best oil for a 2004 crown vic police interceptor

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i have recently purchased a 2004 crown vic police interceptor with the 4.6l & 145,000 km. I would like to know what you all think would be a good oil to run? I was thinking m1 5w20 or gc 0w30?

one other thing, this may sound crazy but i will ask anyway. i recently did and oil change on the car, the oil was clean but i noticed that there was a honeywell defence oil filter and i could not have that. i changed the oil with gtx 5w20 and an fl820-s, and the outside temp was around -5c. I put in oil that had been sitting in my unheated garage and when i started it after the change i heard some knocking. do you all think i did some damage?

thanks in advance
nick
 
The motor will knock until the filter fills up if you did not pre-charge it before installation. I always pre-charge my filters. The easy ones are the nearly verticle filters, 3.8L V6, I can get a good amount of oil in them. The nearly horizontal ones such as on the 4.6L and 5.4L V8s won't hold as much oil, however, the more you can get into the filter the better, or, the shorter the knock period.
 
Any SM rated 5w20 will serve that engine well. I use Pennzoil Platinum in my 4.6 modular, have a 10,000+ UOA that will be back any day...watch for it in the UOA section. The FL820S is THE filter to get. Can't beat it for 3.38 at Walmart every day.
Edit: Oh, yeah, the slight knocking for a couple of seconds is "normal" after an oil change. If it does it at other times...not normal.
 
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Originally Posted By: mustang
i have recently purchased a 2004 crown vic police interceptor with the 4.6l & 145,000 km. I would like to know what you all think would be a good oil to run? I was thinking m1 5w20 or gc 0w30?

one other thing, this may sound crazy but i will ask anyway. i recently did and oil change on the car, the oil was clean but i noticed that there was a honeywell defence oil filter and i could not have that. i changed the oil with gtx 5w20 and an fl820-s, and the outside temp was around -5c. I put in oil that had been sitting in my unheated garage and when i started it after the change i heard some knocking. do you all think i did some damage?

thanks in advance
nick


Is it a six quart sump? The non-police models are, so...
I'm using Schaeffer's 5w20 in an '03. Smooth. No UOAs yet.
 
I should have said SOME of the non-police models are, so that may explain the knock. I think the other posters are correct though, about pre-filling the oil filter to prevent it.
 
My previous car had a huge filter, and at each oil change (approx every 2500 miles) it would knock pretty loud for 2 or 3 seconds until the filter got filled as i never have pre-filled my filters.

It did this for over 200,000 miles and it never caused a problem. I still dont pre-fill filters, and my new car knocks for a second or two after the oil change (although not as much) but so far no problems.

It's my opinion people worry too much about pre-filling filters. Then again, i worry too much about other things so who am i to talk
wink.gif
 
You need to use the motorcraft filter on that motor.

Anything else is going to knock.

I've used them all on 4.6 motors, stick with the oem filter from walmart. Its very cheap.
 
Thanks for the replys...the reason i was asking about the start up knock after the oil change was because the oil i used had been sitting in my unheated garage and the temp was around -5c and i noticed that the oil was slower to pour in and i thought that i may have done damage......between m1 5w20 and gc 0w30 which one would you all pick?
 
Originally Posted By: mustang
Thanks for the replys...the reason i was asking about the start up knock after the oil change was because the oil i used had been sitting in my unheated garage and the temp was around -5c and i noticed that the oil was slower to pour in and i thought that i may have done damage......between m1 5w20 and gc 0w30 which one would you all pick?


5w20. I've used 0w30 in a car before, it's WAY thicker than needed. This engine will run over 250,000 miles with no problem with standard 5w20.
 
Originally Posted By: mustang
between m1 5w20 and gc 0w30 which one would you all pick?
Use the M1 5W-20. Although GC is a very good oil, it's a bit thick for the Ford modular motors.

Originally Posted By: glennc
Seriously, there is no way you did any damage.
Agreed.
 
I would stay with the 5W20 or 0W20 if you are going to stay with Mobil 1. I switched from Mobil 1 over to AMSOIL 0W20 in my 4.6 and 5.4 Modulars and am pleased with the results.
 
Originally Posted By: mustang
so do you all think i did damage by putting in oil that was cold from sitting in a garage where the temps were -5c?
thanks in advance


No, your engine is fine.
 
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I can't help but ask:

A Police Interceptor with a 4.6L in it?
shocked2.gif


Isn't that a bit too small of an engine for that weight of a car?? What's the 0-60 (MPH) time??

I'm sure it's got some power, but that just strikes me as too small.......
 
I have 3 cvpi's in the family and have tried several oils and filters. The overall best results are with Schaeffer series 7000 5w20 and MC syn blend 5w20 using an MC FL820S filter. I have tried the pureone and have not been impressed. It rattles to much on start up. And I had one P1 filter that the media was not glued completely on. I have used the earlier Amsoil EAO11 filter and have had the same rattle, but I am told that has been corrected in the newer filters. If the car is in good mechanical shape, I see no reason not to get a quarter of a million miles out of it. I am currently running Amsoil 0w20 and an EAO11 filter on the DD, but a UOA will be about 10 months in coming. As for a 4.6 being too small. It could use a little more power, after all I want the front tires to come off the ground when I take off from a light. The 4.6 is a good balance between power and economy and a very durable engine. Also since most police cars can move at near the speed of light (radio) they probably don't need a 900 hp engine.
 
Originally Posted By: tpitcher
I can't help but ask:

A Police Interceptor with a 4.6L in it?
shocked2.gif


Isn't that a bit too small of an engine for that weight of a car?? What's the 0-60 (MPH) time??

I'm sure it's got some power, but that just strikes me as too small.......


Unlike many people's expectation, these cars are not hot-rods. Same engine in the Grand Marquis and Town Car. Very little difference in power. The DOHC Marauder puts out somewhere around 300 horses, but, it weighs about 300-400 more that a stock CVPI, and the 1/4 mile times are very close to one another...which isn't really fast. As mentioned, Radios do a wonder job of keeping up with fast cars.

Oh, handling isn't good either...I don't car what suspension modifications are done...look at the overhang past the axles...that's not how good-handling cars are set up, for very good reasons.
 
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