Need some suggestions...

[PrOjEcT_LS2000]

Hey guys im new to this cite and own a 2000 Lincoln LS. Wanting to get it to tip top shape. I had some questions on oil and fluid for the LS. I have very high mileage (180,000). My question is if there is a recommended brand of oil to use, because i wanted to go with royal purple. Same goes with transmission fluid. Recently bought it from a friend, didnt know when last fluid changes were made. Also my transmission light came on so i figured the fluid is low. Any suggestions?

 

[jmtiseo]

For oil I stick with the Motorcraft Synthetic Blend 5w20. The only time I'll run a full synthetic in a vehicle is if I own it from new in attempt to get the most out of the car. I would run the same if i didn't know what it had before. I've read elsewhere that taking a car that ran on anything less than full synthetic then switching to something like Royal Purple, Mobil 1, Ams-Oil, whatever it may be may cause problems but I'm not too certain on that part.

I plan on getting my solenoid packs changed and tranny flushed probably within the next month. I'm a believer in keeping up with a maintenance schedule and if it is done every 30k miles your car is due for one. Other people believe that if you wait too long to change the fluid it will get used to the old stuff, swap it with new, and a whole mess of problems comes up.

Are there symptoms with the trans light?

 

[PrOjEcT_LS2000]

well i found out nothing was wrong with the trans, actually my engine light is on. im just not to sure what the car has been running on oil wise. I had gone to Oreilly's and they said it was perfectly fine to make the change to royal purple that they highly recommend it, but instead of 5w20, to put 10w30 since i have very high miles. then i went to advance, they guy told me that if the LS has been running on standard oil for a while, then first go with synthetic blend, stick with for couple oil changes for the car to get used to it and then i could go full synthetic with royal purple. also wanted to change trans fluid to royal purple, and they said i needed a trans flush first. if my trans has been on standard fluid, then changing to royal purple can do more harm than good. See thats where i got confused cuz they both gave me diff answers.

 

[LS4me]

well i found out nothing was wrong with the trans, actually my engine light is on. im just not to sure what the car has been running on oil wise. I had gone to Oreilly's and they said it was perfectly fine to make the change to royal purple that they highly recommend it, but instead of 5w20, to put 10w30 since i have very high miles. then i went to advance, they guy told me that if the LS has been running on standard oil for a while, then first go with synthetic blend, stick with for couple oil changes for the car to get used to it and then i could go full synthetic with royal purple. also wanted to change trans fluid to royal purple, and they said i needed a trans flush first. if my trans has been on standard fluid, then changing to royal purple can do more harm than good. See thats where i got confused cuz they both gave me diff answers.

Such Wives Tales. You can switch back and forth at any time. On my 2000 I had free oil changes for the first 12K miles. After that I switched to synthetic and have been changing it every 10K miles since. I still remove the amount of oil I put in; less oil in the filter. Same with the trans. The issue is freeing up any crud that has built-up in the transmission. That crud is evidence of a failing transmission, not any problem going from dino to synthetic. IIRC, the LS uses a synthetic blend in the trans anyway.

If the previous owner never changed the trans fluid it is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY overdue and you may be looking at a new trans, or a rebuild. Have the system flushed and replace the filter, making sure there isn't any gunk or metal shavings (will show as sparkling) in the old filter.

The CEL can be anything. If it's flashing, DON'T DRIVE THE CAR, EXCEPT TO THE DEALER OR YOUR MECHANIC!!!!! If it is steady, get a code reader (or have the code read) and find out why the light is on. It could be simple or complex repair, it just depends.

Once you get the niggly stuff done enjoy the fruits of your labor and the car! It is one fine automobile that you don't see every day!

 

[LS4me]

I plan on getting my solenoid packs changed..........

I know people like to pluralize everything these days, but there is only ONE solenoid pack. It's not too hard to change; probably 4 out of 5 wrenches. There is draining the fluid, one bolt that's a bugger to get at and refilling the trans. It can be done on your back on jack stands, but access to a lift makes it ever so much easier!

 

[joegr]

well i found out nothing was wrong with the trans, actually my engine light is on. im just not to sure what the car has been running on oil wise. I had gone to Oreilly's and they said it was perfectly fine to make the change to royal purple that they highly recommend it, but instead of 5w20, to put 10w30 since i have very high miles. then i went to advance, they guy told me that if the LS has been running on standard oil for a while, then first go with synthetic blend, stick with for couple oil changes for the car to get used to it and then i could go full synthetic with royal purple. also wanted to change trans fluid to royal purple, and they said i needed a trans flush first. if my trans has been on standard fluid, then changing to royal purple can do more harm than good. See thats where i got confused cuz they both gave me diff answers.

You can switch back and forth between synthetic blend and full synthetic as much as you want to. (You could switch between this and non-synthetic too, but Ford requires at least a synthetic blend.)

The auto store guys do not know more about your engine than the engineers who designed it. If you want it to last the longest, use 5W-20 oil. 10W-30 will increase engine wear, not reduce it.

 

[jmtiseo]

Thanks for clarifying this. I was under the impression that a, b, and c were all seperate. At least from what I read there are 3 solenoids? In one assembly?

I know people like to pluralize everything these days, but there is only ONE solenoid pack. It's not too hard to change; probably 4 out of 5 wrenches. There is draining the fluid, one bolt that's a bugger to get at and refilling the trans. It can be done on your back on jack stands, but access to a lift makes it ever so much easier!

Also, won't his fuel economy suffer switching to 10W-30 from 5W-20. I'm still sticking with the Synthetic Blend just because it's what's suggested and I think it's cheaper than the other brands that are at your parts store the last time I checked. I haven't changed my own in a while since I've been away from the family garage.

 

[marcredd]

I have been using standard Pennzoil 5w30 for 104,000 miles. Up to 207,000 miles at this time. Whatever u choose to do, be vigilant in changing your oil. I chose 3,000 mile intervals.

 

[chocolat1701]

I use s
Motorcraft synthetic blend 5w20 and if I dint see that I get 5w30. The tranny according to the Ford maintenance schedule is at 150k miles so if he if it ever. Was done then you should still be ontime but try it done asap. Go to AutoZone and have them pull the codes and post them we have covered almost all the issues on the ls.

 

[chocolat1701]

3000 Miles that's too early for a oil change, if you have that analyzed your oil will still be almost new, I do mines at 6000 or when the car tells me

 

[SteveSC]

oil change intervals

Oil is cheap, engines are not. There is no such thing as too frequent and oil change. City driving is much harder on oil than highway. The rules is 3 months and 3000 miles. If you use synthetic you can use 6 months 6000miles as synthetic is far superior than anything else. If you want the real info on oil go to bobistheoilguy.com.

 

[joegr]

Oil is cheap, engines are not. There is no such thing as too frequent and oil change. City driving is much harder on oil than highway. The rules is 3 months and 3000 miles. If you use synthetic you can use 6 months 6000miles as synthetic is far superior than anything else. If you want the real info on oil go to bobistheoilguy.com.

Actually, there is such a thing as too frequent, but 3K is not it. (Since you drain most of the oil from the top of the engine when you change the oil filter, it is more stress on the engine for that first start after the oil change. At some point, that stress does more harm than waiting longer to change the oil. I don't know if that point is daily, weekly, monthly, ...)

The old rule was 3K miles. Engines and oils have gotten better since then. The 5K interval now with the better oils and engines still protects better than the 3K interval did back then. (Of course, 3K may be marginally better than 5K now but at $30 a change that's $800 more over 200K miles.)

I understand the reluctance to go to the new rule. I still can't bring myself to wait the 10K to 20K miles between changes that some cars now call for, even with synthetic.

 

[manoli]

3000 Miles that's too early for a oil change, if you have that analyzed your oil will still be almost new, I do mines at 6000 or when the car tells me

6000 thats insane I have never dared to do that with any of my vehicles!

 

[joegr]

6000 thats insane I have never dared to do that with any of my vehicles!

The oil change indicator on the LS goes off about every 5K miles. I've been following it on both of mine, and so far no problems. (about 140K and 80K miles)

 

[LS4me]

I understand the reluctance to go to the new rule. I still can't bring myself to wait the 10K to 20K miles between changes that some cars now call for, even with synthetic.

I was too. Remember the Mobil1 add where they said yearly or every 25K miles for their new synthetic? Their new standard seems to be 15K now. Like I've said before, our old 2000 has had changes every 10K for the last 150K miles and it's still running strong and doesn't use any oil between changes. IIRC, BMW and MB have 15K to 20K intervals.

I am reluctantly sold on the extended intervals.

 

[joegr]

...I am reluctantly sold on the extended intervals.

I'll come around in time, after a few more positive examples.
One big thing to watch for with extended intervals is the oil level. (At least BWM has oil level monitoring.) I'm not used to checking the oil level between changes because it is always still full when I do change it.

 

[jmtiseo]

When I own a car that is brand spankin' new, rather than new to me, I'm going full synthetic and changing the interval. Now I'm just going with the classical 3k oil change. It's easier to track the tire rotations too because I was suggested every 6k miles, or every two oil changes for tires. The oil monitor is around 35% so I feel on the safe side.

Just had mine changed at the dealer and they wrote the little annoying sticker for it to be changed in 5k miles.

If you are nervous when breaking the 3,000 mile barrier just give 'er a good washing, my car seems to run better. It's got a mind of it's own sometimes.

 

[SteveSC]

oil change

First off, I always prefill my oil filters so it takes less time to reach full pressure. Secondly there are built in dams to make sure all the oil does not drain down to the sump, otherwise the engine would wear rapidly after each oil change. This means you are never able to change all the oil in your car. This is very obvious if you have ever rebuilt an engine, which I have rebuilt a few.
As for length of the change: if you start your car and drive continuously you would never need to change the oil, ever. Almost no byproducts of combustion are produced when the car is at operating temperature. Most are produced when not at optimal temperature. Mobil did a test of 250 000 continuous miles and no visible wear, none.
Now you can change your oil as infrequently as you wish but my point is oil changes are fractionally cheaper than engine changes, even with synthetic.
So, do you feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?

 

[joegr]

...So, do you feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?

So far...

 

[jmtiseo]

So, do you feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?

I don't feel lucky enough to hit that button on the Google page, let alone answer your question.

 

[SteveSC]

trans fluid

By the way my research on the Ford trans fluid leads me to believe that there is no substitue. The Ford stuff is a semi-synthetic blend with no equivalent. This is not current but I have checked with mobil and they have different viscosities than other fluids.

 

[oddball]

By the way my research on the Ford trans fluid leads me to believe that there is no substitue. The Ford stuff is a semi-synthetic blend with no equivalent. This is not current but I have checked with mobil and they have different viscosities than other fluids.

Mercon V is compatible with the relevant Ford specs. Nothing special.
Car manufactures are more coy with tranny fluids than oils. Most of the time it's either Mercon V or Mercon III. I only use the OEM fluid when the car is under warranty and I don't want that battle - "The tranny ate all the friction material because you didn't use our magic fluid!"

 

[oddball]

I had gone to Oreilly's ... instead of 5w20, to put 10w30 since i have very high miles

Old engines using old conventional oils that were poorly maintained commonly had bearing wear and low oil pressure. The ancient advice is that if your bearings are getting loose, you can use a higher weight oil to maintain pressure. So if the engine is on its way out, that can eek a little bit more out of it.

Thankfully, times have changed quite a bit. As mentioned, oils are better, and there's been remarkably few mentions of bearing failure for the LS, even the guys pushing 200k. I probably just cursed myself, huh?

 

[02LincLS]

You can switch back and forth between synthetic blend and full synthetic as much as you want to. (You could switch between this and non-synthetic too, but Ford requires at least a synthetic blend.)

The auto store guys do not know more about your engine than the engineers who designed it. If you want it to last the longest, use 5W-20 oil. 10W-30 will increase engine wear, not reduce it.

Exactly. A 0W-20 might actually be the way to go since it flows better during the warm-up period but ultimately flows the same at operating temp. The only reason I don't do this is because Mobil 1 doesn't make a 15000 mile 0W-20 (or it just isn't at any stores I go to). I usually change at 10K since the filter is likely getting full and entering bypass more frequently, but its nice to know the oil has not used up its lubricating properties by then.

Synthetic blends are just a waste of money IMO. You don't get the full benefit of synthetic (ability to flow at all temperatures, especially cold, as well as ability to resist breakdown and contamination from fuel and combustion byproducts).

Its simple; worst case if the car never ran synthetic, you may develop some leaks as the synthetic oil's detergents break down and remove sludge from seals. Go back to a synthetic blend and perform more frequent oil changes. Let your car warm up fully (meaning the oil is at operating temp, not the coolant which you see on the dash) before revving it and you should be just fine for a very long time. Now that Purolator makes a pure one filter for our cars, I recommend that. I'm sure everyone has a preference that is plenty sufficient as long as it doesn't say FRAM!

Another side note, oil pressure is handy and gives you part of the picture, but its the flow that's important. Putting in a heavier weight oil may boost lost oil pressure, but your not getting proper flow (and therefore lubrication and heat disipation). I presume this is what joegr was referring to when he mentions the engineers that designed the engine.

 

[SteveSC]

synthetic oil

Don't be too concerned with the ratings of synthetic oils. I spoke to the Mobil rep some time ago and he stated the only difference between 5w30 and 10w30 was the label. He informed me the ratings of synthetics really don't apply. They just put the labels on for warranty compliance. What is really in the bottle is like a 0w50 but "no one would buy that". If you read the lables of all the bottles it states "flows at -45 degrees" This was on their 15w50, 10w30 and 5w30.