5w50 Motorcraft in 6.2L Raptor

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Mar 30, 2020
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Springfield, MO
Okay okay, so opening an out of the box oil discussion when talking about a Ford is a great way to accidentally cripple the forums for a brief period. This is not what i'm hoping this thread will turn into however i am curious if anyone has any better knowledge/experience with this than myself.

Alright, so to prefix this though here's the skinny on my toy. It's a 6.2L raptor with 215k miles. it's a first year truck that isn't particularly valuable compared to first year trucks with low miles, or 13+ trucks with all the updated comfort features. So yes, this experiment very well could cause wear in my 6.2L, but this thing is a play toy, and is no longer in its prime to begin with so here we go;

it gets run hard when i drive it. as in extended high RPM abuse, hard starts/stops, and gets idled like a diesel in the summer, this engine is about as bulletproof as anything, however. With it being at high miles, well broken in, and with summer around the corner, i am considering jumping up from 5w30 (current oil spec for 6.2's) to 5w50 Motorcraft Full synthetic. Now i've read the SVT threads stating that that oil shears pretty hard to a 5w30 basically anyways, so i really can't see where this is going to hurt my 6.2, since after i put that oil in, it's going to be going right back to getting ran hard.

However, i'm no genius, and i'm certainly not the most knowledgeable person on this forum, so here we go. Does anyone have any thoughts on potential risks in this situation? Ford Specs 5w50 in all of its engines that it predicts will get ran hard (from the focus RS to the 5.0 track packs, to the Ford GT) so clearly it thinks that engines that get overworked, and ran hot could use that little bit of extra protection.

just an out of the box thought that i havent been able to find any readings on

P.S - i don't think 5w50 belongs in a raptor that's still under warranty, or not ran hard, and i'm not trying to argue that point
 
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I run 0-40 in my 13 GT500. Have run 5-30 in it in the past. I don't track her though. I don't recall MC 5-50 being regarded as a great oil anyway.
 
I can't think of any reason I'd run expensive and nothing special MC 5W-50 in that application.
 
I can. A well worn high performance engine that is driven hard might benefit in the summertime.

That's just a supposition though.

Why not take a UOA at say, the 5k mark and make a judgement then? If the current oil is hanging OK stand pat. If the wear numbers are a little high, try the thicker oil and retest.
 
Doubt it would cause any harm at all... but I'm not convinced there is a real benefit. What type of oil temps do you see?
 
I haven't had the truck long enough to have any more knowledge on wear metals in my previous UOA's other than Blackstone telling me they were a little high and to potentially shorten up the OCI to 4K rather than 5 and see. This was running PP 5w30
 
Originally Posted by Jimmy_Russells
Pretty much solely depends on oil temperature. If you are seeing 250+ then going to the 50 weight might be of benefit.

Peak temps i've seen are in the 255-260 range but to be fair that was pushing it a bit harder than even i normally do. Highest numbers i usually see are /after/ a spirited run, once the truck is stationery (sitting in traffic etc.)
 
Originally Posted by KlenFrappe379
Originally Posted by Jimmy_Russells
Pretty much solely depends on oil temperature. If you are seeing 250+ then going to the 50 weight might be of benefit.

Peak temps i've seen are in the 255-260 range but to be fair that was pushing it a bit harder than even i normally do. Highest numbers i usually see are /after/ a spirited run, once the truck is stationery (sitting in traffic etc.)

I'll bet you're glad gas is cheap nowadays.
 
Why not try a Synthetic High Mileage 5w30? Most HM oils run on the higher side of the viscosity scale and the extra additives won't hurt either. Easier to find as well.
 
Originally Posted by Jackson_Slugger
I would run a good 0/5W-40 in it. Maybe Mobil 1 10W-40 HM. Or T6.....

I agree a Euro 0w-40 or 5w-40 or HDEO 5w-40 would be a reasonable, cost effective choice.
 
Originally Posted by KlenFrappe379
Originally Posted by Jimmy_Russells
Pretty much solely depends on oil temperature. If you are seeing 250+ then going to the 50 weight might be of benefit.

Peak temps i've seen are in the 255-260 range but to be fair that was pushing it a bit harder than even i normally do. Highest numbers i usually see are /after/ a spirited run, once the truck is stationery (sitting in traffic etc.)


The Pennzoil is a thin 30 weight, and at these temps this would be getting quite thin. Personally I would probably use the 10w40 Mobil 1 HM someone mentioned earlier, seems like a good fit for this application.
 
Originally Posted by Fattylocks
Originally Posted by KlenFrappe379
Originally Posted by Jimmy_Russells
Pretty much solely depends on oil temperature. If you are seeing 250+ then going to the 50 weight might be of benefit.

Peak temps i've seen are in the 255-260 range but to be fair that was pushing it a bit harder than even i normally do. Highest numbers i usually see are /after/ a spirited run, once the truck is stationery (sitting in traffic etc.)

I'll bet you're glad gas is cheap nowadays.


Sort of. i only feed mine 91+ and the premium prices have barely fell around here. 87 is down to almost $1.40 but premium is still hanging out in the 2.30-2.40 range.

Originally Posted by Jimmy_Russells
Originally Posted by KlenFrappe379
Originally Posted by Jimmy_Russells
Pretty much solely depends on oil temperature. If you are seeing 250+ then going to the 50 weight might be of benefit.

Peak temps i've seen are in the 255-260 range but to be fair that was pushing it a bit harder than even i normally do. Highest numbers i usually see are /after/ a spirited run, once the truck is stationery (sitting in traffic etc.)


The Pennzoil is a thin 30 weight, and at these temps this would be getting quite thin. Personally I would probably use the 10w40 Mobil 1 HM someone mentioned earlier, seems like a good fit for this application.


my only worry here is cold flow going up to anything 10wXX - these 6.2's already make a pretty good rattle some of the time on cold starts.
 
Originally Posted by KlenFrappe379
I haven't had the truck long enough to have any more knowledge on wear metals in my previous UOA's other than Blackstone telling me they were a little high and to potentially shorten up the OCI to 4K rather than 5 and see. This was running PP 5w30



If Blackstone is already flagging the samples as showing too much wear, by all means switch to a beefier grade of oil. Test again after the summer. If you like the numbers,
Consider using a thicker oil into the winter.
 
[/quote] If Blackstone is already flagging the samples as showing too much wear, by all means switch to a beefier grade of oil. Test again after the summer. If you like the numbers,
Consider using a thicker oil into the winter.[/quote]

that's kind of my thought. Start at 3k with the 5w50 and see what the blackstone looks like, then back up and punt from there.
 
Originally Posted by KlenFrappe379
Alright, so to prefix this though here's the skinny on my toy. It's a 6.2L raptor with 215k miles.

it gets run hard when i drive it. as in extended high RPM abuse, hard starts/stops, and gets idled like a diesel in the summer, this engine is about as bulletproof as anything, however. With it being at high miles, well broken in, and with summer around the corner, i am considering jumping up from 5w30 (current oil spec for 6.2's) to 5w50 Motorcraft Full synthetic.


So what oil was used in it for 215,000 miles? How long have you had it, and how many of the 215,000 miles were from you?

If it was 5W-30 the whole time, and the engine is still in good shape (ie, doesn't burn much oil), then I'd say 5W-30 protected the engine well. I'm assuming that engine has a coolant to oil cooler on it - ??.

I could see going xW-40, but I don't think xW-50 is necessary.
 
Originally Posted by KlenFrappe379


my only worry here is cold flow going up to anything 10wXX - these 6.2's already make a pretty good rattle some of the time on cold starts.



Until -20 or so it makes no difference at all. Otherwise there are a lot of good 5w40 and 0w40's out there, most are Euro oils but they would work for you no problem as well.
 
So what oil was used in it for 215,000 miles? How long have you had it, and how many of the 215,000 miles were from you?

If it was 5W-30 the whole time, and the engine is still in good shape (ie, doesn't burn much oil), then I'd say 5W-30 protected the engine well. I'm assuming that engine has a coolant to oil cooler on it - ??.

I could see going xW-40, but I don't think xW-50 is necessary.
[/quote]

I purchased the truck at 191k and immediately put M1 5w30 in it as I knew that was the new spec for ford 6.2's. Prior to that it was owned by an older gentleman that toodled around in it with all services being completed at a local ford dealer. Between 5k-7.5k with MC 5w20.

It burns as little oil as a new motor should

My primary reasoning behind leaning towards the 5w50 MC and not alternatives, is that a buddy of mine recently traded off his GT500 and has several oil changes worth of 5w50 stocked up he will sell to me (obviously discounted)
 
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