To switch or not to switch...

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Hello everyone,

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment if you do. Cannot believe I have been changing oil on my cars this long with out knowing about the BITOG community! I'm brand new and happy to join.

I recently purchased a 2001 Ford Expedition 5.4 V8 trition. It has just under 250k miles. I got it from the original owner. He only used pennsoil 5/30 (manufacture requires 5/20) just plain old regular oil. I have the service records and the car runs great.

I wanted to switch over to a full synthetic and have been told it's a bad idea as its run only on basic oil this long. To switch would cause problems. Is this true? Also, if I switch should I switch to the correct weight?

Thanks for the wealth of knowledge on this website and any feedback!!!
 
That 5.4L may have been originally built with 5w-30 specced and then later lowered to 5w-20 to achieve better mpg. In switching to a full synthetic you'll probably get better cleaning of your engine. You might see some seals start to dribble as that stuff gets removed. Or you may not. A 5w-20 synthetic is more apt to get by old seals than a 5w-30 conventional. It never hurts to try though. PYB is good oil and could even be part synthetic. If your engine is pretty clean at 250K miles and not leaking, and not using oil, you just might want to continue what has been working so well for 15 years. Welcome to Bitog.
 
I'm sure you'll get plenty of replies telling you to go ahead and switch, but if it were my vehicle, I definitely wouldn't.
 
Originally Posted By: Padawan
I'm sure you'll get plenty of replies telling you to go ahead and switch, but if it were my vehicle, I definitely wouldn't.


+1

I might upgrade to a known good semi-syn in the same grade he used. The thing got this far on what they were doing. Going down to a thinner grade (20 vs 30) with 250,000 on the clock would be iffy at best ...

I think I'd switch to Maxlife red bottle semi-syn as a first test. If that goes well, maybe Mobil 1 HM as the next round ...
 
At what frequency was the oil changed by the 1st owner? At 16K average miles per year the car certainly wasn't a short tripper. With mostly highway miles it would like be quite clean on 3K-5K oil changes.
 
Why would you want to run syn oil? What is the big whoop about syn oil? 5W-30 conventional will be more than fine.
 
The old saying of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" may apply here.
If using conventional really bothers you, I like the suggestion above of moving to a semi-syn.
Pennzoil Gold or Motorcraft Semi in 5W30 would do the trick.

You may also want to consider Pennzoil High Mileage.
 
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Rather than a full synthetic, I would look at a high mileage oil. Maybe a full synthetic high mileage. They are usually the same price as a regular full synthetic. however a full synthetic shouldn't cause any problems. Synthetic oils can pose savings vs conventional due to the longer mileage runs. Especially with rebates. If it were me, I would probably run valvoline max life, Mobil super high mileage or Quakerstate defy and never look back.
 
Personally if 5w30 Pennzoil has been in there for this long and it still runs great Stay with it...If it is not broke don't fix it because if you do you will break it.
Those Modular 4.6 and 5.4 Fords run forever on anything..
 
Just use Pennzoil High Mileage 5w30 in the bronze jug. Upgrade over what has been used before, plus will "baby" those seals a bit with the seal conditioner to make sure the seals are not gonna dry out and stay pliable, plus it will give extra cleaning and extra wear protection in your high mileage engine. Another great choice would be Valvoline Maxlife in red bottle. 5w30, 10w30, 10w40, whatever.
 
Originally Posted By: 01fordexpo
Hello everyone,

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment if you do. Cannot believe I have been changing oil on my cars this long with out knowing about the BITOG community! I'm brand new and happy to join.

I recently purchased a 2001 Ford Expedition 5.4 V8 trition. It has just under 250k miles. I got it from the original owner. He only used pennsoil 5/30 (manufacture requires 5/20) just plain old regular oil. I have the service records and the car runs great.

I wanted to switch over to a full synthetic and have been told it's a bad idea as its run only on basic oil this long. To switch would cause problems. Is this true? Also, if I switch should I switch to the correct weight?

Thanks for the wealth of knowledge on this website and any feedback!!!


You can switch to synthetic oil anytime you want. If you do I'd use PP or PU 5w30. OTOH PYB got her to 250K miles, and still running great, why change?
 
I wouldnt switch at that mileage.. its gone 250k miles on conventional, I say put in some PYB 5w30 and do some short intervals for cleaning and then set an interval that you are comfortable with.
Welcome to Bitog
smile.gif
 
What are you hoping to accomplish by making the switch I guess is my question. If your just wanting to make the switch because you think the synthetic is a better than conventional there are plenty of discussion you will be able to find on this forum about that topic. I would just stick with what has been working and put my energy into flushing the radiator, brake, and transmission fluids and see if belts, hoses, plugs and wires need to be exchanged. Congratulations on the purchase looks like you have a great vehicle with many more miles left to drive.
 
COMPLETELY UNSCIENTIFIC OPINION EXPRESSED HERE...BY ME.....AS FOLLOWS.....

Los Angeles gets hot but not too cold as a general rule.

I think you're a perfect candidate for sticking with what the vehicle's been doing. Leaning towards a HM oil for seal conditioning (as mentioned earlier) might be a timely idea.

You're lucky the PO piled on the miles. That's how to run any vehicle in my opinion.

Better to check any PCV type of thing or IAC valve action and cleanliness.

If you find lotsa dirt somewhere you can revisit the "switch-to-synthetics" question. Keep her clean.

Hey, (big idea just hit me) why not have an oil analysis done after a change to one of BITOG's darlings (Motorcraft blend, Formula Shell, QSGB etc.) and, say, 6,000 miles of operation. Get extra of whatever oil you select and keep it for top-offs. Keep totals records.
 
The 2002 F150 5.4L has always gotten PYB 5w20 and 5k mile oci. No problems with it. At 250k Id just keep with regular conventional but thats up to you. You might see some dribbles when switching to full synthetic as it might clean some spots that need it. Really sepends on how the vehicle was maintained as stated above.

If youre really itching to switch Id suggest maybe running the Motorcraft 5w20 synth blend or 5w30 if it suits you before.
 
What do you use in a 5.4L Whatever you want!

FRANK: We'd be hard pressed to find any problems in this sample. This F150's wear metals are below
average, even though this oil saw quite a few more miles than the ~5,800 that our universal averages are
based on. In our book, that shows a strong and healthy engine at 330,452 total miles. Retirement? Pshaw!
The trace of fuel is harmless and likely comes from normal use like city-driving or idling. No harmful coolant
was found, and the low amounts of silicon and insolubles show good air and oil filtration. Go ahead and try
11,000 miles next oil. Great report

9000 miles on the oil.
 
3-5k miles religiously. He also had a 96 F-350 with 380k still going strong. They own a home on a lake about 11 hours away. My expedition was the wife's car and commuter.
 
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