What weight of oil would you run?

Stangman

Stangman

Project car a.d.d.
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My car has 133xxx on it, I currently run the recommended 5w30, but with any higher mileage car I know I should possibly look to a thicker oil weight... My question is, what weight should I switch to? I run 10w40 in my '94 5.0L GT... but I know that is a horse of a different color all together... and I don't know enough about the modulars to make an educated guess.

I am due for a change and wanted some imput before I just say fork it and go buy 10w40

Thanks
 
Stay with the recommended oil. The modular engines are built with much tighter production tolerances than previous engines. One reason they are so reliable mileage-wise compared to older pushrod mills.
 
unless ur in the desert like me, use recommended, ive always used 10w40 on mine, no problem...........
 
I use what it says under the hood. 5 30. I have used castrol
 
Sticking with 5w30 sounds good to me. With regular maintenance, that engine should still be good for thousands more miles.
 
ive been running 5w20 in my lincoln and my explorer 5.0 for well over a year now. ford has a tsb stating to use 5w20 in everything except for the 4.0 sohc, so i have been.
*edit my 178k 5.0 explorer and my 164k markviii*
 
I went to Motorcraft 5w20 in all my Mod motors and have been very very happy with the decision... it's cheap, good, and speced just for our motors.
 
I read something pertaining to the LS that said using 5w30 instead of 5w20 will result in 10% increase in engine life but about a 1% loss in mpg, don't know the truth in this but it seems to make sense. I started putting 5w30 in the LS because it was the only grade of Mobil 1 full synthetic that Costco carried and have been running it ever since without any problems (other than it getting onto my coils.)
 
Ford issued a TSB (02-1-9) recommending 5w-20 for all modulars including our Mark VIIIs. I have no problem following this recommendation, even in the summers here in New Mexico. The originally recommended 5w-30 is fine too. I really wouldn't run 10w-40...
 
5W-30 Castrol here.

I ran 5W-30 Mobil 1 in the green Mark for 3 oil changes, but I didn't notice any difference, so for the money, I'm back to Castrol now.

With the mileage I have, I'd be afraid to experiment with different weights. 5W20 sounds a little too thin for the summers to me.

Red 205 K miles
Green 190 K miles
White 110 K miles
 
Stangman said:
My car has 133xxx on it,
Thanks
Click to expand...


You would be very very suprised at how well these engines wear.

My 360,000 95 motor still had the crosshatch in the cylinders and no perceptible ridge at the top of the bore.

Your 133K motor is "BARELY BROKEN IN".

just keep "doing what you are doing, and keep driving it".

IMHO parking the car for extended periods is the worst abuse it can get....
 
XLRVIII said:
You would be very very suprised at how well these engines wear.

My 360,000 95 motor still had the crosshatch in the cylinders and no perceptible ridge at the top of the bore.

Your 133K motor is "BARELY BROKEN IN".

just keep "doing what you are doing, and keep driving it".

IMHO parking the car for extended periods is the worst abuse it can get....
Click to expand...

I agree with the engine being barely broken in, however it does smoke on start up and use oil, lol, which I believe are valveseals.

I used to drive my '94 GT every day non stop for 3 years. It was the most reliable car I've ever had. Except for my Mustang II... when they all break down... the carburated car comes to the rescue :)
 
I put a bazillion miles on 3 differenet mustang ii's.

my first on I bought was a 78 KC, I got it in '82 it was 4 years old.

funny thing, I bought my first mark 8 and it was 4 years old.


People often talk down about both the mark 8 and the mustang II.
I have to give credit to the mustang II for teaching me ALOT/almosteverything I know about mechanics.

When I got the car, I didn't know how to change a tire.
before a year had past I was installing clutches, alternators, waterpumps..and.. MANY MANY B60-13's..(lol)

The mark 8 and the mustang II also share some of the same poor handling traits.. such as "cowl shake".

The mustang 2's were notorious for having cowl shake when driven at 7/10s and above.
I found the same thing in the mark 8, it was like I'd found and old friend.
 
I got my '77 when I was 15 and a half, the car sat in the garage until I got my temps at 16 and a half, and when I was 17 I drove it everywhere. It had 36,300 miles when I got it. My grandma bought it brand new. I even have pictures of me in a carseat in the back when my mom and dad borrowed the car to go on vacation to Tennessee when I was only a few years old (prolly somewhere between '89-'91) and Dad felt bad because we made the car hit 10,000 miles :eek:

Needless to say, it was my only car for years, so I drove it to work everyday... which made it runs worse since it is only a carbuated car that wasnt meant for 30k in one year... lol

So now it sits in my buddies garage for the winter with almost 66K on it. I really do regret driving it. I would love to have it back at 36K again... But one positive, is that I put all those miles on it, and no one else. One day, when the parts are reproduced, I will restore it the right way.
 
Treat it with some Auto RX.... that stuff will pull some crap out of your motor and clean up the seals... I'll be posting pics of cut open oil filters soon....

Hey Geno, how many motors has the TerminVIIItor eaten?
 
dont be afraid of high millage 4.6's!!! heres mine (crappy cell phone pics) when i did the oil pan at 148k nice and clean, ive seen engines with 30k in much worse shape

148k lower end 2.jpg


148k lower end 1.jpg
 
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