7.3 PSD 2002 Ford Excursion 4x4....202k...which oil?

V

va_life

Joined
Jul 15, 2023
Messages
21
Hey,

New to me vehicle. I have always wanted one and decided to pull the plug and couldn't be happier.

With the 15 quarts of oil needed per oil change and a factory OCI of 5k miles I think that oil choice is pretty doggone important especially since I have a few other vehicles.

I have all service records and took a 2500 mile road trip on whatever was in there just to see if it burnt any oil and to my surprise no oil was burnt. Sorry that is my methodology for a new to me vehicle so I can see if it is worthy. Works for me!

I live in Central/Northern Virginia so morning temps are rarely below 0 degrees unless it's a blue moon event. Same with 100 degree days.

The vehicle is equipped with a block heater.

I plan only to drive the vehicle on road trips or locally to keep it fit every once in a while or if bad weather hits and the Subarus are in another family member's hands. If I had to guess it would probably only see 7k miles per year if that.

So I have been using 0w-40 Mobil One Diesel Euro in one of my ALH TDIs and my Forester XT with EJ257 and have been quite happy thanks to this forum.

Would that be a great choice for this vehicle or should I go with something less spendy maybe?

Sorry if this has been discussed many times but oil keeps changing and each scenario is a bit different.

Thanks.
 
Can't prove it, but I'm confident that 90% of 7.3PSD owners use conventional 15W-40 in flavors like Rotella, Delvac, and Delo 400. Due to the way the PowerSmoke's fuel injection system is actuated via oil pressure, oil cleanliness is paramount for long term reliability. Cheaper oil changed more often will give better service than fancy oil changed less often. They don't need synthetic oils to last a LONG time.
 
my grandfather went 370k with delo 15w-40 changed every 5k on his 2001 7.3.

also very important, make sure you keep a good paper air filter on these. oiled filters will kill the back cylinders from the extra dirt they let in.
 
Any 15w40 or 5w40 would be my choice and it is what we ran in the 7.3L I drove as a teen on a farm. If it were mine I'd be running Rotella T6 5w40/15w40 or Valvoline Premium Blue 5w40/15w40, but really any good diesel oil changed at appropriate intervals will work well in the ol' 7.3.
 
Something of note I saw on Amsoil.com


(1) In 2016 when the CK-4 standard was introduced, Ford superseded the original recommendation of WSS-M2C171-C with WSS-M2C171-F1. Ford Motor Company’s position on CK-4 engine oils is the following: Ford continues to recommend motor oils meeting the Ford specification WSS-M2C171-F1 instead of CK-4 motor oils in the 3.2L and 6.7L Ford diesel engines as well as older Ford diesel engines, 4.5L, 6.0L, 6.4L and 7.3L. Testing completed on some CK-4 type formulations have shown inadaquate wear protection compared to CJ-4 formulations developed and licensed before 2016. Therefore, Ford has included additional requirements beyond CK-4 in WSSM2C171-F1 to provide additional wear protection Like many other diesel engine manufacturers, with their own internal OEM specification, Ford is recommending oils that meet, Ford Material Engineering Specification WSS-M2C171-F1.
Click to expand...
 
va_life said:
Hey,

New to me vehicle. I have always wanted one and decided to pull the plug and couldn't be happier.

With the 15 quarts of oil needed per oil change and a factory OCI of 5k miles I think that oil choice is pretty doggone important especially since I have a few other vehicles.

I have all service records and took a 2500 mile road trip on whatever was in there just to see if it burnt any oil and to my surprise no oil was burnt. Sorry that is my methodology for a new to me vehicle so I can see if it is worthy. Works for me!

I live in Central/Northern Virginia so morning temps are rarely below 0 degrees unless it's a blue moon event. Same with 100 degree days.

The vehicle is equipped with a block heater.

I plan only to drive the vehicle on road trips or locally to keep it fit every once in a while or if bad weather hits and the Subarus are in another family member's hands. If I had to guess it would probably only see 7k miles per year if that.

So I have been using 0w-40 Mobil One Diesel Euro in one of my ALH TDIs and my Forester XT with EJ257 and have been quite happy thanks to this forum.

Would that be a great choice for this vehicle or should I go with something less spendy maybe?

Sorry if this has been discussed many times but oil keeps changing and each scenario is a bit different.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Are you planning on changing the oil by mileage or time?
If your just gonna do an annual oil change at that low mileage I would just use the cheapest priced product at Walmart that meets the spec. Maybe if you plan to leave it in for 2or3 years it can make sense to use M1 or something like that. 15 qts is a lot of oil.
 
Pick a 15w40 off the shelf and use the block heater if necessary on cold days. Rotella, Kirkland/Supertech, and Farm store house brands are usually the most cost effective for 5k changes if you shop around for five gallon buckets.
 
Bighorn2500 said:
Pick a 15w40 off the shelf and use the block heater if necessary on cold days. Rotella, Kirkland/Supertech, and Farm store house brands are usually the most cost effective for 5k changes if you shop around for five gallon buckets.
Click to expand...
Plawan said:
Are you planning on changing the oil by mileage or time?
If your just gonna do an annual oil change at that low mileage I would just use the cheapest priced product at Walmart that meets the spec. Maybe if you plan to leave it in for 2or3 years it can make sense to use M1 or something like that. 15 qts is a lot of oil.
Click to expand...
You are right. This requires planning. Not sure.
 
ripcord said:
Can't prove it, but I'm confident that 90% of 7.3PSD owners use conventional 15W-40 in flavors like Rotella, Delvac, and Delo 400. Due to the way the PowerSmoke's fuel injection system is actuated via oil pressure, oil cleanliness is paramount for long term reliability. Cheaper oil changed more often will give better service than fancy oil changed less often. They don't need synthetic oils to last a LONG time.
Click to expand...
There is zero need for syn oils in those engines unless living in below freezing climates
 
Motorcraft/phillips/kendall 15w40
Good oil, good wear #s

I've used the MC / Phillips oils on multiple trucks for a long time (5w40 flavor, cold climate)

600k 7.3 below with oil pan off on Mc oil.

20210508_151724.jpg


20210508_151736.jpg
 
BituminousCoal said:
Motorcraft/phillips/kendall 15w40
Good oil, good wear #s

I've used the MC / Phillips oils on multiple trucks for a long time (5w40 flavor, cold climate)

600k 7.3 below with oil pan off on Mc oil.

View attachment 202425

View attachment 202426
Click to expand...
looks like you could eat off of the internals. im
not a ford fan, but international sure did build one hell of a diesel in the 7.3.
 
wpod said:
There is zero need for syn oils in those engines unless living in below freezing climates
Click to expand...
I do live in Virginia and it is below freezing during the winter but it doesn't seem as cold for as long lately.
 
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