Motorcraft oil shout out

[J_C]

I had been using Valvoline Semi Synthetic oil prior to going Valvoline full Synthetic HM. Your the first to report more detergents might be in the HM oils. Originally I thought HM oil had some O-Ring or Gasket restorative properties, similar to leak stop additives.

All major brand oils with a good additive pack, have some seal conditioner aka seal sweller(s). HM oil typically has more seal swellers. You only want enough seal swellers to stop leaks, maintain the same dimensions of the seals. More than that can cause the seals to become an excessive size and reduced density, making it then NEED the seal swellers more than ever, will wear them faster. It is not a night and day difference in wear, just a little, over the long term, but for that reason, I'd avoid HM oil if there were no signs of seals leaking, and at the start of a leak, I'd just substitute a few quarts of HM and ramp that up as needed, IF needed.

The oil companies don't like to admit this and have trained their staff to stop using the word sweller.

If a vehicle needs more detergent than in a major brand oil meeting the right API spec, it's more likely it needs the oil changed more often, not just switching to HM oil. On the other hand if the oil has not been changed often enough, I'd instead do a short change, run the new oil 1K mi then change it again, along with the filter, not try to break up a lot of sludge at once with a higher detergent oil, then leave all that circulating in the system (or clogging the oil filter till the relief valve opens) for the next 5K mi.

 

[MisterWizard]

I do not want this to turn into yet another oil debate…just want to share my experience…

2003 Explorer Eddie Bauer with the 4.6L V8, 173,000 miles on the odometer, original trans and engine…it’s had regular oil changes, but at least the last one was done at a quick-lube place, they used Valvoline oil, probably a synth blend…5-20W…anyway, since we’ve owned it (we’re about 5,000 miles into it), the engine has always sounded a little clatterey or rattley. Hard to explain. I was worried it was cam chain issues but the noise wasn’t audible from the front, and I couldn’t really even hear it at the top of the motor. I could only really hear it in the cabin and particularly under load. I assumed it was just normal although my ‘01 Mustang doesn’t sound like that…although the supercharger and performance exhaust might drown it out. So I just assumed it was normal noise or maybe normal for a motor that’s getting long in the tooth. Changed my oil yesterday and filter. I always get the Motorcraft filters. By the way it was literally double the size of the Valvoline filter the quick lube place installed. Geez. Well, I used Motorcraft full synthetic 5-20W…clatterey noise gone…totally gone. I suspect it was valve train. Throttle response significantly improved. And don’t get me wrong, the Explorer has plenty of get-up-and-go but this was like “woah”, big difference. I bet we’ll pick up another 1-2 mpg average which EASILY pays for the cost difference on the more expensive oil. Just wanted to share my experience. This is the oil I put in:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...suv-2003-ford-explorer?q=Motorcraft+oil&pos=3

I've felt the same way about Mobil1 for the past 25 years or so. Use it in every car and have never had one bit of engine trouble. I can't swear to the amount of performance increase you experienced with the Motorcraft oil, but I do believe strongly in the benefits of a good synthetic oil. I've had several of my cars go 200k+ without a problem.

 

[TechGuru]

All major brand oils with a good additive pack, have some seal conditioner aka seal sweller(s). HM oil typically has more seal swellers. You only want enough seal swellers to stop leaks, maintain the same dimensions of the seals. More than that can cause the seals to become an excessive size and reduced density, making it then NEED the seal swellers more than ever, will wear them faster. It is not a night and day difference in wear, just a little, over the long term, but for that reason, I'd avoid HM oil if there were no signs of seals leaking, and at the start of a leak, I'd just substitute a few quarts of HM and ramp that up as needed, IF needed.

The oil companies don't like to admit this and have trained their staff to stop using the word sweller.

If a vehicle needs more detergent than in a major brand oil meeting the right API spec, it's more likely it needs the oil changed more often, not just switching to HM oil. On the other hand if the oil has not been changed often enough, I'd instead do a short change, run the new oil 1K mi then change it again, along with the filter, not try to break up a lot of sludge at once with a higher detergent oil, then leave all that circulating in the system (or clogging the oil filter till the relief valve opens) for the next 5K mi.

Weird thing happened to me.

Never had any leaks until Castrol changed their GTX 5W30 from conventional to synthetic blend. After being forced to switch I got a small leak.

 

[c96drumm]

I would just use Castrol GTX since it's synthetic blend now and available at Walmarts for a decent price.

4.0L = 5W30

4.6L = 5W20

I've been using Castrol GTX 5W30 since I got my Exp and I'm at 240K with original timing chains.

Been using Castrol GTX 10W30 with Motorcraft filters in my 96 5.0 for a little over 20 years, 354K miles. So far, so good! 10W30 is still all conventional. Synthetic is great, but I wouldn't want to change anything in this engine at this point.

 

[J_C]

Weird thing happened to me.

Never had any leaks until Castrol changed their GTX 5W30 from conventional to synthetic blend. After being forced to switch I got a small leak.

Maybe it's making sludge at a lower rate so the detergent is cleaning it out, or maybe the true viscosity (5W30 is just rounded off numbers to the nearest 5 and 10) is slightly lower. Being in TX (warm climate) you could try 10W40, and/or a fraction of the oil being high mileage.

 

[Izzythoed]

is it only at idle? its not the timing chain rattle, correct?

Yes it's at idle sometimes the noise comes sometimes it doesn't pretty weird man it could be the timing chains I'm not to sure. Does yours do it too?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

nope dont have that issue... could be an oul pressure issue, as that drops with rpm... is there anything clogging the pickup? low pressure can cause knockng iirc

 

[sandsprayer]

This is Motorcraft filter I used:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...ive-suv-2003-ford-explorer?q=Oil+filter&pos=0

According to the dimensions on the web for the Motorcraft and Valvoline filters, the Motorcraft filter is 51.6 cubic inches in volume, and the Valvoline VO-88 is 21.4 cubic inches; roughly 2/5 the size. I crawled under there last night for the oil and filter change, and when my eyes landed on the oil filter I literally said out loud “seriously?”The Valvoline filter is literally smaller than the stock filter for the Briggs & Stratton motor in a riding mower I used to have. C’mon Valvoline…really?!

Another reminder to JGTMP (just get the Motorcraft part).

Motorcraft!
My Trac only gets 6k/ year on the odometer.
I have been using Motorcraft filter since new, and Amazon full synthetic the last 4 years(made by Warren Distributing, SN rating)
You can save 15% by subscription, and I have set up for every 5 months.
Yeah it gets over changed, but she is kinda spoiled. Cheap insurance.....

Glad you got it sorted out

 

[Toptiger]

how do you like the frams? i saw a cutaway a long time back on fordtrucks and it seemed like the MC filters were better, let me know your thoughts! isued to use the ph8a filters iirc

Fix4Dirt: I too saw the cutaways but I've used Fram for decades. But it's possible that today's Frams are not the Frams of the 70's. A laboratory can probably analyze the effectiveness of filters; I sure can't. So I stick to the brand names at Walmart and have yet to go wrong. The same is true of oils. And again, I have NEVER had an oil related engine failure in any of my 60 plus motor vehicles (cars and bikes).
My wife's 1999 Chrysler Minivan went 195K miles in 10 years when the tranny went. It would have cost $3500 so we donated the car. But the V6 engine was still running perfectly and easily passed smog. That tells me the piston rings were still sealing. Our 2009 Toyota is at 185K and on it's original sparkplugs. I have used it to tow a car trailer loaded with an English TR8 sportscar. The Toyota too easily passes smog. (The Triumph, not so much. Not the oil's fault)
I am a retired Mechanical Engineer and years ago, a fellow Engineer with a Masters in tribology (the study of friction) told me the most important thing is to change the oil and filter periodically. He did his every 5K with dinosaur oil. More often is a waste of his money. He also said that dinosaur oil is fine for road cars under normal conditions. The synthetics are appropriate for race cars and high flying jets, but overkill for ordinary use. It rings true. So I used dinosaur oil for many years - including in race winning Grand Prix motorcycles in the seventies - until the cost of synthetics came down. I switched to hedge my bets and it makes me feel better.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Fix4Dirt: I too saw the cutaways but I've used Fram for decades. But it's possible that today's Frams are not the Frams of the 70's. A laboratory can probably analyze the effectiveness of filters; I sure can't. So I stick to the brand names at Walmart and have yet to go wrong. The same is true of oils. And again, I have NEVER had an oil related engine failure in any of my 60 plus motor vehicles (cars and bikes).
My wife's 1999 Chrysler Minivan went 195K miles in 10 years when the tranny went. It would have cost $3500 so we donated the car. But the V6 engine was still running perfectly and easily passed smog. That tells me the piston rings were still sealing. Our 2009 Toyota is at 185K and on it's original sparkplugs. I have used it to tow a car trailer loaded with an English TR8 sportscar. The Toyota too easily passes smog. (The Triumph, not so much. Not the oil's fault)
I am a retired Mechanical Engineer and years ago, a fellow Engineer with a Masters in tribology (the study of friction) told me the most important thing is to change the oil and filter periodically. He did his every 5K with dinosaur oil. More often is a waste of his money. He also said that dinosaur oil is fine for road cars under normal conditions. The synthetics are appropriate for race cars and high flying jets, but overkill for ordinary use. It rings true. So I used dinosaur oil for many years - including in race winning Grand Prix motorcycles in the seventies - until the cost of synthetics came down. I switched to hedge my bets and it makes me feel better.

thanks for the feedback!! yeah, until about 310k i used the fram PH8A filters, and never had an issue... but out of precaution having seen that cutaway, i switched to MC, its less than a dollar more for me... found the cutaways... for the other vehicles (non ford), they usually get a purolator boss, m1, or the higher end fram filters (the ultra synthetic or whateevr its called)

https://www.ford-trucks.com/ford-manuals/Oil_Filter_Cutaway_Comparison.pdf

 

[sandsprayer]

The Toyota too easily passes smog. (The Triumph, not so much. Not the oil's fault)

 

[Stynx]

thanks for the feedback!! yeah, until about 310k i used the fram PH8A filters, and never had an issue... but out of precaution having seen that cutaway, i switched to MC, its less than a dollar more for me... found the cutaways... for the other vehicles (non ford), they usually get a purolator boss, m1, or the higher end fram filters (the ultra synthetic or whateevr its called)

https://www.ford-trucks.com/ford-manuals/Oil_Filter_Cutaway_Comparison.pdf

That cutaway is pretty good.

I "internet-know" a guy who actually owns an oil company - they do some of their own blending and are bulk resellers of other brands to commercial buyers. He says "change the oil and filter at 5k" when asked what the best practice. When people ask him what brands he says "oem is fine" and avoid the cheap crap.

If you change your oil frequently enough, the functional difference between a motorcraft filter for $4 and a Wix for $8-10 is pretty negligible.

 

[Mbrooks420]

If you really want the best filtration and oil regimen a bypass filter is the way to go. Way smaller particulate filtration and you gain oil capacity.

I planned on one for the Kia, I just never got around to it.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

If you really want the best filtration and oil regimen a bypass filter is the way to go. Way smaller particulate filtration and you gain oil capacity.

I planned on one for the Kia, I just never got around to it.

true, but within the stock capacity, this is the extent we can do been looking into that and preoilers as far as oiling is concerned, but thatll have to wait... i always have a list of stuiff i want, but then i always tell myself, wait i dont need that lockers, more lift, the list goes on!!!!!

 

[Rick]

Regarding Fram. I know that oil and air filters aren't the same, but I am judging the companies response to a problem. When our 2003 Mach 1 needed it's first air filter change I installed a Fram air filter. When I checked the filter after a few thousand miles I found that the plastic end cap had fallen off the filter which allowed unfiltered air to be drawn into the engine. The screen on the MAF was filled with bugs and other debris, it was not a fine screen by any measure, and any particles larger than the screen were sucked into the engine.

Fram had me send the filter back to them for inspection. They didn't even give me a credit for a new filter, let alone offer to have the engine checked out.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

sorry to hear about that i actually used to use the fram air filters too... it used to be quite easy to just order the fram air&oil simueltaneously... but now it gets wix air+MC oil...

Regarding Fram. I know that oil and air filters aren't the same, but I am judging the companies response to a problem. When our 2003 Mach 1 needed it's first air filter change I installed a Fram air filter. When I checked the filter after a few thousand miles I found that the plastic end cap had fallen off the filter which allowed unfiltered air to be drawn into the engine. The screen on the MAF was filled with bugs and other debris, it was not a fine screen by any measure, and any particles larger than the screen were sucked into the engine.

Fram had me send the filter back to them for inspection. They didn't even give me a credit for a new filter, let alone offer to have the engine checked out.

 

[Rick]

sorry to hear about that i actually used to use the fram air filters too... it used to be quite easy to just order the fram air&oil simueltaneously... but now it gets wix air+MC oil...

All I have used is Wix for oil and air since that incident. No issues at all with Wix. I cut my oil filers open for inspection with every oil change and I've never seen anything improper.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

All I have used is Wix for oil and air since that incident. No issues at all with Wix. I cut my oil filers open for inspection with every oil change and I've never seen anything improper.

havent cut open a filter for a while, but the MC filters from the one time i looked into them i didnt notice anything that shouldnt be there/looked off, so for me ill stick with MC for now, unless i find somethign out

 

[sandsprayer]

All I have used is Wix for oil and air since that incident. No issues at all with Wix. I cut my oil filers open for inspection with every oil change and I've never seen anything improper

havent cut open a filter for a while, but the MC filters from the one time i looked into them i didnt notice anything that shouldnt be there/looked off, so for me ill stick with MC for now, unless i find somethign out

I grew up on the back side of the parts counter. Wix and Motorcraft were the brands that would be given to the customer after I would take the Fram and or bargain brand away from them. You really don't even need to cut one open, just feel the weight. Most of the time they got it.

 

[TechGuru]

All I have used is Wix for oil and air since that incident. No issues at all with Wix. I cut my oil filers open for inspection with every oil change and I've never seen anything improper.

I use Wix in my non-Ford vehicles. Too expensive to use when a Motorcraft is available.