Oil Change time... Selection?

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Gunther1000

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Any of you guys have any experiance using different oil weight or of course
types of oil in your V8 LS that would be helpful to a newb owner?

I tried the search and oddly little to no info was found.

I have a love for Rotella 5w-40 would that be like acid water to a 160,000 mile v8?

I'm thinking the extra weight may help apply more pressure to the cam tensioners... Wrong? right?

Thanks
 
I use Motorcraft 5w30 and a Motorcraft filter. Well, "I" don't; the dealership does.
 
Your theory might be right who knows. All I do know is the Ford engineers probably know more than me. I'd defer to their recommendations unless I make a change to the car.



Gunther1000 said:
Any of you guys have any experiance using different oil weight or of course
types of oil in your V8 LS that would be helpful to a newb owner?

I tried the search and oddly little to no info was found.

I have a love for Rotella 5w-40 would that be like acid water to a 160,000 mile v8?

I'm thinking the extra weight may help apply more pressure to the cam tensioners... Wrong? right?

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Alrighty, I take that as a firm "No" to my question about venturing outside
Of the manual's recommendation then.
 
Gunther1000 said:
Alrighty, I take that as a firm "No" to my question about venturing outside
Of the manual's recommendation then.
Click to expand...

well try it, some people change the weight of there oil depending on time of year and have no problems.
 
2002_lincolnLS said:
well try it, some people change the weight of there oil depending on time of year and have no problems.
Click to expand...

well some people swear something is going to happen to the vct components because of the extra weight. i have no idea if they are right or wrong, or if there is a way to prove it. i have used 5w30 in the past but ill just stick to 5w20 royal purple. royal purple, amsoil, redline, mobil 1 and pennzoil....all pretty good synthetic oils. dont really want to get into the whole synthetic vs non-synthetic, but my preference is synthetic.
 
i use pennzoil synthetic, but i too have a question, why is it that in the owners manual it says 5w20 or 10w30, but under the hood im pretty sure it says 5w30?
 
Well, I tell ya what. I will test out 5w-40 Rotella "synthetic" (its really not 100% but more of a blend) and report back.

I suspect it would only really cause some sort of extra oil pump wear if the car was under heavy, high RPM use with extra resistance from the oil, and since I have yet to even redline my car once I figure I wont fall into that catagory.

Rotella is primarily a diesel (trucking industry staple) motor oil with a lot of soot removing and trapping additives It may just help to clean out my high mile motor. I have added some marvel mystery oil to the current used oil to
start cleaning it out and plan to do the same with the fresh oil.

If you haven't heard of the marvel stuff I have used it before with great results. It cleans the motor of sludge and tarnish leaving it pretty clean inside. I had a noisy/stuck valve on my Catera and that stuff cleared it up in about 1000 miles. Sea Foam is a similar oil or gas additive... Both have been around since the dawn of time and used by many smarter people than me.

You can tell a huge difference in the oil color when it is added. (oil gets really dirty pretty fast) so if it is the first time using Marvel I would use it a few trips before changing to fresh oil.
 
djknowledge said:
well some people swear something is going to happen to the vct components because of the extra weight. i have no idea if they are right or wrong, or if there is a way to prove it. i have used 5w30 in the past but ill just stick to 5w20 royal purple. royal purple, amsoil, redline, mobil 1 and pennzoil....all pretty good synthetic oils. dont really want to get into the whole synthetic vs non-synthetic, but my preference is synthetic.
Click to expand...

Oh and every time I see those Jag wheels on your LS in your sig I get full Mast Wood....

Just sayin.

Great match for our cars! One day maybe... Ahh shoot im broke. :mad:
 
Gunther1000 said:
Well, I tell ya what. I will test out 5w-40 Rotella "synthetic" (its really not 100% but more of a blend) and report back.

I suspect it would only really cause some sort of extra oil pump wear if the car was under heavy, high RPM use with extra resistance from the oil, and since I have yet to even redline my car once I figure I wont fall into that catagory.

Rotella is primarily a diesel (trucking industry staple) motor oil with a lot of soot removing and trapping additives It may just help to clean out my high mile motor. I have added some marvel mystery oil to the current used oil to
start cleaning it out and plan to do the same with the fresh oil.

If you haven't heard of the marvel stuff I have used it before with great results. It cleans the motor of sludge and tarnish leaving it pretty clean inside. I had a noisy/stuck valve on my Catera and that stuff cleared it up in about 1000 miles. Sea Foam is a similar oil or gas additive... Both have been around since the dawn of time and used by many smarter people than me.

You can tell a huge difference in the oil color when it is added. (oil gets really dirty pretty fast) so if it is the first time using Marvel I would use it a few trips before changing to fresh oil.
Click to expand...

It's your LS, so do what you want.
Ford's testing shows that 5W20 gives the longest engine life.
The assumption that heavier oil is better is wrong. Also, heavy oil can't get through all of the tight clearances very well. Of course, it may work out okay for you. If it doesn't, it seems like the timing chains and tensioners are the first to go.

In my own humble opinion, 0W20 is best, but I mostly use 5w20.
 
i prefer to use what the engineers that designed motor says to use, they dont just randomly pick a number, a lot of time and money goes into developing an engine and what goes into it to make it work and last. and last i checked, those engineers know a lot more about this motor than i do, they also under stand the differences in oil a lot better than i do. and as Joe mentioned, a heavier oil cant get into all the tightest spots as well as a lighter oil can, especially when you start up you car and all of the oil is setting at the bottom of the motor, colder and thicker then what it would be at normal operating temp. i can just imagine what it looks like in the car as your cranking it over in the morning trying to pump all that thicker gunk and how certain parts might be getting more worn than they should because of it.

but if you think you know more than the guy that knows everything about this motor, then by all means, go ahead! i mean its not like engineering is a hard job right?
 
I think I... Yup I did just vomit over all the knee jerk, Chest Pounding.

I know this is a fourm and everyone loves to read how awesome there post was in Pwoning someone or splitting a hair to make a point, but did you guys notice that this was a question asking what you have used in your car and your experiance with it not "Hey can anyone tell me why my car needs oil?"

Or "Geez I just cant figure out this whole oil weight thingy???"

If you used a different weight and noticed something worth mentioning Great!
If you tried a certain oil and feel it was to blame for some kind of failure Great! But What the guy who designed the 3.9l motor and his thoughts were was never in question. They did a great job and I feel they know best, but I never asked that...

Nope, And if my thinking was Heavy oil = good then why wouldn't I be asking why no one else is running 80w 90 gear lube?

No big deal pimps, No need to get all butt hurt over my annoyance.

I understand your just trying to help.

Lets try to stay on track here if we can. ;)
 
I've used Mobil 1 synth and Pennzoil Ultra 5W20 in my Gen2. UOA for M1 was good after 6mo/5k miles, though a lot of the values were around average (still plenty of Tbn though).

We'll see how Pennzoil Ultra fares.
 
cowboyLS said:
I've used Mobil 1 synth and Pennzoil Ultra 5W20 in my Gen2. UOA for M1 was good after 6mo/5k miles, though a lot of the values were around average (still plenty of Tbn though).

We'll see how Pennzoil Ultra fares.
Click to expand...

Nice!

Was the Aluminum content on the high side after or what specificly seemed not so thrilling?

Did they give a recommendation to try going further on the oil or shorter by chance?
 
I just sent an oil sample to Blackstone on Monday after 5500 mi on Mobil 1 0W-20. I will post up when I get the results back.
 
FWIW, Lincoln switched from 5W-30 in the 1st Gen LSes to 5W-20 in the 2nd Gens, ostensibly to accommodate the addition of variable cam timing to the engines. When Ford released the 2010 SHO, the manual specified 5W-20, but it was changed to 5W-30 for 2011 for the sole reason of having a uniform oil across the 3.5L EcoBoost engines (the F150's EB35 needed the heavier oil to meet the needs of towing 11,300 lbs).

I don't think the difference between 5W-20 and 5W-30 is all that much (and Ford obviously doesn't, either), but I wouldn't go as heavy as 5W-40 in a modern engine. YMMV.
 
good question, lots of replies. now has me thinking...
 
bearsfan39 said:
i use pennzoil synthetic, but i too have a question, why is it that in the owners manual it says 5w20 or 10w30, but under the hood im pretty sure it says 5w30?
Click to expand...

What year is yours? I've got an 02 and right on the oil cap it says 5w20.
 
This is all good information. I just bought my '03 LS from a dodge dealership. They told me the oil had just been changed but couldn't tell me what they used in it. I've always been a Castrol user, full synthetic in my SC and synthetic blend in my SHO. I'm kinda leaning toward what a few of you have noted here, Ford says 5w20 oil.
 
1LoudLS said:
pay attention, the answer was there



in case that was too hard to understand: the engineers that designed the motor says to use = 5w20
Click to expand...

Do you need a hug? Would that make you feel all warm inside like Daddy should have made you feel?

We can turn this into a Dr. Phil session if you really need it son.

Just let me know.

And again, I never asked what the factory does or says.
 
so whats got your panties up in a bunch?
Gunther1000 said:
And again, I never asked what the factory does or says.
Click to expand...

no your right, you clearly asked

Gunther1000 said:
this was a question asking what you have used in your car
Click to expand...

and i gave you as clear of an answer as possible, along with a simultaneous (it means at the same time ;) ) explanation of why i believe as i do. and if you dont like any of my resonances, then i guess you can go kick rocks
1LoudLS said:
i prefer to use what the engineers that designed motor says to use
Click to expand...

i bet it is hard for you to be able to read and try to post with those balls in your face, maybe if you took the dick out of your mouth while on the computer you may not come off as one of internet tough guys that is fishing to see if there are other idiots out there to validate his own bad ideals

Gunther1000 said:
Well, I tell ya what. I will test out 5w-40 Rotella "synthetic" (its really not 100% but more of a blend) and report back.
Click to expand...
really, you will huh? and are you going to tear down the motor to inspect all of the parts and see if they are experiencing more wear than normal, or are you just going to come back on and tell us that the motor didn't blow up so it must be good? i'm putting my money on the latter of the two.
 
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