What model year did Ford start thou shall use 5w-20?

[06RANGER]

Trying to see if my current generation was designed with 5w-20 in mind or was it caught up in the "administrative decision" to use 5w-20.

(read in between the line) I'm trying to justify switching to 5w30 in New Orleans summers and traffic jams.

 

[G-MAN]

2000 for (most) model year 2001 vehicles. Many engines were backspec'd at that time for 5w20 all the way back to model year 1992.

 

[bdcardinal]

my 2000 grand marquis specs 5w30 in the owners manual and on the underhood sticker. now they tell me that it was supposed to be 5w20.

 

[racer12306]

thats because of the backspecing. you can still use the 5w30 that you have been using.

iirc the only engines that were not backspeced were the 4.0 v-6 and the 3.9l v-8, this also applies for the current versions of these engines.

 

[wavinwayne]

FWIW, here's a list of all Ford, Lincoln & Mercury engines that specify 5w20, as well as the ones that still recommend 5w30.

http://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/supplier/quickref/oilchart.pdf

The chart also shows the engines that specify 15w40 & the one that calls for 5w50.

 

[vad]

Here we go again.
The 5w-20 has been designed to improve fuel economy, according to FoMoCo itself.
That's it.
You can freely go from 5w30 to 5w-20 and back.
The only exceptions are the 3.3L in the Villager, the 3.9L in the Lincoln, the 2.0L in the Focus SVT and the 4.0L in the Ranger and Explorer.

 

[Whimsey]

Basically it comes down to this. Engines spec'd originally for Ford spec'd 5W-20 are most likely better off using that rather than a 5w30 conventional. While I'm a proponent of "thinner" oils I also believe pushrod engines are better off with "beefier" oils such a 10w30. A 5w30 conventional will become a poor "5W-20" or less oil in less than 2000 miles usually it seems. For OHC engines I'd use 5W-20 oils in a heartbeat if I was using 5w30 conventionals. For my 1996 Ford Contour 2.0L Zetec I do continue to use Schaeffers 5w30 Supreme Blend oil. But again if I was using a 5w30 conventional I would definitely switch to a Ford rated semi syn 5W-20.

Whimsey

 

[06RANGER]

So vad,

What kid of oil do you use?

I want my engine to look like the one you posted pics of.

 

[Rodbuckler]

My 1996 4.6L was back spec'd to 5W-20, yet says 5w30 preferred in the manual. The engine most definitely runs better on the 5W-20.

 

[vad]

quote:

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Originally posted by 06RANGER:
So vad,

What kind of oil do you use?

I want my engine to look like the one you posted pics of.

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Ranger, I used RedLine since 10K mi for 5 consecutive 10-12K mi long oil change intervals.
I just recently switched to GC, purchased on sale - a much better bang for the buck.