I recently bought an '04 Ranger with the old school 3.0L Vulcan OHV V6. Ford recommends the 5w-20 oils in this. My little truck has always been so loud, rough running and really rough shifting. I thought it just needed to break in a little...WRONG! It just needed to get rid of the 5w-20 oil! This stuff might work fine in some of the newer engines, but in this engine?
Being an oil nut, I dumped the factory fill at 500 miles (I saw a UOA on a 3.0 at 3,000 miles and didn't want those wear metals in my engine longer than I had to). Put in MC 5w-20. Ran to 1,000. Changed with MC again. At 1,500 I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to get some M1 in there (0w-20).
Well today after driving home from work, with 1,800 miles, I dumped the 0w-20 and put in M1 10w-30. I can't believe my truck. The idle is smooth, the shifting is super smooth, and the engine is so quiet! It no longer sounds like it's gonna fly out from under the hood when accelerating.
I don't care what Ford says, this truck is only seeing M1 10w-30 from here on out. That's all we run in my wife's Hyundai Santa Fe year round (they spec a 10w-30). After all, the Ranger only has a 36,000 mile warranty. What are the odds of an engine failure due to oil in 36K (or even an engine failure period. It will just be broke in)?
Just wanted to let you know my experience. I'm now a non-believer in those Xw-20 oils! Not in my cars!
Brian
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