Cold start quieter with 5W30 syn.

[Jim Henderson]

I have only owned my LS for about 1,400 miles, currently with 15K on the clock. On cold starts, So Cal, so not that cold, I noticed that my V8 LS seemed to have a bit more clatter than I was used to with most of the vehicles I have owned in the past. I am assuming some noise on cold start with this model is normal since mine has such low miles and had regular maintenance it would be difficult to have enough wear to cause the noise.

I have been on other discussion forums where the general consensus is that Ford requiring the 5W20 semi syn oil is mostly for mileage improvements and not necessarily for best durability. I am not sure on this myself.

Anyway, since I came up on the 15K oil change I figured that I would use my favorite oil for the past 25 years, Mobil 1 5W30 syn. I also used a Wix filter.

Well so far, only 2 cold starts so not scientific by any means, it seems that the engine is less noisy on cold start with the 5W30. It also makes less noise on the first hill I hit about a block away. Once warmed up there is no unusual engine noise before or after the 5W30.

So I am guessing that the 5W30 extra thickness is helping reduce noise on startup. Or it could be that full syn works better for this engine than semisyn, which often only has a little syn. Or perhaps the visually good looking antidrain back of the Wix filter is keeping more oil in the engine over night. I noticed on the Motorcraft 2021 filter that the drain back did not seal the holes but that there was a rubber collar(similar to the Fram) around the central "column" so I assume the Motorcraft had a decent seal.

Anyway, technically I am not following mfg spec so if my engine were to blowup due to oil failure I might be out of luck, so that is a warning to others if you are still under warranty. But in my non-expert opinion, the mild weather in SoCal and the less noise at cold start makes me feel that the 5W30 syn is at least as good as the 5W20 and perhaps is providing better protection on cold start. Besides, I have never personally seen an engine oil failure in over 30 years of tinkering. All the failures that I have personally heard of or seen were due to bad maintenance, not oil.

In my opinion syn 5W30 flows(cold or hot) far better than dino or semi syn, so I should be in good shape.

Anyway, just my experience with quieting down cold start noise with my LSV8.

Jim Henderson

 

[slagburn]

Interesting... I've noticed that my 04 has a click click click sound when I start it up cold, it seems more noticeable when I haven't driven it for a few weeks than when I've run it for a few days in a row.

 

[Putter-GLHT]

Part of the reason ford suggests 5w20 is for cold starts. There is alot of valve train in the heads that want oil as soon as possibal, and 5w20 is going to get there alot sooner than 5w30. I've seen guys ruin cams from things like 10w40....so these cars are picky. The rest of the reason is as you said, cut frictional losses ie gas milage.

5w30 will be alright though, a lot of the DOHC stuff started as 5w30 then they changed it to 5w20 with no base engine changes. Plus a full synthetic does have better multiweight properties, so you're 5w30 may still be more like a 5weight cold than a 5w20 blended may be cold.

The startup noise is very normal, as there is 32 lash adjusters with no oil pressure in them, which will make a good chunk of noise.

 

[Jim Henderson]

Ooops, I made a small mistake in describing the oil filter. I actually used the Fram filter that I had on hand instead of the Wix that I had. I figured that this first oil change was a flush of the semisyn and that the Fram would be OK for this change.

So my guess that maybe the filter is having an effect on the startup noise may be bogus. The Fram antidrainback looks similar to the Motorcraft, with no seal against the backing plate and a collar around the center.

Just to keep the record straight on what variables are on this change.

In 5,000 miles, I will use the Wix and if anything interesting happens I will post that.

Jim Henderson