Rotella T5 10w/30 F-150 4.9L inline?

[Gearhead]

Have a 95 F.150 with a 4.9L/300 cid inline 6cyl, 75.000 miles. It's completely stock, with the flat tappet cam & lifters, and has a gear driven cam (not belt or timing chain).

Anyhow, I'm thinking the Rotella T5 10w/30 would be a good choice given the Zink & moly levels. I'll be running a full synthetic 5w/30 in winter (Dec - March). Is this line of thinking solid?

If not, what would you run & why?

 

[OVERKILL]

Anything. That engine will out-live you and won't give two hoots what you put in the pan.

If you can get the Rotella cheap, then by all means run it.

 

[Steve S]

The engine will last forever " it is one of the best engines ever I had a 79 F150 6 cyl 3 on the tree with 300,000 miles passed Calif. smog and had normal oil pressure when I sold it" if taken care of and that would be a great oil. WV west virginia? How cold does it get there to need a syn oil in the winter?

 

[Gearhead]

I'm located 20 min west of Pittsburgh, temps in depth of winter (jan/feb) can get -10F.

Regarding the motor, I just want to keep it for a long time (10 yrs) & give it the best chance to reach 300,000+ miles.

Happy with it in stock form. Currently, I spray the under body & inner panels with Fluid Film & a Eastwood undercoating gun/wand combo every fall. Usually I run a winter beater & only take out the truck on dry winter days.

 

[demarpaint]

Any 0W30, 5W30, or 10W30 oil will work. I run 5W30 Edge in my 88 4.9L. I've owned 4.9L Ford engines since 1984, you can't kill them! IMO it is the best 6 cylinder engine Ford ever made.

 

[A_Harman]

After the nuclear holocaust, the only things that will be left alive on the planet are cockroaches and Ford 300-inch I-6's.

The semi-syn T5 10w30 should work fine.

 

[Rob_Roy]

The 10w30 HDEO is a good choice, I would run it all year.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: Gearhead
I'm located 20 min west of Pittsburgh, temps in depth of winter (jan/feb) can get -10F.

Regarding the motor, I just want to keep it for a long time (10 yrs) & give it the best chance to reach 300,000+ miles.

Happy with it in stock form. Currently, I spray the under body & inner panels with Fluid Film & a Eastwood undercoating gun/wand combo every fall. Usually I run a winter beater & only take out the truck on dry winter days.
-10 is a bit brisk !!!!

 

[citrustaco]

my farm truck has the ford 4.9, i put the cheapest oil in there for it's once every 3 years oil change.

darn shame the frames rotting out

rotella will be flawless in it

 

[Gearhead]

Originally Posted By: citrustaco

darn shame the frames rotting out



There's a EPA approved material that can stop the rust, called Fluid Film. Most John Deere stores carry it, used for mower deck undersides, usually $45/gallon, enough to do the entire truck (inside panels, frame, undersides).

If you have a compressor, get a Shultz Undercoating gun (ebay, auto body supply shop) or a undercoating gun from Eastwood. I spray 1x per year and it's stopped the rust dead, even on my winter rat. My area salts even at the hint of cool weather, and a lot of cars get eaten up by corrosion, but no issue with mine.

 

[Gearhead]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
After the nuclear holocaust, the only things that will be left alive on the planet are cockroaches and Ford 300-inch I-6's.




Just wish I could find a 5-spd to match the engine. Have the stock light duty Mazda 5-spd, they usually give up the ghost after 120-150k.

 

[njohnson]

Our dad has a 1991 F-150 with the 4.9 Inline. I'm basically the one who does the maintenance on it. The truck now has a little over 204,000 mi.. When our dad bought it used in 1997, he didn't realized what a great engine it was, and we haven't babied it these last few years either, In 2001, we moved to a farm and it has been worked hard, towing heavy loads and fully loaded truckbeds, etc..
I haven't run the T5 10W-30 in the engine yet, although I'm thinking of using it in the next oil change, but I did use the 10W-30 Triple Protection, and the engine is running great. For the next oil change, I'm either going to use T5 or T6. With the new T6 formulation the viscosity is now a lower 40 weight, and the T5 is a thick 30, the difference isn't that dramatic, so I have to decide between the two.

The truck does have the Mazda 5-spd. Do they really give up the ghost after 120-150k? I didn't really realize how blessed we were to get the mileage we have on it. It still seems to be shifting smooth and running well, could this be because we were running AMSOIL atf in it? Just wondering, because, to me, it seems as if we have worked it hard yet it stills seems strong, I mean, I don't want to sound as if I'm bragging but we are still on the original clutch!

 

[Gearhead]

Originally Posted By: njohnson

The truck does have the Mazda 5-spd. Do they really give up the ghost after 120-150k? I didn't really realize how blessed we were to get the mileage we have on it. It still seems to be shifting smooth and running well, could this be because we were running AMSOIL atf in it? Just wondering, because, to me, it seems as if we have worked it hard yet it stills seems strong, I mean, I don't want to sound as if I'm bragging but we are still on the original clutch!


The 'mileage figure' is only based on my very limited observations, but I think in large part the reason for problems is fluid loss. There are rubber/plastic plugs atop the shift housing that can fail & cause ATF fluid loss. I plan on replacing mine later this spring. Here's an article on the subject:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/919959-m5od-r2-questions.html

That's superb service you're getting from that truck! How long have you been running the Amsoil ATF?

 

[citrustaco]

Gearhead,

I appreciate the thought, I bolted up plate steel to the frame in an attempt for it not to collapse. The corrosion is from an undetected chlorine leak some years ago that has ate everything in the rear.

nevertheless my 4.9 primes my pump, and hauls all the stuff I need around the grove for it's constant shutdowns and restarts perfectly. Still has little blowby with the considerate amount of [censored] that must get sucked up.

 

[njohnson]

Gearhead,
Sorry to take so long in answering your question. Our computer crashed shortly after I posted last time, and we just had it fixed.

I first installed the Amsoil ATF in 2000, when the truck had around 100,000 miles on it.