View Poll Results: Specifically for the 2004-2008 5.4L V8 Triton, what oil do YOU use?
0W-40
9
1.06%
5W-20
474
55.76%
5W-30
289
34.00%
5W-40
18
2.12%
10W-30
33
3.88%
10W-40
13
1.53%
Any of them, it doesn't matter
5
0.59%
Other
9
1.06%
Voters: 850. You may not vote on this poll
5.4L Engine Oil - "What Should I Use?"
04-28-2017, 02:39 PM
#241
It should take 7 quarts.
Synthetic oil is superior to conventional oil by almost any measurement, but honestly if your commute is mostly highway and you're changing every 3-5k you're wasting money. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but a quality synth blend or conventional would work just fine.
Synthetic oil is superior to conventional oil by almost any measurement, but honestly if your commute is mostly highway and you're changing every 3-5k you're wasting money. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but a quality synth blend or conventional would work just fine.
Thanks for your input!
04-28-2017, 02:56 PM
#242
Renaissance Honky
I think where he's going with that is:
-Synthetic oils are typically (but not always) very high quality and longer lasting than conventional oils
-Your engine is known as being very easy on motor oil
-Your engine has a rather large sump, spreading out the engine's stress over more oil
-If your daily use pattern doesn't fit the 'severe use'catagory, the above conditions mean your synthetic oil can last a lot longer than 3-5k miles before it stops giving your engine adequate protection
-There are many people that believe in 'getting their money's worth' from oil, and want to get every mile's use out of whatever they put into their crankcase. These people might go 7k+ on a synthetic oil change.
-There are also many people that don't care about any of the above and see short oil change intervals as (relatively) cheap insurance.
Me personally? Even cheap name-brand conventional oil is pretty spectacular compared to what was out 20-30 years ago. I don't care to spend the money for Synthetic oil, and I might not care to push it beyond 6k or so.
The only truth is getting your used oil analyzed and seeing if it's shot or still useful.
-Synthetic oils are typically (but not always) very high quality and longer lasting than conventional oils
-Your engine is known as being very easy on motor oil
-Your engine has a rather large sump, spreading out the engine's stress over more oil
-If your daily use pattern doesn't fit the 'severe use'catagory, the above conditions mean your synthetic oil can last a lot longer than 3-5k miles before it stops giving your engine adequate protection
-There are many people that believe in 'getting their money's worth' from oil, and want to get every mile's use out of whatever they put into their crankcase. These people might go 7k+ on a synthetic oil change.
-There are also many people that don't care about any of the above and see short oil change intervals as (relatively) cheap insurance.
Me personally? Even cheap name-brand conventional oil is pretty spectacular compared to what was out 20-30 years ago. I don't care to spend the money for Synthetic oil, and I might not care to push it beyond 6k or so.
The only truth is getting your used oil analyzed and seeing if it's shot or still useful.
04-28-2017, 05:18 PM
#243
Senior Member
Maybe you're missing a big freaking point of the whole story:
Passenger side tensioner had blown it's seal, phasers were shot, some of the bearing caps on that side had developed large clearances, and there wasn't enough oil pressure with 5w-20 to keep the VCT system operating as it should have been. (Also, the engine was varnished and sludged enough that running MMO for a 2k oil change with the Delo diesel oil had the oil so black I couldn't see the crosshatches on the dipstick. Chemtool flush at the next oil change had gelatinous globs coming out.)
Changing to thicker oil 'fixed' the problem (made it go away) long enough for me to go about my daily life until sufficient parts and time were available to 'repair' (set right) the problem. I also attempted to go back to 5w-20 after the first run on Delo, that lasted about 36 hours 'cuz the bucking mess was back. In went 5w-40; and that oil stayed CLEAN for 6,500 miles after the Chemtool flush.
When you 'Assume' you make an *** out of U and Me.
Passenger side tensioner had blown it's seal, phasers were shot, some of the bearing caps on that side had developed large clearances, and there wasn't enough oil pressure with 5w-20 to keep the VCT system operating as it should have been. (Also, the engine was varnished and sludged enough that running MMO for a 2k oil change with the Delo diesel oil had the oil so black I couldn't see the crosshatches on the dipstick. Chemtool flush at the next oil change had gelatinous globs coming out.)
Changing to thicker oil 'fixed' the problem (made it go away) long enough for me to go about my daily life until sufficient parts and time were available to 'repair' (set right) the problem. I also attempted to go back to 5w-20 after the first run on Delo, that lasted about 36 hours 'cuz the bucking mess was back. In went 5w-40; and that oil stayed CLEAN for 6,500 miles after the Chemtool flush.
When you 'Assume' you make an *** out of U and Me.
The difference between a 20 rated oil and 30 rated oil's "thickness" is minimal (as little as 0.1 cSt to a max of 6.9 cSt at 100 C; shear is within 0.3 cP @ 150 C) . It may make a difference in wear over 100,000 miles, but it's not going to change anything from 1 oil change to the next, and it's not going to miraculously "fix" a blown seal -- let alone a "shot" phaser. While a heavier oil might lower consumption slightly, it's not going to magically bring worn or damaged bearings back within acceptable clearances. Those things are not assumptions, just simple physics.
While improable, it's certainly not impossible your engine might be at the exact threshold of minimum oil pressure where the VCT won't function properly, and that a 1 or 2 psi difference @ idle the difference in viscosity might make is the difference between functioning and not functioning? Although if that were the case, when you went back to the 5W20, it should only run poorly once warmed up - upon cold starts both oils would be the same "thickness" (the main issue with normal day to day vehicles is not that oil thins at it gets hotter, it's that oil thickens as it cools). Anway, even if the that's the case, that's statistically so insignificant it would be like hitting the lottery. You should go buy some lottery tickets!
The point here is not whether what you're saying is accurate or not -- I can't imagine why you would state that if it didn't happen. The point is that it's anecdotal and we can only theorize what is actually happening. It doesn't prove or disprove anything. If anything, it raises more questions than answers.
04-28-2017, 07:09 PM
#244
Senior Member
I think where he's going with that is:
-Synthetic oils are typically (but not always) very high quality and longer lasting than conventional oils
-Your engine is known as being very easy on motor oil
-Your engine has a rather large sump, spreading out the engine's stress over more oil
-If your daily use pattern doesn't fit the 'severe use'catagory, the above conditions mean your synthetic oil can last a lot longer than 3-5k miles before it stops giving your engine adequate protection
-Synthetic oils are typically (but not always) very high quality and longer lasting than conventional oils
-Your engine is known as being very easy on motor oil
-Your engine has a rather large sump, spreading out the engine's stress over more oil
-If your daily use pattern doesn't fit the 'severe use'catagory, the above conditions mean your synthetic oil can last a lot longer than 3-5k miles before it stops giving your engine adequate protection
Hard to argue with that report. Like you, her vehicle gets full warm with the 20-25 commute to work. One of the problems with short driving -- especially with conventional oil -- is it doesn't get warm enough to burn the moisture which accumulates as a normal result of combusion. This results in oxication and buildup (butterscoth pudding in the oil cap, anyone?) and requires more frequent oil changes.
Last edited by hahanson; 04-28-2017 at 07:16 PM.
04-28-2017, 08:36 PM
#245
Eric and hanson, thanks for the information. I'll most likely continue to use the synthetic, but will probably stretch the change intervals out to something like 6K-7K instead of what I'm doing now, which has me changing my oil every 3-4 weeks. It would certainly help save some money too, as mentioned.
The oil testing is interesting as I have never thought of or heard of it being done. How would one go about locating a place that does this? I'm intrigued.
Thanks!
The oil testing is interesting as I have never thought of or heard of it being done. How would one go about locating a place that does this? I'm intrigued.
Thanks!
04-29-2017, 02:11 PM
#246
Senior Member
Eric and hanson, thanks for the information. I'll most likely continue to use the synthetic, but will probably stretch the change intervals out to something like 6K-7K instead of what I'm doing now, which has me changing my oil every 3-4 weeks. It would certainly help save some money too, as mentioned.
The oil testing is interesting as I have never thought of or heard of it being done. How would one go about locating a place that does this? I'm intrigued.
Thanks!
The oil testing is interesting as I have never thought of or heard of it being done. How would one go about locating a place that does this? I'm intrigued.
Thanks!
Costs about $30
04-29-2017, 10:13 PM
#247
Renaissance Honky
Hadn't assumed anything. Just stating facts.
The difference between a 20 rated oil and 30 rated oil's "thickness" is minimal (as little as 0.1 cSt to a max of 6.9 cSt at 100 C; shear is within 0.3 cP @ 150 C) . It may make a difference in wear over 100,000 miles, but it's not going to change anything from 1 oil change to the next, and it's not going to miraculously "fix" a blown seal -- let alone a "shot" phaser. While a heavier oil might lower consumption slightly, it's not going to magically bring worn or damaged bearings back within acceptable clearances. Those things are not assumptions, just simple physics.
While improable, it's certainly not impossible your engine might be at the exact threshold of minimum oil pressure where the VCT won't function properly, and that a 1 or 2 psi difference @ idle the difference in viscosity might make is the difference between functioning and not functioning? Although if that were the case, when you went back to the 5W20, it should only run poorly once warmed up - upon cold starts both oils would be the same "thickness" (the main issue with normal day to day vehicles is not that oil thins at it gets hotter, it's that oil thickens as it cools). Anway, even if the that's the case, that's statistically so insignificant it would be like hitting the lottery. You should go buy some lottery tickets!
The point here is not whether what you're saying is accurate or not -- I can't imagine why you would state that if it didn't happen. The point is that it's anecdotal and we can only theorize what is actually happening. It doesn't prove or disprove anything. If anything, it raises more questions than answers.
The difference between a 20 rated oil and 30 rated oil's "thickness" is minimal (as little as 0.1 cSt to a max of 6.9 cSt at 100 C; shear is within 0.3 cP @ 150 C) . It may make a difference in wear over 100,000 miles, but it's not going to change anything from 1 oil change to the next, and it's not going to miraculously "fix" a blown seal -- let alone a "shot" phaser. While a heavier oil might lower consumption slightly, it's not going to magically bring worn or damaged bearings back within acceptable clearances. Those things are not assumptions, just simple physics.
While improable, it's certainly not impossible your engine might be at the exact threshold of minimum oil pressure where the VCT won't function properly, and that a 1 or 2 psi difference @ idle the difference in viscosity might make is the difference between functioning and not functioning? Although if that were the case, when you went back to the 5W20, it should only run poorly once warmed up - upon cold starts both oils would be the same "thickness" (the main issue with normal day to day vehicles is not that oil thins at it gets hotter, it's that oil thickens as it cools). Anway, even if the that's the case, that's statistically so insignificant it would be like hitting the lottery. You should go buy some lottery tickets!
The point here is not whether what you're saying is accurate or not -- I can't imagine why you would state that if it didn't happen. The point is that it's anecdotal and we can only theorize what is actually happening. It doesn't prove or disprove anything. If anything, it raises more questions than answers.
Right; when it warmed up, it misbehaved. That was the point I was trying to make.
And, when I used oils thicker than _w-20, it didn't misbehave when warmed up. I'm not the first person to make this claim with a misbehaving 3v Triton.
And, now it doesn't misbehave at all because the defective parts (and a whole bunch of others that got in the way) have been replaced with new ones.
And I'm running 5w-30 with the new parts. That's more a matter of insurance for my vehicle. It's running solid, using a half-quart in 3,000 miles, and has been quiet since all that work I did 5,000 miles ago.
So, yeah. 5w-30 for me.
I'm sure the 5w-20's are damn fine oils, I've read about their development and the tests they have to pass. But, this engine won't ever see another drop of it as long as I'm running it.
04-29-2017, 10:15 PM
#248
Senior Member
Right; when it warmed up, it misbehaved. That was the point I was trying to make.
And, when I used oils thicker than _w-20, it didn't misbehave when warmed up. I'm not the first person to make this claim with a misbehaving 3v Triton.
And, now it doesn't misbehave at all because the defective parts (and a whole bunch of others that got in the way) have been replaced with new ones.
And I'm running 5w-30 with the new parts. That's more a matter of insurance for my vehicle. It's running solid, using a half-quart in 3,000 miles, and has been quiet since all that work I did 5,000 miles ago.
So, yeah. 5w-30 for me.
I'm sure the 5w-20's are damn fine oils, I've read about their development and the tests they have to pass. But, this engine won't ever see another drop of it as long as I'm running it.
And, when I used oils thicker than _w-20, it didn't misbehave when warmed up. I'm not the first person to make this claim with a misbehaving 3v Triton.
And, now it doesn't misbehave at all because the defective parts (and a whole bunch of others that got in the way) have been replaced with new ones.
And I'm running 5w-30 with the new parts. That's more a matter of insurance for my vehicle. It's running solid, using a half-quart in 3,000 miles, and has been quiet since all that work I did 5,000 miles ago.
So, yeah. 5w-30 for me.
I'm sure the 5w-20's are damn fine oils, I've read about their development and the tests they have to pass. But, this engine won't ever see another drop of it as long as I'm running it.
Last edited by LariatDude; 04-29-2017 at 10:18 PM.
04-30-2017, 02:25 PM
#250
Senior Member
Yes, 7 quarts as answered by others. The oil pressure "gauge" in these vehicles is just a pressure switch turning on power when some pressure is present ... low is a problem, but only 2 choices are "zero" and "just above half" with their (I'm guessing) resistor selection.