What oil for Ford F-350 5.4

[Eric24]

Hi I got a 2004 Ford F-350 with the 5.4 motor. The truck has 14,000 miles so I don't drive the truck too much I pretty much use it for moving equipment around on job sites. The manual calls for 5W20. I change the oil once a year with Motorcraft 5W20 and Motorcraft filter sometime twice a year cause I only drive about 2500 miles a year but it's hard miles cause I've hit the scale weighing 30,000 pounds a few times when I'm towing my equipment. I live a little south of Chicago so the weather ranges from 0F - 90F and I go Orlando in the winter with the truck for work trips and drive it 50%/50% city and highway. So I was thinking about use 5W30 or maybe Rotella T6 5W40 cause all of the weight I tow with this truck. So should I stick with the 5W20 or should I use a little ticker oil? thanks

 

[cassidy]

Just stay with the 5w20. The Motorcraft is a synthetic blend, which is good, but maybe step up to a full synthetic. If it were me, I would just stay with what you are using now.

 

[Dieseldoctor]

Wow how does the 5.4 do with all that weight? is this a automatic? Gearing?

 

[DieselTech]

+1

 

[Eric24]

Originally Posted By: Dieseldoctor
Wow how does the 5.4 do with all that weight? is this a automatic? Gearing?


The little 5.4 does better than you think with all that weight it but it slows down if your going over mountains and gets about 5mpg its automatic with 4.10 gears I was buying a diesel but the dealer only had the 5.4 so I took what they had

 

[ProStreetCamaro]

I almost get the feeling this thread was started by somebody on here with a different name to try and get a rise out of me. Could be right could be wrong. In any case if you put it on a scale at DOT or got pulled over with that much weight do you understand what they would do? Possible impounding and major fines. That is way over the weight that truck is rated for even if the 5.4 could manage to pull it. I understand that 30000 is the combined weight but that still puts you way over the GCWR.

In any case if it were me I would run motorcraft 5W-20 full synthetic and motorcraft filter. Motorcraft oil is very good oil and the motorcraft filter is a purolator filter. Cant go wrong with that combo and should you have a problem they cant come back and say you didnt follow fords recommendation.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: Eric24
Hi I got a 2004 Ford F-350 with the 5.4 motor. The truck has 14,000 miles so I don't drive the truck too much I pretty much use it for moving equipment around on job sites. The manual calls for 5W20. I change the oil once a year with Motorcraft 5W20 and Motorcraft filter sometime twice a year cause I only drive about 2500 miles a year but it's hard miles cause I've hit the scale weighing 30,000 pounds a few times when I'm towing my equipment. I live a little south of Chicago so the weather ranges from 0F - 90F and I go Orlando in the winter with the truck for work trips and drive it 50%/50% city and highway. So I was thinking about use 5W30 or maybe Rotella T6 5W40 cause all of the weight I tow with this truck. So should I stick with the 5W20 or should I use a little ticker oil? thanks


With all that weight, I would definitely consider stepping up to a 5W-30. OVERK1LL has been having good luck with M1 0W-40 in his 5.4.

 

[Eric24]

I only hit 30,000 3 times and I weighed it at the truck stop but right now if you weigh the truck at trailer it'll weigh around 22,000 and believe it or not it's legal cause I'm allowed 34,000 pounds on the trailer but plate it at 20,000 and my truck 16,000 cause of the plates. And the 5.4 pulls it fine but if you get on hills it gets real slow and if you don't believe it I'm not worried about it but if your local your more than welcome to drive it around the block and you'll see I'm not lying about the weight. And I even have a pic of it hooked up to my 10 ton trailer loaded with my skid steer weighing 7,500 and asphalt roller weight 2.5 ton


btw I don't do this everyday I only do it when I on big jobs to move my equipment around on the job cause I have 2 Mack CH613's that I tow the equipment with everyday

 

[DieselTech]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: Eric24
Hi I got a 2004 Ford F-350 with the 5.4 motor. The truck has 14,000 miles so I don't drive the truck too much I pretty much use it for moving equipment around on job sites. The manual calls for 5W20. I change the oil once a year with Motorcraft 5W20 and Motorcraft filter sometime twice a year cause I only drive about 2500 miles a year but it's hard miles cause I've hit the scale weighing 30,000 pounds a few times when I'm towing my equipment. I live a little south of Chicago so the weather ranges from 0F - 90F and I go Orlando in the winter with the truck for work trips and drive it 50%/50% city and highway. So I was thinking about use 5W30 or maybe Rotella T6 5W40 cause all of the weight I tow with this truck. So should I stick with the 5W20 or should I use a little ticker oil? thanks


With all that weight, I would definitely consider stepping up to a 5W-30. OVERK1LL has been having good luck with M1 0W-40 in his 5.4.


Thats a VCT engine, 5-30 at the most

 

[Eric24]

so you think 5w30 will be better than 5w20 cause of the weight? one of the guys who works for me tried to talk me into using Rotella T6 5w40 when we changing the oil a couple months ago but really didn't give it a thought till I was hooking up to one of the trailers go I can move one of our skid steers last night. btw I changed the oil 3 months today and I only put 50 miles on the truck.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: DieselTech
Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: Eric24
Hi I got a 2004 Ford F-350 with the 5.4 motor. The truck has 14,000 miles so I don't drive the truck too much I pretty much use it for moving equipment around on job sites. The manual calls for 5W20. I change the oil once a year with Motorcraft 5W20 and Motorcraft filter sometime twice a year cause I only drive about 2500 miles a year but it's hard miles cause I've hit the scale weighing 30,000 pounds a few times when I'm towing my equipment. I live a little south of Chicago so the weather ranges from 0F - 90F and I go Orlando in the winter with the truck for work trips and drive it 50%/50% city and highway. So I was thinking about use 5W30 or maybe Rotella T6 5W40 cause all of the weight I tow with this truck. So should I stick with the 5W20 or should I use a little ticker oil? thanks


With all that weight, I would definitely consider stepping up to a 5W-30. OVERK1LL has been having good luck with M1 0W-40 in his 5.4.


Thats a VCT engine, 5-30 at the most


I thought the SDs didn't get the 5.4 3V until the face-lift in 2005.

 

[Eric24]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: DieselTech
Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: Eric24
Hi I got a 2004 Ford F-350 with the 5.4 motor. The truck has 14,000 miles so I don't drive the truck too much I pretty much use it for moving equipment around on job sites. The manual calls for 5W20. I change the oil once a year with Motorcraft 5W20 and Motorcraft filter sometime twice a year cause I only drive about 2500 miles a year but it's hard miles cause I've hit the scale weighing 30,000 pounds a few times when I'm towing my equipment. I live a little south of Chicago so the weather ranges from 0F - 90F and I go Orlando in the winter with the truck for work trips and drive it 50%/50% city and highway. So I was thinking about use 5W30 or maybe Rotella T6 5W40 cause all of the weight I tow with this truck. So should I stick with the 5W20 or should I use a little ticker oil? thanks


With all that weight, I would definitely consider stepping up to a 5W-30. OVERK1LL has been having good luck with M1 0W-40 in his 5.4.


Thats a VCT engine, 5-30 at the most


I thought the SDs didn't get the 3V until the face-lift in 2005.


Thats what I though

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: Eric24
Thats what I though


Did some reading just to make sure I wasn't misremembering, the 3Vs did show up in the 2005 Super Duty. So you can run T6 in that '04 if you really want to.

 

[DieselTech]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: Eric24
Thats what I though


Did some reading just to make sure I wasn't misremembering, the 3Vs did show up in the 2005 Super Duty. So you can run T6 in that '04 if you really want to.


They actually got them starting in 10/04 but dubbed them as 05's. I would check the manufacture date before going heavy on the oil, but it is possible a heavier oil would work, but you really dont need anything more then a good 5-30.

 

[Ben99GT]

10/04 sounds like a normal changeover date for model years. Are you saying there are 5.4 3Vs in Super Duties with the 2004 front clip?

 

[DieselTech]

Yes there are and V10 3V didnt start until the new clip

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: DieselTech
Yes there are and V10 3V didnt start until the new clip


Huh, I didn't know any 5.4 3Vs showed up with the old 2004 fascia.

Eric, easy way to tell if you have a 2V or a 3V. Are your valve/cam covers a black nylon composite (2V) or cast aluminum (3V)?

It it's a 3V, I would run a 5W-30 at the maximum, if it's a 2V I would run 5W-30 at the minimum. JMO...

 

[DieselTech]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: DieselTech
Yes there are and V10 3V didnt start until the new clip


Huh, I didn't know any 5.4 3Vs showed up with the old 2004 fascia.

Eric, easy way to tell if you have a 2V or a 3V. Are your valve/cam covers a black nylon composite (2V) or cast aluminum (3V)?

It it's a 3V, I would run a 5W-30 at the maximum, if it's a 2V I would run 5W-30 at the minimum. JMO...


Corect

 

[Eric24]

thanks I'll just use 5w30 cause I always have some 5w30 in my garage. I'm pretty sure mine isn't 3V cause the 3V engines have 7 quart sumps and mine has a 6 quart sump and I got my truck in Oct. of 04 and I got a decent deal on it cause it was a left over model and it was the only truck with a dump body cause I was trying to find a 05 powerstroke but they didn't have any

 

[DieselTech]

6qt is a 2V A good 5-30 like Ultra,M1 will be fine