fatboyf150

i have a 1997 ford f150 with a 5.4l with 195,380m. i am going to do a oil change soon and since everyone here has been around the 5.4l what is the best high millage oil for these motors. should i stick with some type of 5w-30 or go lighter or heavier. thanks. -fbf150

whomrig

I have 140k on my 5.4 and run 5w30 non synthetic in it. does yours have any ticking or other noises?

Zebracakes

318k On my 5.4, i've just been using 5w20 motocraft oil.
But I've only had it for the last 40k.

white89gt

5W-20 is what Ford recommends. This TSB supersedes the owners manual.

blupupher

iTrader: (2)

Use xx brand xxx type oil in xw-xx weight. There are tons of opinions, and truthfully most of them are correct.

Any 5w-20 oil that meets the specs (API SM or SN) will be fine. 5w-30 will probably not be an issue (but is possible to cause issues with the timing chain tensioner). Brand does not matter. Not one bit. No, really, it really does make any real difference. Mobil, Pennzoil, Quakerstate, Supertech, Motorcraft, Auto parts brand oil, no big difference.
Syn oil if you want to do a longer oil change interval (7500+ miles), conventional oil if shorter (5000 miles). Give a high mileage oil a try if you have some small leaks or use a little oil and see if it helps.

Nothing brings out opinions like a "which oil" thread.

fatboyf150

Thanks for the input guys and the motor is clean just regular oil and dirt residue all over the motor (there isn't a constant leak) and what do you mean it might cause problems with the timing chain and at the moment I cant tell if there's a tick there's a miss fire and I'm just making a list of things to do and parts

blupupher

iTrader: (2)

Thicker oils may cause an issue with the timing chain tensioner (thicker oil can take longer to pressurize the tensioner causing slack at engine start up, and can break the tensioner).
Here is an article that describes it better with pics.
This is why I will not personally use anything but a xw-20 oil in my 5.4.

But as I said before, many use 5w-30 and seem to be running fine (but for how long?).

All I know is I am not smarter than an engineer that designs engines nor a chemist that formulates oil. Regardless of people saying 5w-20 is nothing more than fuel mileage reasons, 5w-20 oil is an excellent oil and protects well.

fatboyf150

I under stand now. thanks, I'll use your advice when I do my oil change.

fatboyf150

Also fuel economy is a big deal to me lol. My next step after everything is fixed is to get a programmer just for mpg

blupupher

iTrader: (2)

Do not get a programmer just for MPG. The cost of the programmer and tune is greater than any fuel savings you will ever recover.
I got a used tuner for $200 and a 87 octane performance tune for $50 2 years ago and have no change in my MPG. Most will say they had similar experience (even those using a economy tune) . A few have said they got a little better MPG (like 1 mpg improvement) when using a 91/93 octane tune, but since premium fuel is $0.40-0.60 more a gallon, it makes it even harder to justify a programmer for MPG improvements. Plus with a premium performance tune, it is harder to keep you foot out of the gas.

Just a quick example with a (unlikely) 2 mpg increase on a premium fuel tune:
13 mpg @ $2/gallon= $0.154 per mile with regular unleaded
15 mpg @ $2.40/gallon = $0.16 with premium fuel
It costs more per mile with premium fuel, even when you get better MPG.
Even if you could get a 2 MPG improvement on regular fuel, your cost per mile is $0.133. After 500 20 gallon fill ups, you would have "saved" $200. Still not enough to cover the cost of a tuner.

I am not saying to not get a tuner. I enjoy the shift improvements (and ability to adjust for tire size) that I have with mine, but don't get one to save money on gas.