mobil 1

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
D

Dale Cuthbertson

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2006
Messages
55
Reaction score
0
Location
Chilliwack, BC
i just had my first oil change on my 08 STA. Put in Mobil 1. The sticker i got at the oil change place said next one is due in 5000 km (3000 miles). THis sound right? I thot synthetics would last much longer.



Any thoughts?
 
You can go much longer. Several people on the board use synth and only change it once a year or 10k miles. I change it every 5000, seems like a good compromise. 3000 is overkill even on conventional oils.
 
Most vehicles with conventional oils require oil changes every 5K to 7.5K miles. Changing oil every 3K miles is a carry over from the days before before modern oil additives. All that started to fade in the 1980's. The dealers always want you to change your oil every 3K miles because they want to convince you that the warranty requires it, and that their dealership must do the oil change. Most of us know that is not true, but they do catch a few old school folks that will believe them.



I have a 2008 Mercedes Benz C300 Sport that comes from the factory with Mobil-1 and the dealer said it required oil changes every 10K or once a year. I get my first oil change and the official Mercedes-Benz maintenance check-sheet is left on my seat to show what they did, and it states that the oil only needs to be changed every 13K miles or once per year.



So in my opinion and Mercedes Benz's opinion is that Mobil-1 last a lot longer than 3K or 5K miles. The only factor that will make a difference is the amount of oil that your engine uses...In the case of the MB C300 V6, the engine holds 9 quarts of oil...Far more than I ever expected, but I was able to verify this just to be sure. That's a lot of oil for just a 3 litre V6 engine



...Rich
 
Rich, we have the Ford recommended service list posted and it shows that, for most new vehicles, the oil change interval is 5000-7500 miles. Of course, that's using at least Motorcraft synthetic blend oil.
 
Dale, with Mobil 1 synthetic, which is what I use as well, when I hit 7000 to 7500 miles I start to think about making an appointment. I also rotate the tires at the same time.



I got 82,000 miles on my last set and they were in great shape as far as being worn evenly. They needed replaced as we were going into winter and I felt I better put new tread on. If it had been summer, they could have easily lasted until winter...
 
Rodger,

That's what I said in my post 5K-7.5K between oil changes, but that applies to most new vehicles, not specifically Ford.



...Rich
 
The oil change place just wants your money every 3000 miles. '08s call for an oil change every 7500 miles. That oil change interval is based on using Motorcraft Synthetic Blend oil, so with full synthetic Mobil 1 that will be fine. I do still believe in doing your first oil change on a new vehicle early. I do my first oil change at half the recommended interval with regular oil and then at the first recommended interval and after with synthetic.



Using Mobil 1, going 7500 miles will be fine.



I am using Mobil 1 0w-30 Fuel Economy Formula and a Mobil 1 filter, I will go 7500 this time and get a used oil analysis and see how it looks. Mobil 1 and K&N oil filters are somewhat better than Motorcraft or anything else although the Motorcraft filter is the best one for the money.



FWIW, on my old '05 Trac I once tried Mobil 1 Truck & SUV oil and the used oil analysis came back awful and much worse than the one I had for regular Mobil 1.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
For those who have older vehicles keep in mind that oils, including some grades of Mobil 1, that are formulated per the current vehicle manufacturer's specs may not be good for older engines. The newer formulas do not necessarily include the same amount of ZDDP (zinc) lubrication additives that are required for things like flat tappet (non-roller) camshafts and their use could result in shorter engine component life. The consensus seems to be that the minimum amount of ZDDP required for a non-roller cam engine is 1200 PPM. Read the label. ;)
 
blksn8k,

I disagree since oils are categorized by their API service rateing and all oils API certified for use in modern gasoline engines are bacward compatible to olderengines. There was nothing special in the oils when solid lifters were common, and the newer oils are more than up to the task for older engines..



That is not to say that there may be some rare engine that has some special lubrication requirements, but solid lifters (flat tappets) is not an issue for modern oils be they dino or synthetic.



...Richard
 
I respect your opinion, Richard, but this subject has been discussed quite a bit, especially on a multitude of classic car websites. Many industry "experts" have debated their opinions from both sides of this issue. As the owner of a few classics, I have no intention of taking any chances with the engines in those vehicles. The cost of buying an oil with the proper amount of ZDDP is peanuts in comparison to replacing a camshaft and lifters, or more likely, a complete engine overhaul. Why would I want to take that chance?
 
Blks8k makes a good point that is being well-discussed in forums on small engines and older engines. Many folks are experiencing a very high level of valve-train wear on these engines due to the lower amounts of zinc in the current motor oils.



They might be good for the environment, but they are tearing up a bunch of good engines too.
 
From Motorweek,,,



Too Much Zinc In Your Oil?

Pat Goss





PAT GOSS: Modern oils are a complex cocktail of base stocks and additives and there's one additive that's quite controversial these days, and here to give us some tips on it is our old friend Thom Smith. Thom is a lubricants engineer or chemist. And welcome back to Goss' Garage.



THOM SMITH, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, VALVOLINE LUBRICANTS: It's good to be back, Pat.



GOSS: All right, now the product that we're talking about here is commonly referred to as Zinc.



SMITH: Yes, and this is it right here. It's actually a family of additives Zinc-dialkyl-dithiophosphate. But let's stick with Zinc or phosphorous when we refer to it.



GOSS: Okay, now this has quite a long history in oil.



SMITH: Yes, it was first used back in the 1940s, as a corrosion inhibitor to fight lead-copper corrosion. But they found that it was also effective as an anti-wear agent. So back in the late '50s they started increasing the level of it. So there were about 300 parts-per-million of phosphorous back in the late '50s to help protect against wear, and as engines got more powerful, with the smaller displacement, more stress in the engine the levels went up. So that by the time we got to the '80s we were looking at 1,200-1,400 parts-per-million.



GOSS: Okay, but then there came a point where you started to cut back on it primarily because of catalytic converters.



SMITH: Yes, the phosphorous in the zinc-dialkyl-dithiophosphate unfortunately performs a phosphate coating in the catalytic converter, and this reduces the efficiency of the catalyst. So we've had to cut back on the level that we use.



GOSS: But how much?



SMITH: Well, we first started in 1992 where we went down to 1,200 parts-per-million, and we've gradually cut down even from there so that now we're at 800 parts-per-million maximum.



GOSS: Okay, it that really an issue?



SMITH: It really isn't for the vast majority of vehicles. We've done a lot of work to show that with these levels, you're still getting good, solid anti-wear protection. The one area where people do have concern are with flat-tappet engines.



GOSS: Okay, so if somebody has an older engine is it a problem or can they buy a special oil that has more zinc in it?



SMITH: Well it's not a problem once the engine is broken in. The big issue is when they break the engine in, so if they are rebuilding an older engine they really need to use something like a racing oil where there's a higher level of phosphorous in it. And racing oils, they can still be the 1,200 parts-per-million and get a good beak in on the engine. After that they are fine at running it at the 800 parts-per-million.



GOSS: Okay, so it is a problem but it isn't a problem, and if they're really concerned, buy a racing oil and everything is covered.



SMITH: Yes, that's right.



GOSS: Thank you, Thom.
Click to expand...

 
I stand corrected, in part.



I was not aware that there was an issue with flat tappet wear due to lower zinc levels in the newer oils. I accept Pat Goss as knowledgable automotive maintenance expert.



But the above article only mentions that the lack of zinc in modern oils is only a problem during break-in. So, unless you just rebuilt the engine and installed a new cam and new solid lifters, the modern oils are fine.



Also, consider that older engines with solid lifters were always prone to lifter wear because of the higher valve spring pressures usually used on those engines, and they required constant adjustments...That's why most engines were converted to hydraulic lifters.



I can understand an appreciate keeping on older classic car with solid lifters and using an oil with a higher zinc content, at least during the breaking...and longer if you want to be safe. But replacing a cam an solid lifters is not exactly rocket science and not particularly expensive in most older cars (some rare models/engines would be exceptions). That is part of the joy of owning an older classic car, they require a lot more tinkering and fixing than do most modern vehicles. You always have to adjust the valves, the pooints, the brakes etc. That wyy I love them, I just don't have that much time anymore.:huh:



...Rich
 
Uh, I don't think anyone was referring to solid lifters only. When the term "flat tappet" is used it is in reference to any lifter that is non-roller. In other words, the base of the lifter rides directly on the camshaft lobe. Could be solid or hydraulic. Most newer engines use either an overhead camshaft design or pushrods with roller lifters (most GM truck V-8s) and neither of those designs would have the high wear tendencies of a flat tappet (non-roller) cam design. A roller cam uses a lifter with a roller (think small wheel) at its base and that is what rides on the camshaft lobe.



The other thing to consider is that most muscle car engines used cylinder heads with only two valves. In order to get the higher flow rates needed to make horsepower those valves had to be large and therefore heavy. Which also meant that the valve springs had to be stiff in order to control the mass of the valves at high rpms which again leads to higher pressure at the contact surface between the lifter and cam. By the way, during the muscle car era very few performance engines actually used solid lifters.



While it is true that camshafts can be changed, not many owners of rare (read expensive) muscle cars would be interested in devaluing their cars by doing so. Not to mention that few earlier engine blocks were ever designed with roller camshafts in mind. Some can be converted but that usually requires modifying the engine block.



The other thing to keep in mind is that not all current spec oils have the same zinc content. The safest approach is to read the label and buy the oil that helps you sleep at night. :D
 
I guess my age is showing again. When I grew up and raced in the 1960's, Solid Lifters were refered to as flat tappets. All stock vehicles of that era come with either Hydraulic lifters or Solid lifters. I never heard the term Flat Tappet to refer to any non-roller lifter,. In my day, it always refered to a solid lifter, but I guess that's the new generation lingo.



I realize that many modern vehicles have gone to roller cams and lifters, but don't confuse Overhead Cams engines. There are many overhead cam eniges that run non-roller lifters. Many OHC engines use small rocker arms and some use direct acting, adjustable hydraulic lifters.



As for the availability of cams and lifters for classic muscle cars, I agree that certain rare models may have very hard to find parts, but most of the Chevy, Ford, Pontiac, and Mopar engine parts are available. Of course if you never drive your classic muscle car, wear is not a problem. and if the parts are too hard to find or expensive, then you probably should not drive it since it is too valuable. If you only drive it on-off the trailer, then wear would not be a problem.



If it were my car, I would want to drive it and I would have enough spare parts to cover any cam wear problems.



The last thing about the cam/lifter wear issue with modern oils is that there is not mention as to how much, or how fast the cams/lifters are wearing. As I recall back in the muscle car era, it was even a very common problem then. Cams and lifters often only lasted 60K miles especially if it was a high performance model that used the higher pressure valve springs, and even worse if it had solid lifters? What kind of excessive wear are we talking about.?



...Rich



 
I guess my age is showing again. When I grew up and raced in the 1960's, Solid Lifters were refered to as flat tappets. All stock vehicles of that era come with either Hydraulic lifters or Solid lifters. I never heard the term Flat Tappet to refer to any non-roller lifter,. In my day, it always refered to a solid lifter, but I guess that's the new generation lingo
Click to expand...



Im with richard on that one. I had a '63 Ford 406 FE tripower(it preceeded the 427 FE) with solid lifters. We called them flat tappets. The more I raced it and the harder I ran it. The more often I had to set them...It was a nuisance..
 

Latest posts

Top