Engine oil & oil filter for high mileage '05 3rd Gen Explorer

[ExplorerRider]

My truck is obviously an '05 Explorer. With the exception of the 289 V8, & the 17 inch wheels, someone bought it 'fully loaded,' all the bells & whistles, & they *seemingly* took pretty good care of the thing by the sound of the motor, it's still-pretty-damned-smooth shifting, & the paint job & looks of the interior... But it's got 153,000 on it, & I NEED, not just want it to last at least another 100,000+, & simply wanted suggestions on the best oil filter, (OEM Motorcraft or a high mileage aftermarket, etc) & oil (full synthetic, or synthetic blend, etc)... I was leaning towards 5 quarts of fully synthetic 5W-30 STP oil, OEM Motorcraft filter, & STP high Mileage Oil Treatment, the "reformulated for less viscous oil" stuff... ALL thoughts & opinions (within reason, of course) are welcome! Need it as a daily driver to get off of SSI disability payments & go back to work as a substitute teacher... HELP A FELLA EARN A PAYCHECK AGAIN!
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[Stynx]

The motorcraft filters are very good for what they cost. You can get them cheap on amazon so I use those. IMO it's most important to change the oil and filter frequently than it is to use the absolute best. The reason is that you can get walmart, amazon or costco brand full synthetic oil (its all from the same manufacturer) and it's quite literally worlds better than the best oils available back in the 80's.or even 90's. The synthetic base oil is much higher quality and the additive packages are better. All meet the ILSAC 6 spec. They last longer and endure more abuse than anything from previous generations.

My 05 4.0L has about 130k on it and I change it on a fairly strict 5k mile schedule mainly because I don't know how well the previous owners took care of it. There is no doubt I could easily go with 10k intervals without trouble, but I do it myself and $25 oil changes make it worthwhile.

I'd rather change it at 5k spending $25 on oil and filter than spend $50 and go 10k but that's just me.

 

[ExplorerRider]

The motorcraft filters are very good for what they cost. You can get them cheap on amazon so I use those. IMO it's most important to change the oil and filter frequently than it is to use the absolute best. The reason is that you can get walmart, amazon or costco brand full synthetic oil (its all from the same manufacturer) and it's quite literally worlds better than the best oils available back in the 80's.or even 90's. The synthetic base oil is much higher quality and the additive packages are better. All meet the ILSAC 6 spec. They last longer and endure more abuse than anything from previous generations.

My 05 4.0L has about 130k on it and I change it on a fairly strict 5k mile schedule mainly because I don't know how well the previous owners took care of it. There is no doubt I could easily go with 10k intervals without trouble, but I do it myself and $25 oil changes make it worthwhile.

I'd rather change it at 5k spending $25 on oil and filter than spend $50 and go 10k but that's just me.

Thanks a lot. That similar to my line of thinking, but it's nice to have it it validated. Appreciate ya.

 

[J_C]

Have you already been using high mileage oil treatments and if so, was it to combat an oil consumption or leak issue? If the answer is no to either of these, skip the high mileage oil and/or treatment additives until you do have excessive consumption or leak(s).

Otherwise, a normal quality oil filter and 5W-30 full synthetic from any recognized brand, and don't push OCI past about 5K mi.

If you wanted to pay a premium for top shelf filter and oil, which is unlikely to make enough difference to bother, check out Bob Is The Oil Guy, Forum

At 150K mi, there may be other more pressing lubrication concerns, depending on the maintenance the prior owner, or you since acquisition, did. For example has it ever had the transmission fluid, differential, or if 4WD/AWD, transfer case fluid changed? Coolant? Brake fluid? Just mentioning these because quite a lot of people only change the oil and won't notice the difference until it gets older.

 

[Jason94sport]

Mobil One 5W20 mine calls for & Motorcraft filter Every 5K. Same as all my Explorer I've had.

 

[Stynx]

Truth be told I just use walmart supertech filters and oil in my 05 4.0L, every 5k. Shorter intervals cover a lot of sins. I have used motorcraft and would use them again but if I cant get them cheap in the local stores, so if I forget to order them online it's simpler just to get the supertech ones.

There are youtube videos showing what's inside and they have the same features as other filters are are reasonably well made. At worst the filter media isn't top quality but none of these engines have tolerances as tight as the more modern ones anyway. 5K intervals do the rest.

Bob the oil guy's forums are full of information but the most basic fact is that if the oil meets ILSAC GF-6 it's just fine. All the name brands do. The only ones that don't are the ones you see with no name labels in places like the dollar stores.

The guys on BTOG are arguing about small differences among good products. The benefits are likely only going to be seen in a newer engine over it's entire lifespan.

The oil market has benefited from healthy competition and walmart, etc., will not knowingly sell substandard products that could expose them to a mass liability claim. Just my 2 cents.