2017 Ford F53 6.8V10-Kendall GT-1 5W-30 1113 miles

[AITG]

The vehicle is a Newmar Bay Star Class A RV. This title is a little misleading. This is a Polaris sample of the factory fill (MC 5W-20). The change is to Kendall 5W-30 but I will take samples of this engine with every change so that's my reasoning behind the title.

I don't find much at all on UOAs for the V-10 but it seems that most RVers want to change every 3000 miles or 6 months. I find it hard to believe that it needs to be done that often so I'm going to see if I can go 7500 miles.
Code:


Miles on lube 1113

Miles on Unit 1113

Fe 34

Ch 0

Ni 1

Al 7

Cu 22

Pb 0

Sn 0

Cd 0

Ag 0

V 0

Si 88

Na 10

K 8

Ti 0

Mo 85

Sb 0

Mn 4

Li 0

B 211

Mg 15

Ca 2068

Ba 3

P 757

Zn 760

Fuel dilution 2.3

Soot
Water
Vis, 100C cSt 7.4


These chassis are built in Detroit by a vendor, who uses Ford components. The chassis is shipped to the body builder who then builds the floor and builds the body. Given the construction process, changing out the factory fill ASAP is a prudent measure.

 

[LotI]

I'm curious and waiting for your findings. Ford says towing and box truck use is in need of severe service at 5k, which is what I do.

 

[Kuato]

Congrats on the excursion vehicle! Hope it gives you many years of enjoyment.

I would think that 7500 would be easily reachable with a quality synthetic.

I checked out their site and there certainly are a lot of options. Didn't see any prices though figure cost of a house....

 

[AITG]

Originally Posted By: LotI
I'm curious and waiting for your findings. Ford says towing and box truck use is in need of severe service at 5k, which is what I do.


It seems like most people do the same. We don't tow anything - we use the RV like a car when we travel. It's the same size as a UPS Truck and they go pretty much everywhere. Very little of our driving is short trips so the engine gets thoroughly warmed up every time we drive.

I will probably go 5,000 miles on the next change.

 

[dnewton3]

Very typical for such a fresh engine; high Fe and a bit of Cu. Nothing but the ordinary for this duration.

The industry (RV market in general and motor home chassis' in particular) thrives on old wives tales, etc. There's nothing "wrong" with frequent OCIs from the engine's point of view. It won't harm them. But it's wasteful; very much so.

The 6-month limit is a total swag and needs to die, and sooner rather than later. Oil has zero idea of how old it is. There are plenty of UOAs here that show multiple years are just fine. There's one right now that is 10 (ten) years in the crankcase for a diesel engine. I routinely run up to 4 years for my low mileage gasser and diesel units. My UOAs always come back fine. As well, the 3k mile limit is also a joke. There is a vast abundance of information that conclusively proves the longer your OCI goes, the lower your wear rates go. (Presuming the engine is in good mechanical health with proper filtration). Anytime I run data, I see that wear rates are dropping even out to 15k miles.

I know why the OEMs do it; it's a "no cost" statement for the OEM. It is a protection against a warranty claim that they don't even have to pay for. It's the typical Amurikan mentality that if something is good, more must always be better. Further, they consider an application such as this as "severe service" because it's ALWAYS under a load by pulling such a heavy chassis. But the evidence I see repeatedly is that "severe" really isn't as "severe" in terms of wear as we'd think. I've seen a lot of data that shows vehicles used in "severe" circumstances (as defined by the OEM manual) never manifests into anything but normal wear trends. If it's so severe, then where's the proof? If it's so detrimental, where's the resulting wear metals? They cannot just disappear into the exhaust; they have to end up in the lube. And yet, it simply does not happen more any time. You may see a very slight uptick in Fe or Al, but never anything alarming. And as typical, as the OCI stretches out, the rate drops.

The 6.8L mod motor is well established and very hearty. Generally the mod-motors have very favorable wear rate trends once broken in. I have no reason to believe you'll not get a lot of service life from this rig. Those motors don't mind running hard. And the beauty of that 6.8L is that it's not burdened by the VVT system that caused some issues in the 5.4L. The 6.8L is a bit of a dinosaur, but it's still a very coveted design and still on the books because, despite the love-affair with turbo-diesel engines, the 6.8L simplicity and robust nature make it worthy of continued use. Ford had plans to kill it off, but the HD commercial market screamed and Ford listened.

I am a fan of a few short-duration OCIs when equipment is new. Get the machining remnants out and break-in metals out. And that goes for the tranny and diff. Once flushed a time or two, fill 'em up and use them without hesitation. I'd run a few OCI flushes, and then once at 10k miles, run a 5k mile OCI and UOA at 15k. If all is well, then perhaps go 7.5K miles. I don't care how hard you flog that motor; 5k miles would be the minimum OCI.

 

[AITG]

Good morning dnewton3...I was hoping you would drop in. I had a 2003 Duramax that was low mileage. I went 4 years on a change and it was still fine.

With the new Ford I want to try to treat it the same way. The cost of diesel engines as an option has been driven up to the point that the V-10 makes sense for a lot of applications besides RVs. I just haven't found much information on UOAs so I'll make my own.

 

[dnewton3]

Here's the Ford link:
http://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/stripped-chassis/2017/models/?gnav=vhpnav
Here's the Newmar link:
https://www.newmarcorp.com/motor-coaches/gas/bay-star/specifications/

This is a detuned version of the older 3valve from a few years ago, which was rated at 362hp in the light duty trucks. However, the torque has stayed about the same, despite the HP drop. Essentially they are de-rating it in terms of revving top end power, but it still has the same grunt.

Overall a very good engine; very robust.

Ford apparently still makes both the 2v and 3v engines; they are both listed in the specs page. The E-chassis vans get the lower power 2v engine; there's less frontal area for cooling systems and the heat gets trapped in the tight confines of the E-chassis. Whereas the F-Superduty chassis and stripped chassis such as yours, allows from more cooling capacity, and hence the higher power engine.


I (and a host of others people) wish this 3v V-10 was still available in the F-250/350 chassis ...

 

[AITG]

Originally Posted By: dnewton3


Overall a very good engine; very robust.

I (and a host of others people) wish this 3v V-10 was still available in the F-250/350 chassis ...


When it comes to walk-in chassis, UPS has to be the smartest people in the business. Recently I have noticed several new package cars (F59 size) wearing "Unleaded fuel only" decals. I can't remember the last time UPS used gasoline engines.

I suspect that the EPA has priced diesel engines out of the market for them too.