M1 10-40HM 1990' F150 I-6 1 yr 6,456miles

[ridgerunner]

Universal averages show typical wear levels for the F150 300 6 after 3,300 miles use on the oil. Copper and lead (both from bearings) were really the only metals out of line compared to averages. Though the higher than average, we can't necessarily say that these readings show a problem deleloping, but they are worth watching. If you are noticing any loss of oil pressure, then it's possible a problem may exist. The 3.9 TBN shows plenty of active additive left. Due to wear, check back in just 5,000 miles on the next fill. Hopefully metals fall.


I ran this oil since last fall and ran it 2 days shy of one year with 6,465 miles on oil and 70,456 on truck. I haul firewood, water tanks 65-250 gallon, plow snow with it, and is my daily driver. All miles are 2 lane paved and dirt roads, NO highway miles to speak of. The oil, M1 was 10-40 High Mileage, is the SL version I got on sale at Walmart a while back at $9.00 per 5 quart jug. Oil filter was Motocraft FL-1A. Air filter is a Fram. The truck hasn't had a cat. for many yrs and has a true dual exhaust. The EGR valve is also plugged off. It's old enough to drink too.

Code:


alum. 8

chromium 2

iron 36

copper 22

lead 71

tin 6

moly 82

nickle 1

manganese 1

boron 132

silicon 12

sodium 15

calcium 3288

magnesium 30

Phos. 890

zinc 1166



sus Visco 210 73.9

cSt Visco 100 13.98

flashpoint 415

fuel 0.5

Insolubles 0.4

TBN 3.9

PS: Oh, I forgot... NO MAKE-UP OIL, NOT ONE DROP.

 

[oggb]

Wonder where the metals are coming from, assuming it doesn't have low oil pressure? Guess it could just be leaching or some such.

 

[synthetic_crazy]

It might be adviseable to change it every 6 months instead of trying for a 1 year interval. It looks like a hard working truck!

 

[addyguy]

The lead would worry me a bit - yeah, it's an old I-6 beast, but if you want it to last at all, you will want to find out what is causing the bearing wear - maybe 10W-40 is too thick for the winter?

 

[ltslimjim]

Definitely like the idea of 2 oil changes per year, even at that mileage.

ADDED: Perhaps 10w-40 is too thick for this engine.

 

[addyguy]

An idea is something slightly less expensive, like RT6 5W-40, at 6-month intervals. Will give better cold flow and pump.

 

[ridgerunner]

I did replace the oil with more of the same 10-40 M1. I'll change it out in the Spring instead of running it for a full yr. and then again in the Fall with something thinner. I wanted to run it for a yr to see how things went. What bearings inside the engine would be wearing due to thick oil?? I've always ran Maxlife in this engine 5, 10-30 and 10-40. Got it used 5 yrs ago with 42,000 on it and the sticker on the door said Valvoline. Never ran full synthetic before. Do you think it could be leaching from the oil cooler seeing that maybe the synthetic is doing some cleaning??

 

[Boss302fan]

Originally Posted By: ridgerunner
I did replace the oil with more of the same 10-40 M1. I'll change it out in the Spring instead of running it for a full yr. and then again in the Fall with something thinner. I wanted to run it for a yr to see how things went. What bearings inside the engine would be wearing due to thick oil?? I've always ran Maxlife in this engine 5, 10-30 and 10-40. Got it used 5 yrs ago with 42,000 on it and the sticker on the door said Valvoline. Never ran full synthetic before. Do you think it could be leaching from the oil cooler seeing that maybe the synthetic is doing some cleaning??



I would stay with Mobil 1 HM 10W40... Excellent oil and a pour point of I think around -33 or so.

Should be OK in PA unless its a veryyyy cold day. Do you keep it in a garage overnight??? I think most wear is at startup and that it why I ask if you keep it inside.

 

[ridgerunner]

Originally Posted By: Boss302fan
Originally Posted By: ridgerunner
I did replace the oil with more of the same 10-40 M1. I'll change it out in the Spring instead of running it for a full yr. and then again in the Fall with something thinner. I wanted to run it for a yr to see how things went. What bearings inside the engine would be wearing due to thick oil?? I've always ran Maxlife in this engine 5, 10-30 and 10-40. Got it used 5 yrs ago with 42,000 on it and the sticker on the door said Valvoline. Never ran full synthetic before. Do you think it could be leaching from the oil cooler seeing that maybe the synthetic is doing some cleaning??



I would stay with Mobil 1 HM 10W40... Excellent oil and a pour point of I think around -33 or so.

Should be OK in PA unless its a veryyyy cold day. Do you keep it in a garage overnight??? I think most wear is at startup and that it why I ask if you keep it inside.


No. The only time it sees the inside of my garage is when I work on it. It started right up no problem with the M1 last winter on the coldest day (minus single digits) It gets a bath maybe once a yr. Does it show? lol.

 

[Brons2]

those wear #s are pretty terrible. I would use something else. What is the manufacturer recommendation?

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: ltslimjim

ADDED: Perhaps 10w-40 is too thick for this engine.


Here's a comparison with TallPaul's truck using MaxLife 10W-40. Same engine:

TallPaul's Truck

 

[OVERKILL]

Personally, I'd run an HDEO like Delvac or Rotella in this. I find 5w40 works very well in these engines, and old Windsor's.

 

[ridgerunner]

Originally Posted By: Brons2
those wear #s are pretty terrible. I would use something else. What is the manufacturer recommendation?

On the oil fill cap it says 10-30. I'm sure the M1 is fine. I'll just not run it as long this time. Anyone know if copper and lead could be leaching from the oil cooler giving me higher readings? Just a thought.

 

[Jim Allen]

Ridgerunner: Is this the first UOA on this truck? If not, what was the last one like? I think the advice to cut the interval is a good one to find the true answer. Be sure to divide the iron, lead and copper by the miles (to get ppm per mile) and do the same thing on the next UOA. The number will be most likely be lower with the shorter interval but the per mile average could be the same, indicating it's not OCI related

Bear in mind, the issue may not necessarily be interval related, but the shorter interval should answer that. The TBN is still good. Insolubles are still good... if it had high insols, that would indicate oxidation byproducts. Since TAN and TBN are inverse, we can assume TAN is not at a terminal stage either. Viscosity is good as well... the oil hasn't sheared much. Some situations to think about are, a) work related... lugging a heavily loaded engine, or a hard worked engine, can result in numbers like that, b) there could be something going on inside the engine and this is the first sign, c) could some of it be related to fuel additives (leaded gas, lead fuel additives or something else).

 

[Norm Olt]

I would opine that using almost any on-sale 15W-40 HDEO and changing the oil every 6K or so would save you a bit without compromising your vehicle.

People have been running 15W-40 year-round in big rigs from coast-to-coast for decades. The 4.9 I-6 is one of the all-time greats!

Cheers!

p.s. Never used so many dashes in one post before!

 

[ltslimjim]

Jim, any chance an oil like Rotella T5 10w-30 would work better for this app?

Not sure what the universal averages are for this engine, if the OP could post that too?

 

[Jim Allen]

Yeah, a 10W30 HDEO would be fine, but I don't necessarily think it would help with whatever is the problem here.

 

[ridgerunner]

First UOA for this truck. No additives added. Just wanted to see it I could run the M1 for a yr in it is all. Probly won't do another UOA due to it being a beater truck. Yes it has lugged heavy loads often and has even overheated 2 times last winter due to plowing (plow blocks airflow cooling to rad.). It has a manual trans. that isn't in the best of shape so the engine gets reved more often to keep from stalling when letting clutch out (either that or I smoke the tires at every stop light!).

 

[oggb]

Originally Posted By: ridgerunner
First UOA for this truck. No additives added. Just wanted to see it I could run the M1 for a yr in it is all. Probly won't do another UOA due to it being a beater truck. Yes it has lugged heavy loads often and has even overheated 2 times last winter due to plowing (plow blocks airflow cooling to rad.). It has a manual trans. that isn't in the best of shape so the engine gets reved more often to keep from stalling when letting clutch out (either that or I smoke the tires at every stop light!).


Heck, considering all that I'd say she's doing just fine!

 

[Cujet]

Believe it or not, I'm not at all concerned with those wear metals. First, the synthetic oil will clean deposits from an old engine. Those deposits contain years of wear metals. Second, it's a pushrod engine and the resulting high iron numbers are normal for similar engines.

It is not uncommon to see similar engines using conventional oil to last 200,000 plus miles.