97 Ford 150, 5w30 or 10w30?

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I own a 1997 Ford F150 Flareside with the 4.6 V8. The owner's manual recommends a 5w30. The dealership and a mechanic friend suggested that I use the 5w30 instead of a 10w30 because the oil will get to the overhead cams faster. The truck has 86,000 miles on it. I have not had a any problems with this truck. I am have use Valvoline 5w30 exclusively with no problems and currently using Valvoline Max Life 5w30. I live in South Texas.

Would it hurt to go to a 10w30 with the overhead cams?
 
I would think at all times the 10w30 will get to your cams as fast or faster in the generally warmer ambient temperatures of Texas than a 5w30 would here in Michigan. I think you are OK. Maxlife is good stuff.
 
Thanks guys for your time and the cool chart. I believe I'll put the 10w30 in next oil change and I believe it will be more stable than the 5w30 for my application.
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quote:

Originally posted by James408:
Thanks guys for your time and the cool chart. I believe I'll put the 10w30 in next oil change and I believe it will be more stable than the 5w30 for my application.
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Nope. You'll probably wipe a cam clean from lack of lubrication at startup with the 10w-30 in the Texas heat.
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Hehehe, just kiddin (little argument goin round the board lately between 5w vs. 10w). I agree 100% with the others who have posted. 10-30 is preferable; probably all year for your application.
 
I agree 110% with what TallPaul is saying - with the warmer temps in Texas, a 10W-30 at start-up is at a similar viscosity to a 5W-30 in the cooler temps of northern states.

If a start-up oil viscosity of 200-400 cSt created any problems, F150 engine parts would be laying all over the roads in Wisconsin!

Here's a comparison to illustrate the actual viscosities at normal start-up temps:

code:

Viscosity in cSt

TEMP Havoline

C F 5W-30 10W-30

0 32 573 814

5 41 403 556

10 50 293 389

15 59 218 280

20 68 165 206

25 77 127 155

30 86 100 118





 
That chart really puts things in perspective. The way I read it, going from 10W- to 5W- buys you roughly ten more degrees Fahrenheit cold temperature.... not a whole lot.
 
I live pretty far north of you and I run 15W-40 in my 95 F150 I-6 summer & winter. No problems so far.

Right now I have Delo 400 SAE30 in my 92 3.0L Toyota.

Personally, I like the thicker oils, especially for Texas summers.
 
I would use 5w30 in that engine because it was designed from a clean sheet of paper with 5W30 in mind. Your just kidding yourself if you believe that 10w30 is any better for that engine.

I believe that the discussion should be if you should be using 5w30 or 5w20, which is what Ford recommends backfitting that engine to. To me the answer would be that it is a toss up. I would tend to go with 5w30 because it has already had a diet of it for most of it's life, but it would be close call.
 
quote:

Originally posted by James408:
I own a 1997 Ford F150 Flareside with the 4.6 V8. The owner's manual recommends a 5w30. The dealership and a mechanic friend suggested that I use the 5w30 instead of a 10w30 because the oil will get to the overhead cams faster. The truck has 86,000 miles on it. I have not had a any problems with this truck. I am have use Valvoline 5w30 exclusively with no problems and currently using Valvoline Max Life 5w30. I live in South Texas.

Would it hurt to go to a 10w30 with the overhead cams?


5w30 all the way.
 
10w-30 is the way to go. however, if your not consuming 5w-30 at all, I would stick with it just to get every MPG that I could get.
 
Ford recommends 5w20 for this motor. They tested that motor using 5w20 in Death Valley towing uphill at the maximum weight rating. 5w20 met all performance requirements. Is your service more severe than that? No? Then why second guess Ford?
 
C4Dave is right on the money. I just switched to 5w-20 in my 2000 5.4L and just back from a trip in the ozarks. If your not familiar with the ozarks it's extremely hilly. I had to leave in drive most of the time so it was pushing 3-4k depending on mph and the slope. I had no consumption ,which is a major surprise, and the engine ran through the whole day as strong as when I first started it up, the transmisson didn't care for the beating though. I know nothing scientific to that but at least use a thin 5w-30, you're wallet will thank you. Eric
 
quote:

Originally posted by C4Dave:
Ford recommends 5w20 for this motor. They tested that motor using 5w20 in Death Valley towing uphill at the maximum weight rating. 5w20 met all performance requirements. Is your service more severe than that? No? Then why second guess Ford?

Cause we all know ford knows it all!
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Wow, seems like the thin oil crowd is quite active in this thread!
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As always, I'll vote for a 10W-30 in summertime temps for the larger V6's and V8 engines.

In warmer temperatures, start-up viscosity becomes a non-issue and 10W-30's have better Noack volatility ratings.

What does anybody think about running Rotella 5W-40 Syn, in Minnesota, with a 4.6L Ford F-150?
 
So far it seems that Ford fairly consistently recommends a heavier oil for the same vehicle/engine outside of the US, so I'd go with a heavier oil, since 'Ford knows best' when there is no EPA/CAFE pressure.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Blue99:


Anyone get the impression that way too much bandwidth is used up @ BITOG debating viscosity?
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We'd have no life if that was the case
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Remember the ladies RV that blew on 5w-20 and it was "arguably" inside the recomndations of Ford... 10w-30 will save you
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My '96 Vic w/ 4.6 and 144k miles has used 5-20, 5-30, and 10-30. I live in South Texas. It's on 10-30 Valvoline Maxlife Synthetic ($1.50-2.00/qt AZ blowout) and FL820-S filter.

The owner's manual for the 4.6 says to use 5-30, but 10-30 will work if temps are above freezing (I dont recall actual temp).

The 97 4.6 was designed w/ SH API oil I think.

Modern SM API 10-30 will work just fine.

5-20 will work, but unless it's synthetic, I wouldn't drive on it past 4000 miles.

My 01 GMLS w/ 4.6 gets MoCraft 5-20 every 3-4k miles.
 
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