Why does my new Explorer not call for 5W-20?

[patrickm]

Hello all,

I've had a 2003 Explorer for 6 months / 10K now and am curious why the 4.0 six does not use the 5W-20 oil spec'ed for the eight. What do you guys think? Also, what would be some good oils to use once the vehicle is out of warranty and I start changing it myself. I drive 18 miles each way to work - 3 miles getting on and off the interstate and 15 miles on. The weekends are farting around town doing family stuff. No towing, but a couple of long trips per year loaded up. Thanks for your opinions.

Best regards,

Patrick

 

[Whimsey]

With the 4.0L engine being a German engine maybe it requires an oil with a higher shear viscosity than the 5W-20 oils have. Though ironically in 5,000 miles of driving similar to your's, the 5W-30 Motorcraft oil my wife's 2002 Explorer uses sheared down to a 20 weight oil. Maybe this engine is rough on oil. I switched her oil to Schaeffer's Supreme #701 5W-30. It's a blend of Group III and Pao's I understand. It's thought of very highly and it costs me less, delivered to my door, than buying Mobil 1 at a store. I'll do an UOA at 5,000 miles to see how it holds up. And if I can I'll extend the next oil change to 7,500 miles. The Explorer will be out of warranty at that point in time. There are many fine oils out there. I'm sure other's will chime in on their preferences.

Whimsey

 

[drm7]

I was curious about this too. I have an '03 Mazda B4000, same engine as the Explorer, and it calls for 5w30 whereas almost every other Ford engine is 5w20. The best answer I've seen is that OHC cam gears can be hard on oil. These engines are a bit odd in that they have 2 timing chains. One on the front of the engine for one bank of cylinders and one on the back of the engine for the other bank. Lots of gears & teeth to shear the oil with.

The V8s and other 6 and 4 cyl w/OHC call for 5w20 but don't have 2 sets of chains. I have switched to M1 5w30 @ 5000 mile changes. I figure I qualify for the light duty oil change interval as I drive 25 miles one-way to work and it's light country and light city driving. No stop-and-start stuff. I have not done an analysis yet but may on my next change. I am about to hit 10k and may test at 15k change.

 

[haley10]

I am interested in this engine as I am looking at the possibility of a Ranger with the 4.0L maybe. I researching how reliable etc. this one is.

Whimsey, I believe several quality 5-30's and 10-30 become a high 20 wt. shortly, not by shearing, but by design. I think it's part of getting the energy conserving rating.

 

[haley10]

Yeah, I'd like to see how Mobil 1 does in this engine and how the drain interval goes.

Patrickm, since your in S.C., M1 shouldn't be too expensive at Wally World.

I might be concerned with a conventional oil shearing with the setup you describe.

 

[joee12]

quote:

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Originally posted by haley10:
Yeah, I'd like to see how Mobil 1 does in this engine and how the drain interval goes.

Patrickm, since your in S.C., M1 shouldn't be too expensive at Wally World.

I might be concerned with a conventional oil shearing with the setup you describe.

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Here are some UOAs that I have run in this engine:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001017

I should have another UOA of Mobil 1 10W30 in about a month. I LOVE this engine, it is a strong V6 that pulls my boat with ease, revs quickly, and gets decent gas mileage on the highway. With 28,000 miles, I have had no problems with this engine - Joe

 

[TomJones76]

Here is the cynical answer:
Because as a truck-based vehicle, this vehicle is immune to CAFE standards.

 

[medic]

quote:

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Originally posted by TomJones76:
Here is the cynical answer:
Because as a truck-based vehicle, this vehicle is immune to CAFE standards.

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Okay, sounds good, but - the F-Series trucks & E-Series vans with gas engines all call for 5w-20. Kinda blows that theory out of the water.

In my opinion, Ford's test's on 5w-20 in this engine showed that it wouldn't do the job. While the other engines, including the old 5.0l, showed that they would do fine with a 5w-20, the 4.0's design requires a higher viscosity. This is just a shot in the dark, but it make sense to me.

 

[JohnnyO]

I have an '02 Ranger 4.0, the manual calls for 5w-30 for it but 5w-20 for the 4 cyl and the 3.0 V-6. I've run Mobil 1 since 5k, changed every 5k. Right now I have Mobil 1 0w-30 in it for winter since I make a lot of short trips.