2004 f150 what oil?

[electrolover]

hello all im new here but i really love the site.
i have an 04 f150 5.4 with 135k on it, ford said i should run mc 5/20 and i really feel its not thick enough for a well broke in engine.

i got the truck with 125k on it and made the seller change the oil to mc 5/20 with an fl820s filter. then i drove it 200 miles or so and changed it again. i didnt really know if it was taken care of or not so i figured id try to get any sludge out.

on a side note i ran stp with the Motor Craft 5/20 once and it still rattled at start up

anyway it always rattled, i ran the mc one more time and switched to RP 5/30 with a K&N 2010 filter. my rattles went away even at start up. i went ahead and pushed it 5k(really hard for me) then changed the oil. it looked very good coming out, not very dirty.

however i had no change in mpg so i decided to go back to a conv. oil. some one gave me a case of Valvoline 10/40 so i picked up a 5qt bottle of val 5/20 from walmart with an mc 820s and changed my oil. 5qts 5/20 and 2qts 10/40(ghetto huh)
i figured a 15 dollar oil change was a good deal and 10/40 val would be better than mixing lucas in with it.

im really liking the Valvoline still not a rattle and its pretty clean. my question is would any of you have a recommendation for this application?

i dont want to spend extra on a syn because the engine is so high in miles and i feel the wear is already there. and im not a dr so lets keep it on layman's terms please

 

[jdog]

you might try motorcraft 5w30 and a motorcraft oil filter most on this sight think motorcraft oil and filters are top noch

 

[CarbonSteel]

For the oil filter, a Motorcraft FL-820s is hard to beat based on quality and price point. The anti-drainback valve in it should help prevent/minimize the startup rattle.

For the oil, (since you have indicated that you do not want a full synthetic) what about Motorcraft or Pennzoil conventional oil?

These should serve you well...

 

[electrolover]

any thoughts on maxlife syn blend or castrol high mileage?
yep and im gonna stick with the 820s cant beat the price!!

 

[OVERKILL]

Pfffffffft, she's just breaking in

Both our 5.4L's have about the same mileage. Don't drink any oil (as long as we don't run 5w20) and don't make any funky noises. The only time I had start-up noise was when I used a filter that had a defective ADBV.

 

[brentalan]

I agree with Overk1ll, I have a 4.6 modular engine in my '97 Mark VIII and it runs great on 0W-20 after 13 years and 165,000.

 

[CarbonSteel]

PS...Welcome to BITOG!

 

[chubbs1]

I'm gonna say stick with the MC or Pennz., valvoline...whatever is on sale man 5w30. I think those High mileage oils are a gimmick JMHO. The conventional oil is fine, you mentioned no leaks or burn off. Welcome.

 

[electrolover]

THANX FOR THE WELCOME

and its never used any oil for me. and it only rattled for the first three oil changes, all with the 820s. wierd how it just stopped. maybe it was gunk or something? idk
i think 5 oil changes in 10k would get rid of some sludge lol

 

[OVERKILL]

If you want to find out how clean it is inside, do an OCI of M1 AFE 0w30 and a good filter (M1, FL-820S...etc).

Then cut the filter open. If you click on my name and do "view posts" and then click on "threads started" you'll see my oil filter pics from the filters I've cut open on my Expedition.

 

[electrolover]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
If you want to find out how clean it is inside, do an OCI of M1 AFE 0w30 and a good filter (M1, FL-820S...etc).

Then cut the filter open. If you click on my name and do "view posts" and then click on "threads started" you'll see my oil filter pics from the filters I've cut open on my Expedition.


whats an oci m1 afe?

 

[OVERKILL]

OCI=Oil Change Interval

M1=Mobil 1

AFE=Advanced Fuel Economy, it is a type of Mobil 1 oil. I'm currently using it in my 5.4L.

 

[Silver]

Wow.

 

[electrolover]

this maybe a little off subject

i have a neighbor woman in her 50s that has had me change her oil for a couple years now. the first 2 years i did two oil changes(she drives 150 miles a day for work). both times different brands and different weights lol. and as soon as i started it up the new oil was cole black.
so this spring she asked me to do her valve cover gasket and oil pan. her manual said to change at 100k. its an overheadcam 4cyl so i did it with no prob.

i made her buy two filters two jugs of 5/30 castrol and a jug of superclean. the engine had more gunk in it than any old chevy ive seen in a bone yard.

so when i got it all apart i sprayed it down with the superclean, crankcase and valve train, waited 30mins and washed out the engine with a water hose. well it looked like a shiny new engine!!! then i blew it all out and sprayed it down with oil. put the pan on, filed it with oil(pouring it all over the cams) and installed the valve cover. then i spun it over a few times with the coils unplugged to prime it and ran it 30 mins and changed the oil again.
now 8 mounths later ive done two more oil changes at 3k with cast 5/30 and the oil stayes clean. the used oil is only light tan!!!
it runs much smoother now and i think it will last much longer on the new path its on!

just kinda sayin i hate sludge and i will go threw heck to get rid of it lol

 

[electrolover]

overkill why does it have to be mobil? i can cut my filters up with any oil right? is the mobil 1 that much cleaner? i mean more detergents? i kinda figure gtx has the most detergent besides atf.
i mean engine builders say not to run it because of all the detergents lol

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: electrolover
overkill why does it have to be mobil? i can cut my filters up with any oil right? is the mobil 1 that much cleaner? i mean more detergents? i kinda figure gtx has the most detergent besides atf.
i mean engine builders say not to run it because of all the detergents lol


M1 cleans. And any oil has more detergents than ATF. Does ATF have to deal with suspending combustion by-products? Preventing varnish? Dealing with incredibly high temps like those found around piston rings? Nope.

In my experience, M1 cleans very well. Particularly their lighter grades.

Yes, you can cut your filter open with any oil, but the idea is to run a good oil that is going to dislodge some stuff, and then you'll get an idea of "how much stuff" is there by how much is in the filter.

 

[electrolover]

im thinkin on doin the auto rx
mind u i have no solid reason to suspect sludge but it couldnt hurt right?
i might pull a valve cover to find out...maybe

 

[OVERKILL]

My "filter results" with M1 have been comparable to those by many who use AutoRX. That's why I recommend it.

 

[BigJohn]

My mother has a little 70 acre ranch with goats and cows and needed a 'ranch truck'. My brother found her a 'retired' oil field truck from west Texas....an F140 with the little V8 with 270,000 miles on it.

The first time I drove it, the engine was a little noisy. Being in Texas, I decided to give some HDEO 15w40 a try. It smoothed the engine right out. It has had two OCI's of HDEO. She only puts about 2,000 miles a year on the truck and I change her oil once a year. This year at Thanksgiving, I gave Rotella T5 10w30 a try and the truck seems to love it.

I am a big fan of T5 in high mileage rigs.

 

[electrolover]

the only folks i know that run rotela have race cars with flat tappets. ive changed some of it for them, it never looks pretty lol. it always breaks down, looks like 20w comin out. in its defense ill say they all have grouted blocks so oil temp is threw the roof!!

i used to run delo in my old nissan, it rattled like crazy with lighter oils. and its cheap and the one gallon was perfect for it.
that engine was sludged up pretty bad when i got rid of it. think ill leave the diesel oils to diesels, dont wont the zddp clogging up my cats

the t6 is a different story ive only changed it in diesels, but it looks like a nice oil, pretty clean!! and not too thick. and the price is right for a syn!! i wonder if it has zddp?