Oil and OCI - ‘06 F150 180k Miles

[TnTA2]

Have an ‘06 F-1540 (181k miles) with the 5.4l 3v Triton that runs very well and doesn’t exhibit any of the concerning cam phaser or timing chain guide rattles that plague these engines. The previous owners appear to have changed the oil religiously. The truck will not get driven much as it was purchased as a second vehicle.

I’m trying to determine which oil and what OCI to use. It calls for 5w-20, I think, so should I stick with that? I’m thinking changing the oil at least once a year as I’m sure it won’t even get driven more than 5k/year. Hoping someone with some direct experience with a high-mileage 3v 5.4 may have some advice on how to keep this thing as trouble-free as possible.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

IIRC most of the 5.4 owners seem to use a 5w30 and change it no more than 5k intervals. I have a 3rd vehicle that sees rare use, so every Friday I drive it to work and to run errands to keep everything circulated & charging.

 

[JavierH19]

If the engine is fine I'd still use a good euro 40 grade anyway and change it regularly. Could help prolong things by some degree since it's at 180k and it wouldn't hurt anything. I owned the non problematic 2v and i used 30 and 40 grade. But if i had the 3v idve used hdeo or euro and change frequently.

 

[TnTA2]

OK. I may give a good 5w30 a try. What's the impetus for going with a 30w versus the OEM-spec 20w?

 

[ripcord]

I've got 265k on a 5.4 3 valve without ever having any of the common 5.4 issues. (Knock on wood.) I heartily agree with Subie's suggestion of 5w-30 oil and 5k or less oil changes.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

OK. I may give a good 5w30 a try. What's the impetus for going with a 30w versus the OEM-spec 20w?

Bc there’s roughly 15 feet of “silent” timing chain in those engines, and silent chains are murder on thin oils. This plus the phasers shear the oil making it even thinner, and a little extra viscosity helps minimize the wear in these parts.

 

[TiGeo]

I'd run any name-brand synthetic 5W30 and a once/year change. Seems like upping the viscosity a notch on older vehicles is a pretty normal/sage thing to do and certainly won't hurt it. I know all of our fleet F-150s at the mine I worked at for years always got 5W30 regardless of what Ford called for from our mobile mechanic and some of these would have had the 5.4.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Purely anecdotal, but there is a local fella with one of these, and his wife had the Excursion with the same 5.4L. Excursion got sold with just under 300k miles, while F150 work truck is still rolling around with similar mileage. That guy serviced both vehicles with free 15W-40 he got from work, and never had any issues with timing chain components. He did have a spark plug shoot out on F150 a few years ago, but that got fixed. Too bad that oil doesn't fix rogue spark plugs... But hey, at least it seems to help the timing chains a little.

 

[wlk]

PP Euro L 5w30 is a thicker Xw30 that can be readily had a Wally world if you want a Xw30. I'd run that or any of these; QSFS 5w30 or 5w40 Euro, or Mobil1 Euro 0/5w40 in it and no more than 5k oci's. I have the 2v in my 04 Expedition and once it is done w the current fill of Valvoline EP 5w30 and HPL EC30, it will get a steady diet of QSFS Euro 5w40 at 5k oci as I have a stach of it.

 

[FZ1]

Can you find out what oil and grade the previous owner used? That'd be a good starting point.

 

[BISCUT]

I had an 04 for many years. Still running at 220k. Sold it to a coworker in 2015.

Bottom end of that engine is as indestructible as they come. I didn't have cam phaser issues. I used mostly PYB 5-30 or MC blend 5-30 with MC filter at 5k OCI. Worked well for that engine.

 

[MetalSlug]

Quaker state all miles 5w30 change every 3-4.5k miles or 5 month

 

[TnTA2]

Can you find out what oil and grade the previous owner used? That'd be a good starting point.

Best I can tell, it was fed whatever flavor 5w-20 the oil change place/delaer had on tap. I think what's more important here is that it was changed around 5k miles for most of its tenure with the first two owners.

 

[FZ1]

So, maybe, you want to stay on the thin side of a 30w. .02

 

[BigShug681]

I’d just use a HDEO or Euro XxW40 not the exact same engine but I switched my 4.6 2v Crown Vic over to HDEO in 40 grade