2005 Explorer 4.0 5w20 Oil Issue

[Matt2]

Hi. I read a post here concerning 5w20 oil in Explorers. It mentioned timing chain issues. After 1,200 miles of having 5w20 installed in my 05 Eddie Bauer, powered by a 4.0 with 160,000 miles, I ended up with a timing chain issue and entire top end of the engine. After a 300 mile trip at highway speeds is when the noise was obvious. The weekend before my wife said she heard a noise but I figured it was the radio.
The morning after the trip, when it started cold it sounded like there was no oil on the lifters. I have recordings of it taking 5 minutes to quiet down. Prior to that the engine never made any noise even starting at -25°F. As soon as I found out that it had the 5w20 I changed it back to the 5w30 but it was too late. In fact, prior to changing it at one point in the trip when it was starting hot I thought my battery was dying or my starter was dragging but apparently the engine was binding. When the engine was torn down there was a timing chain issue as well as some lifter damage. There were posts stating that the oil pump would not build enough pressure with the 5w20. I found a TSB that referenced the use of 5w20 in 01 and 02. TSB 2-1-9. I could not find any other documentation concerning this. Can anyone comment on this? Can anyone point me in a direction to find additional information concerning issues with 5w20 in 4.0 engines. Thank you for the help. Matt

 

[exranger06]

The 4.0 was one of the very few Ford engines that was NEVER back-speced for 5w20. Ford recommended 5w30 right up until it was discontinued in 2011. I don't know the exact reason why, or what the consequences of using 5w20 are, but the fact that Ford would back-spec nearly all of their engines to 5w20 but specifically leave the 4.0 out is reason enough for me to never consider using 5w20 in one.

That being said, the 4.0 is also known for timing chain issues, even if the correct oil is used. The chain tensioners wear out and break, causing a lot of slack in the chains and make them jump timing and cause all sorts of havoc in the engine. Ford eventually got it figured out and installed updated tensioners around 2005. Maybe you got the last of the bad bunch?

 

[aquariuscsm]

I use 10W30 in our 4.0. Current oil is Edge bb 10W30. Purrs like a happy kitten.

 

[timeau]

You could not ruine your engine for just 1200 miles, it probably was damaged before that. But, believe me, Europenians are not stupid when use pretty heavy oils in their high mileage cars. This may be quite shocking for you. Anyway, I would still avoid using xW20 "donkey's urine" in your Explorer.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: exranger06
The 4.0 was one of the very few Ford engines that was NEVER back-speced for 5w20. Ford recommended 5w30 right up until it was discontinued in 2011. I don't know the exact reason why, or what the consequences of using 5w20 are, but the fact that Ford would back-spec nearly all of their engines to 5w20 but specifically leave the 4.0 out is reason enough for me to never consider using 5w20 in one.

That being said, the 4.0 is also known for timing chain issues, even if the correct oil is used. The chain tensioners wear out and break, causing a lot of slack in the chains and make them jump timing and cause all sorts of havoc in the engine. Ford eventually got it figured out and installed updated tensioners around 2005. Maybe you got the last of the bad bunch?


This happened to my wife's 2002 at about 38,000 miles running 5W-30. Did a UOA and the iron was through the roof. It was most noticeable at around 2200-2500 rpm, you could hear a rattling sound. It would have cost lots of money to fix and they were using the same "bad" timing chain cassettes. She traded it in for a new 2005 4.6 V-8 Explorer which now has 170,000 miles and runs great. It only gets 1mpg less than the 4.0 V-6 got.

Whimsey

 

[cptbarkey]

contrary to popular belief, timing chains are not immortal. I doubt 5w20 had anything to do with it.

 

[Matt2]

The interesting thing is I have gotten 300,000 mile out of my last 2 Ford engine. One a 5.0 the other a 4.0. Always changed the oil at 3,000 miles used the recommended oil and never had any issues. Here I have one oil change with the wrong oil and the engine has issues.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: Matt2
The interesting thing is I have gotten 300,000 mile out of my last 2 Ford engine. One a 5.0 the other a 4.0. Always changed the oil at 3,000 miles used the recommended oil and never had any issues. Here I have one oil change with the wrong oil and the engine has issues.


Was the previous 4.0 you had the newer SOHC version as in your current Explorer or the older OHV version like my wife had in her 1996 4.0 Explorer. They are totally different engines. The old OHV 4.0 was very reliable but underpowered.

Whimsey

 

[bdcardinal]

The TSB you showed, 02-01-09 specifically states to NOT use 5W20 in the 4.0L applications.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Dump the 5W20 ASAP and refill with 10W30 and an MC oil filter (FL820S?). Give Edge bb a shot. Post your engine noise vids if you get a chance.

 

[Matt2]

Not sure how to post a video.

 

[aquariuscsm]

You'd have to upload it to a hosting site like tinypic and then copy/paste the vid link here.

 

[MNgopher]

As stated above, the TSB's on oil weights from Ford had this engine on the list of do not use 5w20. They originally called for 5w30, and were never back specified. You can bet there was a reason for that, since nearly everything else was back specified!

Likely you had the beginnings of a timing chain issue at that mileage it wouldn't be unexpected - and the use of 5w20 sped it along...