Oil Recommendations (Several)

[mikedalickas]

Hey guys, looking for some oil recommendations for the vehicles I service regularly

Pop's Expedition:
1. What kind of vehicle you have - 99 Ford Expedition 5.4, 110k-ish miles
2. What your owner's manual says - 3k Mile OCI (severe service due to short commute), 6qt 5w30, Ford spec WSS-M2C153-G.
3. Where you live - Southeast PA
4. How you drive - Moderate
5. What your daily drive is like - Short commute (7mi) with longer trips thrown in.
6. Whether your car has any known problems - Oil leak at rear of passenger head gasket, would like to minimize this if possible

It's been getting a diet of Mobil Clean 5000 5w30 and Motorcraft FL820S filters at 3-4k OCIs. Wondering specifically if there's anything I can do to slow down the oil leak he's got for a little while until he can get the head gasket done.

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Mom's Buick:
1. What kind of vehicle you have - 2001 Buick LeSabre, 3800 series II, 100k miles
2. What your owner's manual says - 3k Mile OCI (severe service due to short commute), 5qt 10w30
3. Where you live - Southeast PA
4. How you drive - Moderate
5. What your daily drive is like - Short commute (10mi) with longer trips thrown in occasionally
6. Whether your car has any known problems - LOTS of sludge. Previous owner said he ran Royal Purple, which he may have - but I'm not certain it was changed before my parents bought the car. Had the LIM gasket done about a year ago as that was leaking coolant as well, but that seems to be resolved.

I've been using Valvoline HM 10w30 and AC Delco PF47E filters at a 3k mile OCI on here. I add MMO about 1000 miles before a change. The sludge (at least what I can see from the oil fill) seems to be VERY slowly clearing up. I have heard Pennzoil oils have more detergents, would that be a recommendation? Worth it to stick to the high mileage oils?

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2007 Mercury Montego (Ford 500) - my DD:
1. What kind of vehicle you have - 2007 Mercury Montego, Duratec 30, 41k miles
2. What your owner's manual says - 5k Mile OCI, 6qt 5w20, Ford spec WSS-M2C930-A.
3. Where you live - Southeast PA
4. How you drive - Moderate to hard
5. What your daily drive is like - Average commute (20 miles, about 50% highway), some short trips (5-10mi), some longer (~45mi)
6. Whether your car has any known problems - None

This car was serviced at the dealer with right around 5k mile oil changes. I've been doing MC 5w20 with FL820s at the same interval.

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2000 Explorer 5.0 - Weekend / bad weather ride
1. What kind of vehicle you have - 2000 Explorer AWD, 5.0 OHV, 143k miles
2. What your owner's manual says - 3k Mile OCI (short trip), 5qt 5w30, Ford spec WSS-M2C153-G
3. Where you live - Southeast PA
4. How you drive - Moderate to hard
5. What your daily drive is like - Mostly short trips / hauling stuff. Occasionally driven off road.
6. Whether your car has any known problems - Slight oil leak at rear main (very slight and not enough to be a concern), damp around valve covers (again not enough to be a concern)

I have been using Valvoline HM 5w30 and FL820S filters in this since I bought it back in 2008. All seems well but I'm open to something better if it's out there.

I'm sure some will criticize my short OCIs, but to me it's cheap insurance and we tend to keep vehicles for a long time.

Thanks for any recommendations anyone can make!

 

[Hollow]

Expedition:
Mobil HM/Valvoline Maxlife/Pennzoil HM, whatever is cheapest.

Buick:
Pennzoil 10w30.

Montego:
What you're doing.

Explorer:
Same as Expedition.

 

[spasm3]

I'd run 5w30 in everything and call it a day! Mobil clean, pyb motorcraft will all work. Heck with 3k/5k changes, supertech will work.

 

[mikedalickas]

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll keep on keeping on with the Montego and the Explorer.

Just regular yellow bottle Pennzoil for the Buick? Is there a better filter available without spending twice as much? I feel like the PF47E is a [censored] replacement for the old PF47, doesn't seem to be constructed as well.

As for the Expedition, I've run Valvoline and Pennzoil high mileage oils (both 5w30) in it and can't say it seemed as though they slowed the leak down at all. Would it be worthwhile to move to a 5w40?

Thanks again for your recommendations. I've been reading these forums for a while trying to figure out what would best suit my needs and posts like these are very helpful.

 

[KB2008X]

You are right about the ACDelco PF47E. The "E" means it is the cheap E-Core type oil filter. Don't buy it and don't use it. Ask for the classic PF47. If you can't find that look for a Wix, Pure One, or something like that. It's rare, but a bad oil filter will ruin and engine in no time. Don't skimp on your oil filters.

On the Expedition, that you say leaks at the head gasket, it's highly unlikely that the head gasket is actually leaking oil, although anything is possible. I'd say it's leaking from someplace above or to the side and trailing down to that point.

Pull the valve cover on that side and you might find a oil return hole that is clogged and oil is pooling there, then leaking out a weakened gasket. I've seen that happen.

Keith

 

[mikedalickas]

I can't seem to find the old PF47 in stores around here, only the E - will likely go with Wix since they are available at the mom and pop parts house in town.

On the Expedition, I'm about 98.5% positive the leak is between the block and the head. I've been back there with a flexible camera and the only place there's any oil is below that seam. From what I understand (from a buddy who works at a Ford dealer) this is a common problem on the early Expedition/F-series/E-series 97-01. Have to wait until it comes apart to see for sure I suppose - would be nice if it was the valve cover, since the heads on these are so difficult to remove in the vehicle.

Mike

 

[ac_tc]

Rotella , delo or any other hdeo bought in
5 gal cans at the farm or fleet store...
You change enough oil to get it in a bucket
and can use it in everything you mentioned.
Cheap, sturdy oil.

 

[LeakySeals]

I would run the same synthetic 5w30 on all of them so you can buy in bulk. Whatever 5w30 syn comes in a 5 gal pail, large container, etc. For filters order on Amazon, free shipping over $25.

 

[LeakySeals]

Or..buy a bunch of the same 5 qt 5w30 syn jugs at walmart. Then you can consolidate and share the excess for topoffs, etc. They sell the Purolator Classic filters for $3.97 ea.

 

[dave1251]

Everything is a 3-5K OCI=synthetic complete waste. If you are sticking to this OCI use the lowest cost conventional 5W30 for all cars to make it simple for you, the motorcraft filters are a good choice. As for the E-cores, I have used them before for thousands of miles and the OCI's you are using them for it is more than sufficient. As for the Expy get that gasket fixed ASAP.