lbajo1

This is off topic but would that Lucas oil stabilizer help witht he clicking noise ? i have the phazer noise and it sounds pretty nasty in cold starts. The last time i did my oil i used 5quarts of 5w-20 mobile 1 and 1 quart of Lucas , and it helped the cold starts..

CozyEvergreen

Lucas will help initially. But only because it thickens your oil. As it degrades you will notice the phasers becoming louder. I switched to Max Life 10-30 and a bottle of Lucas 10,000 miles ago and now the noise is there but nowhere near what it was when I ran 5-20. I believe it's because it's full synthetic oil and the Lucas has conditioned everything to work with it. Just my opinion tho.

lbajo1

I was told y a mechanic that using that thick of a oil will kill you motor, since its so thick it doesnt flow thru some little port things, which means no lubrication. And i have heard it from many ppl..

ocomg

My .02 worth....

I picked up an 04 SCAB FX4 about 4 months ago. Truck had 210,000 miles on it. It had the classic signs of having bad cam phasers. There was a check engine light indicating timing/phaser issues (cam bank retarded or something like that).

First order of business was to change the oil to Motorcraft 5W20 synthetic blend and Motorcraft filter. No change.

I then replaced the cam phasers and VCT solenoids about 2500 miles later. Vast improvement on the noise. I also did an oil change at that time using Pennzoil Platinum 5W-20 and Motorcraft filter.

After I did the oil change and phaser/solenoid change, I would still get an occasional rough idle and dieseling noise with an occasional check engine light indicating over retarded cam bank and other issues. Frustrating as hell....so,

after 500 miles of it running that way I figured since the engine has some miles on it I'll up the oil. At 213K I drained the 5W-20 out of it and put in 5W-40 Shell Rotella full synthetic. I reset the codes. I cannot believe the difference. I no longer have any check engine lights and do not have the rough idle anymore. Only noise is from my injectors now.

I have since went another 4000 miles with another oil change. I changed the oil at 216K and went with Pennzoil 5W-30 Platinum synthetic. Was a little apprehensive to go down to the 5W-30 but the results have been good so far.

So for my situation at least, 5W-30 or 5W-40 FTW!

allinon72

Not surprising, mechanics are some of the worst at "the sky is falling" warnings. You have to realize that they consider themselves the masters of what they do and you are just an ignorant car owner, so naturally they aren't open to new ideas.

Fact is, larger weight oils like Rotella have excellent viscosity and like mentioned, are used in fleets without issue.

Think of all the work trucks you see daily. Many are serviced by fleet companies that use higher weight oil for longevity. If all these trucks started ticking and making noises, there would be a nationwide uproar.

Especial86

iTrader: (1)

So far I'm hearing no less then spectacular results when it comes to jumping off the 5w-20 train... I've still yet to hear about some guy blowing up his motor the second he dropped a thicker weight oil in his 5.4 3v... Im still waiting to hear someone argue a great point to use 5w-20 for the life of the motor.
The recommendations and mandatory compliance to special interests groups looking for solutions to problems that are conceivably "all in their head" are what I can see causing such contention. If manufacturers and company's were allowed to conduct business in the best interest in the company, and not have the need to please so many outside forces trying to tell them how to run their business, then we would likely see better competition, better prices, better ideas, and most importantly better quality. I can wish all I want that things will change, but as long as the majority of people choose to accept what they "hear" as gospel, then we are all f;@"&d....
It seems the ticking and durability issue regarding the 5.4 3v timing system could possibly derive from the CAFE requirement to hit a mpg benchmark, instead of a total screw up on fords part... Although ford should say and do something because their reputation is at stake....
C'mon America, what the F@($ is going on here! This is supposed to be the free place where good people and ideas prosper, not do as your told or get out of the game! .....Yeah I'm annoyed!

allinon72

I think that's an accurate assessment. Even with presented with the facts, people will still reject them because they've been told differently in the past.

Especial86

iTrader: (1)

I Hear you loud and clear, people are like parrots these days just repeating something they heard enough times to make it seem as though its a fact.. I have heard people saying "hey 5w-30 seems a bit thin.....oh well, ford recommends it". But nobody questions anything because allegedly some super smart "experts" from some super expensive school, that has exclusive access to super great information that we don't, says otherwise.

If it wasn't for the internet we would all be lost in a sea of limited information sources that we would have no choice but to adhere to.

Careful now, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) wants to limit internet access and turn it into to another T.V. that talks at us and tells us what to think, under the guild of good of course cuz "they" mean well
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
The internet is an interactive free space and everything in it is fair game, that's how it works. Take that away and you got yourself another T.V.

I wanna hear some more stories of people using anything above 5w-20

Jax123

If it wasn't for the internet we would all be lost in a sea of limited information sources that we would have no choice but to adhere to.


Then again, perhaps the internet can be the source of "TMI".
It blinded the weak and drinkers at election time.

Especial86

iTrader: (1)

Yeah it seems it was a "tmi" or Three Mile Island or a nuclear accident.....that gave us super powers LOL. It enabled us to see things from all different perspectives and to begin to start forming our own opinions... Coincidentally being able to entertain thoughts and ideas without feeling the need to accept them is the mark of a genius. With all the talk about squashing the Internet as we know it, I get the feeling that a well informed public is not in some people's best interest, it makes us harder to control.