The age old question .....Synthetic or not

[grainger12002]

changing the oil and filter on a 2004 f150 5.4 litre v8, calls for mtrcrft syn blend...looking for a bit of direction, seems a blend is just that,i have had good luck w conventional oils and change them regularly,first time on this motor,its turning 100k

Thanks

[Soundguy]

just me.. but if it called for a syn blend.. I'd either use that or full syn.. not conventional.. etc..

I can tell you this.

My 04 f250 with 6.0 PSD likes valvoline ultra blue HD full syn 5w40 ALOT better than the specified orange bottle motorcraft 15w40 powerstrok diesel oil.

soundguy

[Tig]

I'm very happy with how my engines sound and perform with Mobil1. But, the price has rocketed in the past year.

[Diamondpilot]

I would use a Syn Blend or full Synthetic. I run M1, Pennzoil Platinum, and Castrol Syn Tech in most everything gas we own. Wal-Mart has 5 qt jugs of each for under $25

5000 miles if you tow much or 7500 if not on synthetic for me.

Chris

[mikehaugen]

as others have said, I would use the factory recommendation as a minimum and not go below that. As for the price of M1, it has actually seemed to go down a little around here, wal-mart now has it for the same price as valvoline synpower, which is about $25 for 5 quarts. I am considering switching to Mobil now. I hear a lot of raving about M1, but never really hear anything good or bad about synpower- maybe no news is good news.

[crashz]

Just to add to the confusion a little, Motorcraft makes an excellent oil. Last time I looked at it, it was a blend of group II and III oils bottled by ConocoPhillips. The UOAs posted on BITOG were fantastic, and if you stick to regular oil changes around 5k miles each, will perform better than most group III oils labeled "synthetic".

Another benefit is that it's easy to find. Beside the Ford dealers, every autoparts store around sells it.

[Diamondpilot]

Just to add to the confusion a little, Motorcraft makes an excellent oil. Last time I looked at it, it was a blend of group II and III oils bottled by ConocoPhillips. The UOAs posted on BITOG were fantastic, and if you stick to regular oil changes around 5k miles each, will perform better than most group III oils labeled "synthetic".

Another benefit is that it's easy to find. Beside the Ford dealers, every autoparts store around sells it.

Very good point. Its actually cheaper for me to buy Motorcraft Syn-Blend cheaper then most regular dino oils at Wal-Mart. I get a good price at the dealership but parts stores around here are high on it. Wal-Mart and some other discount stores have it at a good price

Chris

[Soundguy]

yep.. walmart is where I found the syn blend and the powerstroke oils.

now I have to hit napa or carquest for the valvoline though.

[crashz]

Chris, it must be a Northeast thing, but MC oils are usually priced really low and stocked with the house brand stuff. It goes on sale for dirt cheap and that's when I stock up. When it goes on sale next time, I'm stocking up and will change all the fluids in the Bobcat (hydraulics and chain case take motor oil). Their loss, my gain

Soundguy, I love that Premium Blue as well. It's in my tractor right now. My only complaint is that it's hard to find. Some NAPA stores sell it, but some don't. If they do stock it, it flies off the shelf.

[Soundguy]

i order a case from napa or car quest when I get near 1000m of an oil change. I use that stuff in my powerstrokes.