Originally Posted by kessellrun
I've got a v6 2015 explorer, and a 2011 v6 F-150. Both have 55k. Lots of short city driving with the occasional out of town trip. Live in north Texas panhandle.we get big temp swings and lots of dust.
I've been using Valvoline syn in the explorer but just got the f150. Wondering if I should switch to PP of something different. Should I use an additive like Lucas?
Any other tips for long term Maintance? Are y'all a big fan of the occasional fuel treatment for long trips to keep things clean or does that even work?
If you have legit experience and facts, I'm all ears.
First of all, the better approach is to understand your engines and applications, and then pick a lube that will successfully protect the engines.
Both engines are based on the Cyclone "Duratec" design; 3.5L in your Explorer and 3.7L in your truck.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Cyclone_engine
These engines are very good wearing; they don't shed a ton of metals and can run for a very long time. They don't need any sort of special super-duper lubes and they certainly don't need any "Lucas" or other additives in the oil.
If you want to clean the intake tract, use a fuel system cleaner made to be mixed into the fuel; get a product with PEA in it such as certain Gumout products, Techron, etc. PEA is the only easily found, cost effective, reliable cleaner I'd use in my engines. It's going to do a good job of loosening carbon and other insolubles from the intake valves and top of combustion chamber.
The biggest issue, by far, facing your engine has absolutely nothing to do with the oil choices. You need to be concerned with is the water pump on the Cyclone/Duratec engines. That pump is internal to the timing chain cover, and has the potential to leak coolant internally into the sump; disaster awaits. Pumps have been known to fail as early at 75k miles, or last past 225k miles; there seems to be no rhyme or reason to their longevity. The best way to keep an eye on this is to always check the coolant reservoir closely for a drop in level, and get UOAs done to check for coolant. It is the Achilles heel of an otherwise stupendous engine. And, no manner of oil lube selection is going to stop or dissuade this issue; syns have no greater effect than do conventional oils because the failure mode is typical of any water pump; the internal seal bearings eventually fail and cause the pump shaft to shift, wearing on the seal. Once that happens, it's time for the leaks. Because the pump is internal to the timing cover, it's a very long and expensive job to do; often quoted around $1200-$1500 by a reputable shop. Whereas many folks will just drive an engine until the pump fails (external pump type), people whom have Cyclone engines often do a pre-emptive change at some determined point which makes them feel comfortable. I intend to start my UOAs at 75k miles, and do them at every OFCI thereafter, to look for traces of coolant. Along with visual observations on the coolant level, that's about all I can do.
Any API SM/SN 5w-20 or 5w-30 will easily protect these engines. You don't need a syn and you don't need oil additives. Rather than spend money on a more expensive lube, I'd save that money up for the water pump change.
As for the environment you're in, the above oils will do fine. Far more important is to make sure your air filter is working well. Again, UOAs will help you know; check the silica (Si) level. Once you get a good air filter, leave it in place and don't mess with it. And certainly don't change it too often. The trap most folks fall into is that they think more frequent air filter changes are "better"; nothing could be further from the truth. Air filters become more efficient as the load up; the most particulate they will ever pass is in the early stage of it's lifecycle. If you want to do a good job of maintaining the filter, get an air-intake vacuum gauge and change based on that; not some arbitrary value in the service manual. I have a 2018 Taurus and put one of these on mine:
https://www.amazon.com/WIX-Filters-24801-Filter-Service/dp/B0014BI1KA
Again - welcome!