im switching to synthetic....

what would be the best weight and brand of synthetic for our mark viii's??

and what would be the best choice of filter for use with the synthetic?/

and if anyone would like to argue about conventional being better than synthetic ... im all ears

5w20, motorcraft, motorcraft.


if you change it every 3k synthetic isnt worth it. personally even with synthetic i wont push my oil past 5k.

I like Valvoline Full synthetic... as for weight I've been using 5w30

If your mark is fairly lo milage it calls for 5w20 and I would stick with that. I like 5w30 for higher mile Marks. I dont think Mobile 1 can be beat unless you want to go to Amsoil. In every case, use Motorcraft oil filters. I like Mobile 1 and Motorcraft filters because they are in stock at Walmart and a dime or so cheaper.

I ususally like castrol full synthetic 10w-40. as the engine gets hot the oil still stays a little thicker...and it doesnt get to thick when its cold. i change it every 4000 miles. If money is a little bit of an issue just do the same but with the part synthetic. the full synthetic is quite expensive.

I ususally like castrol full synthetic 10w-40. as the engine gets hot the oil still stays a little thicker...and it doesnt get to thick when its cold. i change it every 4000 miles. If money is a little bit of an issue just do the same but with the part synthetic. the full synthetic is quite expensive.



much too thick for a mod motor.

10w40 mobil 1 here..... i live in the desert though :D

mobil 1 filter or motorcraft.

my 96 has 75k on the dot.. i will be changing oil every 1,2 or 3k.. due only to the fact i barely drive the car and 3k will take me the whole year.. im not sure if i want the same oil in there all year even if i havent hit 3k..

so far im figuring on 5w20.. and a motorcraft filter

but which brand is best for synthetic oil... price doesnt matter since ill be changing twice a year probably

I dont believe a Mark 4.6 has a windage tray above the oil pan, and when you use heavier oil, the rod ends dip into the oil and just kill the performance.

mobil 1 5w30, motorcraft, about every 4-5k

no reason, just what I've always done

I would recomend wix filters and motocraft oil.

Amsoil ASM 0w-20 with a Ford Racing oil filter.

Amsoil ALL THE WAY and Purolator Pure 1 Anti-Drain back Filter.

Amsoil ALL THE WAY and Purolator Pure 1 Anti-Drain back Filter.

what weight AMSOIL??
is this something i can pick up at NAPA?.. if not ..where??

I think Geno uses AMO 10w-40, I like the thinner oils because that's what Ford recommends.

what weight AMSOIL??
is this something i can pick up at NAPA?.. if not ..where??

Call me up Jim. Were a dealer/distributor.

I think Geno uses AMO 10w-40, I like the thinner oils because that's what Ford recommends.

Yes I do.

I use BMW full synthetic 5w30 oil (its made for BMW by Castrol) and a motorcraft filter. I get the oil free from work.

Don't use 10-40 unless your engine is smoking or knocking! The Mod engines were not designed for it! 5-20 for lower mileage & 5-30 for 75K & over is what I would say. Motorcraft oil filter all the way! (820-s) Mobile 1 fully synthectic should be just fine. Amsoil is too hard to find & too pricey as well. (purulator & Motorcraft) same filter.

amsoil puts alot of there money on advertising-screw them. Mobil 1 is an awesome oil for decades. Royal purple is nice too.personally i would get the synthetic oil that is on sale.it is far better no matter what kind.


now ponder this- why go with thick oil like 10w40?synthetic oils dont break down like conventional. go thin.

Don't use 10-40 unless your engine is smoking or knocking! The Mod engines were not designed for it! 5-20 for lower mileage & 5-30 for 75K & over is what I would say. Motorcraft oil filter all the way! (820-s) Mobile 1 fully synthectic should be just fine. Amsoil is too hard to find & too pricey as well. (purulator & Motorcraft) same filter.


I have run straight 40 in Mod motors before many times for many a thousands a miles with no issues at all.

That Amsoil is very hard to find I had to look to my left for 11 feet just to find several cases. Its around the same price as any other Syn out there.

wal-mart supertec is the best for the $$$

or you can spring for royal purple

Mobil 1 5W20 synthetic & Motorcraft filters for mine.

I'd try Amsoil if it were easier to find.

Mobil 1 test results (http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html)
Amsoil test results (http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/amsoil.html)

I have run straight 40 in Mod motors before many times for many a thousands a miles with no issues at all.

That Amsoil is very hard to find I had to look to my left for 11 feet just to find several cases. Its around the same price as any other Syn out there.

If you want to run straight 40 then that is up to you. I would not chance it!

You are a dealer so of course you have it. It is not availible at an auto parts store like autozone & it's not availible at walmart either. I really think that both oils are about the same. It's all about price & if it's available without having to drive all over looking for it.

If I remember correctly, You once said that your Mark VIII is on it's thrid engine. Could this be due to the oil being too thick???

I will stick with my 5-30 mobile 1 & a motorcraft filter.:D

If you want to run straight 40 then that is up to you. I would not chance it!

You are a dealer so of course you have it. It is not availible at an auto parts store like autozone & it's not availible at walmart either. I really think that both oils are about the same. It's all about price & if it's available without having to drive all over looking for it.

If I remember correctly, You once said that your Mark VIII is on it's thrid engine. Could this be due to the oil being too thick???

I will stick with my 5-30 mobile 1 & a motorcraft filter.:D

Im on my third engine becuse I mindlessly beat the living hell out of it constantly, the second engine was a Ford RMP defective from the start, has nothing to do with the oil thickness, how could a thicker oil blow up an engine?

The third engine is a 98 Cobra FQR From Ford with well over 30k VERY ABUSIVE horrible miles on it all with 40 wt.

Mobil 1 5w-30 is now a mostly group 3 synthetic with a little bit of group 4 (PAO). It used to be mostly PAO a few years ago. Amsoil is all group 4 with a little bit of group 5. Mobil 1 0w-40 is still mostly PAO group 4 and is the best off the shelf Mobil 1 you can get besides their 10w-30 high mileage which is also mostly group 4.

does anybody have any thoughts and suggetions on using castrol 10w-30 full synthetic in a 93' mk8 with 150000 mi. ? i thnkk i might switch to this oil

If you want to use a 10w-30 use the new Mobil 1 10w-30 HM or Amsoil ATM 10w-30.

lol

who here actually has experience with oil?

I have experience with oil, I do used oil analysis on all my cars so I know what works and what doesn't. Any new SM rated conventional oil works fine but for the best possible protection Amsoil is the best.

I have experience with oil, I do used oil analysis on all my cars so I know what works and what doesn't. Any new SM rated conventional oil works fine but for the best possible protection Amsoil is the best.

So very true.

I use Castrol 10w30 synthetic blend with a Pure One (the pretty blue one) filter on my 207,000 mile engine. It really likes the blend and I don't ever have to add a quart between 4k-5K changes.

I think whatever you use is fine as long as it is the CORRECT weight & you change it when you should. Conventional oil is fine, Synthetic is better.

I've been using 5W30 weight in both of my Marks. They both have the timing chain rattle at start up, and I live in the north so I like to think the winter number of 5 is best for me. The 5 is also recommended by Ford. I stick with the 30 part of the rating just because I think it's better when the engine is warm.

I've used Castrol in my red Mark (192k miles) since I bought it with 95k miles on it.

I used the Castrol in my green Mark (171k miles) since I bought it with 146k miles, but I changed over to Mobil 1 this summer. I changed to Mobil 1 because I had trouble with my chain tensioners pumping up once, and I thought it might help. I'm not sure if it helped any as the problem went away right before I changed over. It still has the rattle for a couple seconds at startup. I'll keep using the Mobil 1 in it though.

I use the Motorcraft 820S filters.

When I got my Mark off an engineer friend it had the blackest oil in it. So I changed it to a recommended standard oil. BIG MISTAKE as it rattled the timing chain something fierce on start ups and smoked out of the engine compartment when I shut it off do to leaking valve covers!

I changed to heavy weight synthetic and it went away for a while. Now I run Mobil 1 and believe it or not I change it when it hits 10,000 miles! Still comes out with a nice color and not black so it makes me wonder how long the oil was in there when I had first got the car :confused:

CASTROL 5-30 WITH A BOTTLE OF LUCAS FRAM FITER :bow: dont go by any mileage requirement either change it when it gets dirty looking usually 2,000-2,500 miles

When an oil turns black does not mean anything!!! Most conventional oils can go 5000 miles easy these days... get a used oil analysis any other type of visual inspection of oil is bull. BTW, Fram oil filters are junk they use CARDBOARD end caps instead of metal.

thank you for the fram advice why would it change colors if it wasnt breaking down :confused: :confused:

The color of the oil doesn't mean it's breaking down, it usually mean the detergents in the oil are working. BTW, for 4-6 bucks you can get a Motorcraft oil filter which is much better than any Fram for about the same price.

what do you think of the lucas :headbang: :headbang:

I would not use that in my motor because you don't know how it reacts with the engine oil chemistry, it may do more harm than good.

Oil additives are bad news:

http://www.carbibles.com/snakeoil.htm

http://www.carbibles.com/additives.html

Stick to regular changes with a good oil and use the Motorcraft FL 820 S filter as previously mentioned. Walmart sells 'em for around 5 bux.

One of them links has failed me. :( Heres the main article about oil and stuff. Quite interesting reading...

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

AMSOIL all the way with AMSOIL filters...otherwise for daily driving Mobil 1 is the next best thing. Mobil 1 filters also very good.

Motorcraft filters are good, but they are paper filters, meaning in order to get such high filtering efficiency, they need to cram a ton of media in the case. Same filter as a purolate pure one. The amsoil and mobil 1 filters use synthetic media and filter just as good while providing higher flow rates. But don't get me wrong, there's no better filter than a motorcraft for the price.

Also, IMO I think Lucas oil additive is great stuff. It's basically a very high viscosity oil with a few additives. Helps a lot with cars that burn or leak oil, and also helps to reduce metal-to-metal contact wear at startup. But in a good running low mileage motor I don't think its necessary. One of the only additives I would ever use.