Switching Oil

[Gil G]

Hello Everyone

I reciently bought a 2002 ST Im looking for advice on different oils to use.

The ST has 110,000 + miles. I bought it at a dealer and I dont have any idea what kind or type of oil it has or what the previous owner put in it.

Should I go synthetic...or conventional?

What grade?.. The previous owner appears to have taken really good care of it. I noticed that most people switch to synthetic early in the ST life Whats the pros and cons for a 110,000 mile ST

Thanks

Gil

 

[Dennis Smink]

I bought my 2001 Ford Ranger used, with about 60,000 miles on it. As soon as I could I used Auto Rx. Since then I've used Mobil 1, Pennzoil Platinum, and Wal-Mart Syn. I think I am going to go with Mobil 1 from now on though. Put Wal-Mart Syn in my wife's Jeep Liberty and the oil light came on. May be coincidence. My advice, 2 treatments of Auto Rx and then Mobil 1.

 

[Johnny O]

As long as it has been properly maintained, a 110,000 mile engine isn't close to being worn out.

That said, you won't gain as much in lower wear if you switch to syn now. If it was my truck I'd use Valvoline Max Life 5w-30 and a Motorcraft filter, change it every 5000 miles, and it'll be fine.

Dennis' suggestion to use Auto-RX is a good one, although you should use it with regular oil and not high-mileage or synthetic oils. I am running the second Auto-RX cycle in my daughter's Jeep right now.

 

[Todd Z]

If your gonna change your oil every 3 or 3500 just use regular oil and with over 100K i would use 10w30....... Thats it...



Todd Z

 

[Gil G]

Thanks everyone....good stuff to consider... I'll look at that auto-rx site to see what its all about.....it reminds me of the "Marvel Mystery Oil" from back in the day

 

[EddieS'04]

With that millage. I would use a good syn-blend 10-30 and motorcraft filters. 5k oil changes.

I dont believe in oil additives.

 

[Richard L]

I would go with a 100% synthetic like Mobil-1 10-30, and you can probably push your oil changes out to about 5000-7500 miles.



I am a big fan of synthetics as well as using a quality oil that you can easily buy at your local auto parts store or even at Wal-Mart. Making it easy and convenient to change oil is more important than some fancy additive. So I always recommend getting oil that you can easily buy locally.



...Rich

 

[Phil Frady]

If you want to stay with Petroleum based oil, then I would do 10W-30 at 3,000-5,000



Since you want to think about synthetic, then I would do 5W-30 at 5,000-10,000+ oil changes.



Unless you are burning oil more then normal rates (1qt per 500miles) then I would stay with what the recommended weight is (5W-30).



Oil is fighting words.

 

[zaffo oxnard]

Motorcraft 5w-20 is semi-syn and the same price as brand name conventional. I wish they had it in 10w30, but I don't lose sleep over it at 86,000 and ZERO oil used or leaking. When I tow in the summer I change to Motorcraft 15w40 just because.

 

[Mrlunchbox]

I have 103,000 miles on the trac now... currently use 5W-30. Should I switch to 10W-30?

 

[EddieS'04]

Unless you are burning oil more then normal rates (1qt per 500miles)

IMO, any vehicle that uses more than 1qt in 6000miles has a problem.

 

[Johnny O]

Motorcraft 5w-20 is semi-syn and the same price as brand name conventional. I wish they had it in 10w30,

I've seen it at my local Wally Mart in 10w-30.

 

[EddieS'04]

Johnny is right. I have seen it for about $14..

 

[Johnny O]

I should qualify that and say that Wally Mart only has Motorcraft 5w-20 in 5 qt jugs. For the other weights you have to buy it in quart bottles. IIRC, the Motorcraft 15w-40 diesel oil is in one gallon jugs, as most diesel oils are.

 

[TrainTrac]

Can't say I've ever heard of AutoRX. What makes it better than other cleaners/additives, like say, Seafoam?

 

[Johnny O]

Can't say I've ever heard of AutoRX. What makes it better than other cleaners/additives, like say, Seafoam?

It works gradually and won't break off chunks of sludge like Seafoam or Marvel Mystery Oil can. Auto-RX also cleans and conditions seals to keep them from leaking or stop small leaks. Basically you add it to your oil when you change, run it 2500 miles, change the oil and filter again and run it another 2500 miles. The second change, or "rinse cycle" they call it, is when the crud REALLY comes out. That said, if your engine is already pretty clean then it won't make much difference except to condition the seals. On a clean engine you can just add 4 oz. at every oil change and not a whole bottle and rinse cycle thing. I've used it on a couple of vehicles.

 

[Phil Frady]

EddieS'04,

I agree with you, however, someone here had a problem with oil loss and Ford told them unless its 1qt/500mi then it is normal.