dustbiker

Hey there,

New kid on the block around here. I just got my second F150. It is a 2003 with a 4.6 V8 and 30,000 miles. (Nice truck) My question, can I run a thicker oil than the 5w/20 it calls for? That seems too whimpy for a V8 to me! I live in Ohio and it can get cold here too. My 99 called for 5w/30 and I ran 10/30 in it.

So, anybody had experience with this?

DUStBIKER

Metalmaxx

Hi. I have a 2003 5.4 I live in Michigan and it unfortunately gets cold here too. Right now its 19 degrees. Haha. I use 5w/20 Mobile one. Oh yeah the truck has 50,000 miles. And the oil pressure is still a little higher than the center on the meter. So I would run the recommend oil until you get 100,000 plus miles. Just my opinion though.

Big Al

I'm no expert, but I think thinner oil is better in cold climates, so I would definitely stick to the 5W20. Looking at the manuals from other cars, I see manufacturers generally recommend the next weight up for hot climates, so it makes sense to me to use a lighter weight in cold areas. Lower viscosity means it is faster to get the oil to the top of the block when it's 10 degrees out when you start it. IMHO

wde3477

Suggest to stick with the OEM recommendation on viscosities.

One thought is that newer engines may have tighter tolerances and closer fits than their older predecessors, requiring a thinner oil to adequately lubricate.

obusnizzle

5w30 and 10w30 are just fine. 5w20 is used to satisfy CAFE fuel efficiency standards. Prior to 1999, 4.6Ls got 5W30 from the factory. My 2002 Exploder 4.6L uses 5W30.

Metalmaxx

You are right. 5w/20 means when the oil is cold it is a 20weight oil. And once it warms up, it is 5weight oil.

dustbiker

I'm concerned about tolerances too and puzzled that the same engine can have different oil weights? Maybe it is about the fuel comsuption. Have a buddy that has 2 LTDs, same year, same motors and they have 2 different oil recomondations. I don't want this to smoke at start up like my old 99.

Thanks for the input guys!