Save money on oil?

[Number4]

220k + miles on 4.6l. I’m losing about 1qt/month only when driving, looks like rear main.

Should I stick with Mobil 1 which I’ve always used (but buy high mileage)
Go to Castrol high mileage blend

Since I’m adding a quart a month, this is really about saving money on the oil.

Before going to Syn I always used Castrol.

Note: this isn’t a post about which oil is best or why to use Ford oil or what have you. Gonna use one of these two brands.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

I don’t think you can go wrong with either of those two brands.

But I do not think the “choice of brands” decision should be based on saving money.

Maybe stay with Mobil One.

Good luck.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Where do you purchase your motor oil?

 

[Number4]

Where do you purchase your motor oil?

Walmart or Costco when on sale. 5 qt. containers or 6 packs.

Issue is that I end up adding 3-4 quarts between oil changes. Maybe more.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Ok.

I would stay with Mobil 1, but don’t think Castrol would cause harm....

Maybe resolve oil loss issue sooner rather than later.

Good luck.

 

[TechGuru]

I've been running Castrol GTX 5W-30...cheap at Walmart.

 

[410Fortune]

I'm not a fan of castrol I have seen the inside of too many engines to like what I see from Pennzoil and castrol.
It could be that the people running those oils did not change it enough, but it seems that the engines with wear and sludge buildup inside come from people who swear by those two brands.
For me its mobil one or valvoline.
Losing that much oil you really should consider repairing the leak or just keep changing the filter and skip doing full oil changes, it is just leaking out!
With that said, you are doing something right in order to get 220K miles on the 4.6........
I vote stick with mobil and you may get another 220K from that engine.....but if you plan to keep it then it is probably time to fix that major leak. First you need to determine its orgin, it could be something more simple then the rear main, like valve covers or oil filter adapter or?

 

[TechGuru]

I'm not a fan of castrol I have seen the inside of too many engines to like what I see from Pennzoil and castrol.
It could be that the people running those oils did not change it enough, but it seems that the engines with wear and sludge buildup inside come from people who swear by those two brands.
For me its mobil one or valvoline.
Losing that much oil you really should consider repairing the leak or just keep changing the filter and skip doing full oil changes, it is just leaking out!
With that said, you are doing something right in order to get 220K miles on the 4.6........
I vote stick with mobil and you may get another 220K from that engine.....but if you plan to keep it then it is probably time to fix that major leak. First you need to determine its orgin, it could be something more simple then the rear main, like valve covers or oil filter adapter or?

I'm at 224K running Castrol GTX 5W-30, change it every 3000-5000 miles along with a Motorcraft FL820S filter. No detectable loss between oil changes.

The only other one I'd consider using is the Motorcraft...

 

[boominXplorer]

I bet your oil filter housing is leaking and running down the side of the block. I've never seen a mod motor oil pan leak like that unless someone botched a gasket install.

Side note that motorcraft syn blend oil has high remarks on the bobistheoilguy forum. Lots of people run it in vehicles other than Fords because of its quality.

The oil leak you have is kinda like a flush though, I'd still change it every 5k. You definitely have some frame rust prevention going on at least to the transmission crossmember at this point lol.

 

[Number4]

I bet your oil filter housing is leaking and running down the side of the block. I've never seen a mod motor oil pan leak like that unless someone botched a gasket install.

Side note that motorcraft syn blend oil has high remarks on the bobistheoilguy forum. Lots of people run it in vehicles other than Fords because of its quality.

The oil leak you have is kinda like a flush though, I'd still change it every 5k. You definitely have some frame rust prevention going on at least to the transmission crossmember at this point lol.

The leak looks to be at the back of the pan, between the engine and trans. No evidence of it forward.

Valve cover gaskets, filter housing gaskets are all relatively new.
What’s odd is that there’s zero drips on the driveway. It’s like it’s only coming out while driving.

 

[MrPulldown]

Did you switch to Mobile 1 recently?

I have an older car (180K on the chassis, 90K on the engine but 20+ years old) , and when I switched to synthetic oil it started leaking for all over the place. Went back to conventional and half the leaks went away after a cycle or 2 of oil changes. Some of the leaks persisted however.

 

[Number4]

Did you switch to Mobile 1 recently?

I have an older car (180K on the chassis, 90K on the engine but 20+ years old) , and when I switched to synthetic oil it started leaking for all over the place. Went back to conventional and half the leaks went away after a cycle or 2 of oil changes. Some of the leaks persisted however.

Have always run Mobil 1 Syn.

 

[TechGuru]

Did you switch to Mobile 1 recently?

I have an older car (180K on the chassis, 90K on the engine but 20+ years old) , and when I switched to synthetic oil it started leaking for all over the place. Went back to conventional and half the leaks went away after a cycle or 2 of oil changes. Some of the leaks persisted however.

I believe it. Some brand's detergents are just to strong for older vehicles.

I was running Castrol GTX in a turbocharged car fine for a while. One day bought Valvoline because the store was out of Castrol. 20miles down the road the turbo's fluid bearing blows and all my oil is being dumped into the exhaust causing all the traffic behind me to slam on their brakes. Had to get a new turbo and replace the engine. I now run Delo 15w-40 in that car.

Don't play around with switching to different brands of oils on older vehicles, bad stuff happens in my experience.

 

[Roadrunner777]

I wouldn't expect a detectable difference between the two, particularly at that loss rate. I understand you are not interested in anything other than these two oils. Nevertheless, I'm going to recommend, and you are free to ignore the following:

After it cools down in GA, run conventional oil in it for a while. There were issues with synthetic oil and seals in long term performance, maybe those are fixed now, but in '04, maybe not so much.

However, given the two options, Mobile 1.

 

[Number4]

I wouldn't expect a detectable difference between the two, particularly at that loss rate. I understand you are not interested in anything other than these two oils. Nevertheless, I'm going to recommend, and you are free to ignore the following:

After it cools down in GA, run conventional oil in it for a while. There were issues with synthetic oil and seals in long term performance, maybe those are fixed now, but in '04, maybe not so much.

However, given the two options, Mobile 1.

I just didn’t want this to derail and turn into a 5 page thread on why everyone thinks their brand of oil is best. That’s all.

 

[Joe in NY]

if you're losing that much oil why not just cheap conventional?

How often do you change your oil? Cause every month you're getting a fresh quart with new additives

 

[Mr. Alligator]

I can’t resist:

I had a 1973 Chevrolet Vega in high school (1980). Engine burned one quart of oil every tank of gas.

It was embarrassing when I had a tail wind at red lights, which blew oil smoke all over the top of the car.

I figured I never had to change the oil, just change the spark plugs.

Yikes.

 

[Number4]

if you're losing that much oil why not just cheap conventional?

How often do you change your oil? Cause every month you're getting a fresh quart with new additives

Yeah, sadly I went 10k on my last Wix oil filter, I usually go 5-7k. But I figured I’d done an oil change within that time.

Wix under regular driving conditions will go 14k before entering bypass.

Oil looked used but not bad. No flakes/sparkles or anything in it.

 

[Rayan]

I have had great luck with Motorcraft oil from Walmart. Great price and you know it is what Ford recommends. My 02 is leaking from the rear main as well, but about one quart every 5000 miles.

 

[firefly1246]

Scotty on YouTube recommends ATP-205. $10 for a bottle and it is supposed to return gaskets and o rings back to like new flexiblility without ruining them and making them mushy. My buddy put it in his 05 5.4 expedition (~190k miles) that leaked all the time from the rear main seal (maybe 1 quart every 5k) and 100% fixed it in 1 day. However My wife’s 03 V6 mustang (140k miles) has either a rear main seal or rear oil pan gasket leak (half quart every 5k). It only slowed it down but didn’t 100% fix it.

Might give it a try. Just make sure to run the engine a bit after pouring down the bottle in.