the oil and filter.
Refill with PP 5w30 and stick with it for a while, it has good cleaning properties. It will take time and maybe 10K but it just might clear it up.

The Chemtool will loosen any carbon and varnish in the rings and varnish from the tensioners.
Done at idle it is harmless and it does work. Forget the scare mongering about cam phasers its absolutely untrue. This engine is used around the world and NA is the only one that specs 20w.
German specs a 5w30 for this engine and for the 2004 5w40. You could easily run 0w40 in this with zero ill effects except for maybe a slight hit in MPG. Don't forget the PCV and the PCV hose.

Quote:
MARKE: Ford USA MODELL: Expedition (1996 - ) TYP: Expedition 5.4 V8 (2005 - 2006)
Motoröle für Sie
Einsatz: Normal (Wechseln 8000 km / 12 Monate)
Castrol Magnatec 5W-30 A5


Now the gang is in an uproar i will go and
27.gif
 
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