What oil should I use?

[edwx]

I just bought a 2006 Explorer xls with 32k miles on it. It has the usual 4.0L engine. I bought it from a Ford dealer so I'm assuming it came with the Ford recommended oil, 5-30 Motorcraft Syn. blend (I will ask them.) I have no idea who owned it before me although Car Fax claimed it was a one owner vehicle. My last 2 Ex's I bought new and ran Castrol Syntec until they had a lot of miles, and then switched to high mileage synthetics. I can't complain about the results....I had 165k+ on both vehicles, but had a front seal leak on the last one. A dealer told a friend of mine you can switch to synthetic from dino, but don't switch back to dino oil from synthetic. I'm not sure I believe that. Some knowledgable folks claim synthetics dry out seals. I know this is an oil ?, but it's also an Explorer ? I'm also going to check it out on the BITOG site. Any feedback is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[James909]

I recommend using a quality synthetic oil. Early synthetics used to cause seals to shrink but any quality synthetic oil that you find on the shelf today will have additives that prevent this. So I wouldn't hesitate to switch to synthetics. Mobil 1 is a very good oil, I use it in everything. Amsoil is basically the best oil you can buy but I find it to be too pricey and too difficult to find which is why I use Mobil 1.

 

[stein78]

Go to Walmart and pick up the Ford Motorcraft semi-synthetic oil. If it's good enough for Ford engineers, it's good enough for me.