Zeus10

Hello All,

Ok, bare with me here. I'm going to give you all more info than you probably care to have. I am looking for suggestions on engine oil for my 1994 F150 5.8, 351, V8. This truck is an extended cab, XLT with auto trans. And EFI. I am the third owner of this truck and the 2nd owners only had the vehicle for 10 months. I believe the most they did to this truck was change the oil. The truck is in very good shape for it's age though, due to the first owner taking extremely good care of it. It's evident. The truck has 129,000 miles on it. I know the owners manual says 5w 30 but the prev. Owners used 10w 40. I live in NW CO., Steamboat Springs to be exact so it gets cold in the winter here. Below zero temps are quite common in the winter. I have run half a can of Seafoam through the gas already. So, should I switch to 5w 30 as sugg. by Ford or stick with the 10w 40 the prev owners were using? Switch to 10w 30? High mileage? Synthetic, conventional, synth blend? I also run Marvei Mystery oil in my others cars with the oil as well as my prev owned 1976 Chevyrolet K10 p/u with almost 200,000 miles. Vehicles seem to start a little better in the cold with MM in the oil and it takes out lifter/sticky valve noise in one of my cars. The F150 is not burning oil and runs strong when pulling a 3 place snowmobile trailer up mtn passes. This truck will probably be driven 3,000 miles or less per year. Thanks in advance for all your help and I know asking for engine oil suggestions is like asking if you like Coke or Pepsi but I appreciate all responses!

Brandon587

10w 40 would be worse in the cold then 5w 30. I would just stick with 5w 30. As far as what type, like synthetic, synthetic blend, et. that's more up to you. Each person has their own preference, mine honestly is synthetic blend, just what I use. MM is good stuff too, add it to my dodge cummins' tank and it helps it run a little quieter.

Zeus10

I bought the truck in Denver where it doesn't get quite a cold and I have no idea why the prev. owners used 10w 40 but I too thought that would be way to thick for the winter. I'm thinking i'll use a High Mileage 5w 30 and some MM for oil. Have never ran it through the gas but it seems to work well in the oil. Thanks for your reply. Got another question for you. Have you ever tackled the clock spring on these F150's? I have done some research on this site and determined the 3 2 airbag code as the clock spring. Doesn't seem to difficult a job and i've heard to not let it scare me but.....This issue is not disrupting my horn or cruise control...yet? Airbag light has been blinking since I bought the truck in Dec. 2012.

Brandon587

Im not recommending to put MM in your gas, but on my diesel engine it helps. Diesel fuel helps lubricate the engine in a diesel engine, so MM helps it run a little quieter. Hey 270,xxx miles and running strong, I expect another 270,xxx miles.

As far as the clock spring, no Ive never done it but doesnt seem to be hard. Just research it until your sure on how to do it, sometimes there are even videos on that type of stuff, look into that. But be careful when removing the airbag, I dont know if these older trucks have it, but some have a little reserve that keeps power to the airbag for x amount of time after disconnecting the battery, normally 15 mins, sometimes longer.

Zeus10

Yeah, I have done quit a bit of research on the clock spring replacement. Found a vid on YouTube and saved a couple of threads on here on it. it doesn't seem too hard. Def. want to wait awhile before you pull out the air bag though because of the back up power. Heard about 15-20 mins. Maybe I'll tackle it this summer. Prob gonna change the oil this week though. Thx for your help! I'll let you know how the clock spring goes when I tackle it.

Brandon587

Ok let me know, good luck with it and I hope it goes well!