2003 Grand Marquis / Crown Vic

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Just bought this car. Looking thru the owners manual, it specs 5-20w for oil. It's been so long since I'vve had a V-8, and maybe I'm thinking about days gone by, but I'm pretty hesitant to use this grade of oil. Any Crown Vic/ Merc owners out there? What are you using?
 
Plenty of people have asked this and the answer remains the same; use the mfg specified oil.

As you indicated, you are thinking of days gone by.
 
5w-20 and the Ford 4.6L mod motors are a proven combination.

Motorcraft 5w-20 is an excellent oil with great cold weather performance.

If you wanted to in the summer months bump up to 5w-30 for piece of mind, go for it.
 
5w20 is a GREAT oil for your car. Use it with out fretting!

I used 5w20 in my f250 with the same engine you have except it had 2 more cylinders.
 
Three Ford V8s in the family from '97 to '03 and they all do well on MC 5w20 and MC filters. No start up rattle, no wear issues, no complaints.
 
I would stick with the 5W-20 grade of motor oil. I read on some other forums where guys were running 10W-30 in these motors and at 90,000 miles they were having oil consumption issues.

This is an overhead cam engine, you want the oil to get up there as quick as it can, the older style V-8's had the camshaft below the cylinder heads.
 
One other change from the conventional good old days however is the size of the sump. Some take six quarts now, so check the book.
 
Originally Posted By: ChiTDI
One other change from the conventional good old days however is the size of the sump. Some take six quarts now, so check the book.



He is right, my 2004 Mercury Marauder takes 6 quarts of oil.
 
if the oil fill is on the drivers side valve cover it takes 5 if its on the passenger side valve cover it takes 6. 5w20 is what you want
 
Originally Posted By: Rustyknife
if the oil fill is on the drivers side valve cover it takes 5 if its on the passenger side valve cover it takes 6. 5w20 is what you want


He probably needs to look at his owner's manual because on my Marauder the oil fill is on the driver's side.

But I may have a different engine since mine is the aluminum DOHC Mustang Cobra Engine.

I think he has the SOHC engine and his is a cast iron engine.
 
I have a 96 Merc. GM with 205,000 miles on the clock. I use M1 5-30, 10,000 OCIs. The engine is very clean and runs great. I'm shooting for 300Ks and more.
 
Thin is in!

I switched to 5W-20 in my 96 CVPI at around 123,000 miles and I haven't looked back. The thought of running anything thicker makes me feel ill.
 
I have a 2002 4.6 all aluminum engine in a F150. I change oil and filter every 5,000 +/- miles and have never used any noticable amount of oil. The temps include below 0*F to over 90*F. I use Motorcraft 5W-20 and the Motorcraft FL820S oil filter. No matter what the outside temp is my engine is extremely quiet from start-up to running.

Whimsey
 
I've got an '04 Mercury Grand Marquis....great car! I used to have a 1999 Crown Vic...also a great car. Yes, the 5w-20 will work well and be of no concern. I think you have a six quart sump but just look in the owners manual and NEVER soley depend on just opinions for something that important. How many miles do you have on the car? Did you pay book for it, or less?
Make sure you go through all the fluids since it's a used vehicle. I had the tranny serviced, the brake fluid changed, differential fluid changed, oil/filter (an added AutoRX), fuel filter changed, coolant changed, and added a bottle of Chevron techron for the injectors. The thing runs like a TOP! I'm anal about things....that's why I had all the service done on it. I just get worried about used vehicles until I fully have everything done. I'm sure I went overboard though. These cars are tough as nails.
 
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Originally Posted By: andrewg
I've got an '04 Mercury Grand Marquis....great car! I used to have a 1999 Crown Vic...also a great car. Yes, the 5w-20 will work well and be of no concern. I think you have a six quart sump but just look in the owners manual and NEVER soley depend on just opinions for something that important. How many miles do you have on the car? Did you pay book for it, or less?
Make sure you go through all the fluids since it's a used vehicle. I had the tranny serviced, the brake fluid changed, differential fluid changed, oil/filter (an added AutoRX), fuel filter changed, coolant changed, and added a bottle of Chevron techron for the injectors. The thing runs like a TOP! I'm anal about things....that's why I had all the service done on it. I just get worried about used vehicles until I fully have everything done. I'm sure I went overboard though. These cars are tough as nails.


Thanks guys for all the answers. I guess my stash of 5w-30 will remian in stock for the foreseeable future and I'll be shopping for deals on 5w-20.

The car is a one owner car, 39,600 miles I paid $6700 out the door. It's in mint shape, no rust, no scratches, no dings, no rattles! Micheling tires with a bit of life left too. Rides very smooth. Nice highway cruiser. This upcoming weekend I'm taking a little trip out of state, and I'm eager to see how she runs on the open road. I've read lots of owner reports about getting up to 26 mpg. Pretty impressive for a big car. I hope I'm that lucky, but being winter, I'd be more than happy with the 23 mpg rating it came with.
 
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