Lube Oil Preference

[drobin]

What is the general consensus on the type of engine oil to use in my 2003MM? Should it be synthetic and what viscosity for good old Louisiana weather??? Also, has anyone noticed: 1) Both front doors sticking to weatherstrip making it difficult to open door. 2) Both rear doors ( lower weatherstrip area ) holds a large quantity of water. I would assume this is inviting a rust situation since I wash this baby a mininum of twice weekly...Help

[Larry Vogel]

That's a personal perference on what brand to use. Everyone will have a different idea of the perfect oil, after around 500 miles remove the Dino oil and go syn.. Mobil 1 has changed their formula more than anyone, getting better as time goes on. They have the research money others do not. All you need is a blend of 10w30.:)

[Larry Vogel]

For the rubber around the doors use alittle silicone spray.

[WJSOLOMON]

Originally posted by drobin: "What is the general consensus on the type of engine oil to use in my 2003MM? Should it be synthetic and what viscosity for good old Louisiana weather???"

FOMOCO's own MOTORCRAFT Full-Synthetic Oils for the Engine, Transmission, and Rear Axle are reasonably-priced Up-Grade Products for our Cars, for High Perormance and Efficiency.

I belive that AMSOIL may in fact be Better, but since I was planning on doing the "Reinhart Automove Performance Package Upgrades" anyway, thought that my Dealer and Mercury may be a bit more supportive, if parts of the Power Train go "South" on me.

I went with SAE 5W-30 for the Engine, believing that the SAE 5W-20 was a bit TOO Light.

It's all still about the matter of "Personal Taste", in my own opinion!

[VaderSS]

If you really want to learn about oil, go here;

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php

Personally, I believe Mobil 1 0W40 is the best off-the-shelf oil around.

It meets European ACEA specs A3/B3/B4-02 which make our own API and Ilsac tests look like a cakewalks.

Basically it's designed for low wear under harsh conditions and long drains.

Mobil states that it can be used where 0W-40, 0W-30, 5W-30 or 5W-40 grade viscosity is recommended.

consensus means general opinion, so "General Consensus," means general general opinion. :)

Use clear dialectric silicone grease for rubber door gaskets and such.

[Fourth Horseman]

I'm running Mobile 1 synthetic 5w30, myself. I switched out the factory fill for it at 1500 miles.

Like WJSOLOMON, I felt that 5w20 was just too light.

[VaderSS]

5W20 is an absolute joke. The only reason it is speced is to make FoMoCo's CAFE look better. Here is a little info;

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/dearmfr/ccd0112.pdf

[Dennis Reinhart]

I am convinced of Amsoil it is 100% pure synthetic

[VaderSS]

Amsoil is a great oil, but I am not convinced that it is any better than Mobil 1. I'm also soured on their marketing practises.

Technically no synthetic is 100% pure as all additive carrier oils are mineral based, but many synthetics such as Castrol Syntec, Pennzoil, Amsoil XL7500, etc, are Group III hydrocracked petroleum based oils instead of Group IV PAO based such as Amsoil and Mobil 1.

The Group III based oils would be a good thing if they were priced accordingly(they cost 1/2 as much to make as PAO based oils) and if they were labled as such.

Amsoil recently switched it's XL7500 to Group III and was up front about it, but that still dissapoints me, because they did not re-price accordingly, and still call it synthetic and nowhere in the literature does it mention that it is Group III. This is funny, because Amsoil decried the decision by Castrol to call it's Syntec synthetic when it switched to Group III.

When Castrol made the switch Mobil called on them to lable it as such, because they felt it was false advertising. Castrol was allowed to keep the synthetic designation though, and many other companies jumped on the bandwagon. So "Synthetic" is now a marketing term, instead of an engineering term.

[427435]

I would strongly urge the use of Mobil 1 synthetic. It will give a lot better protection from higher operating temperature while still giving quick lubrication on start-up (which is when most engine wear occurs).

As far as Mobil vs. Amsoil, one is a highly respected manufacturer of petroleum and lubricating products with an outstanding research department and the other is a sales operation-----take your pick!!

In another life, I was involved with engineering off-highway equipment and spent a lot of time with engine manufactures (Cat, Cummins, Detroit, John Deere) selecting the right engines and accessories (air cleaners etc.). The engine people all spoke well of synethics (from a reputable supplier) and warned about oil from "packaging" operations.

I buy my cars new, switch to Mobil 1 by 1000 miles and run the cars until the bodies fall off (Minnesota salt, you know). That has been 175,000 miles or higher (my '94 Topaz is at 225,000 and climbing) and I've yet to have an engine problem. And when you look into the valve cover, the metal parts visible are still shiny. I also run the oil for 6.000 to 9,000 miles between changes.

By the way, it really works well in air-cooled engines also----my sons had two commercial lawn mowers that paid for their college educations that they used the 15w-50 weight in. They changed every 100 hours (50 hours recommended by Kohler). When I pulled the heads at 1000 hours to clean carbon (Kohler recommended doing this every 500 hours), not only were the heads and piston tops clean but you could still see the hone marks on the cylinder walls!!

[Larry Vogel]

Mobil 1 Super Syn, is an all syn. motor oil, and comes factory fill in the Mustang Cobra's.

[TAF]

I did my first (@ 2500 miles) with Royal Purple 5W30...

It was highly recommended...any thoughts from anyone here on that choice?

[VaderSS]

Royal Purple Street oil is a synthetic-blend, and an overpriced one at that.

Their race oils are synthetic, but the few analysises I've seen have not made me think they are worth more than Mobil 1.

BTW, the purple color is dye, not any magic ingredient.

The one oil, that I think might be better than any other, is Schaeffer's, and I might try it out, after trying Mobil 1 0W40 out.



Which brings me to the next subject.

From what I've seen, each oil has applications that it does best in. To truly find out what the best oil for your application is, you need to run analysis on your choice. As more of you do this, and more information comes out, you can make an informed choice as to what is best, for your application.

Their are several places to get analysis. The best "bang for the buck" is probably Terry Dyson. He gives more info than anyone else, and gives an interpretation of the results. His price is $25 http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/terry.html

I use Shaeffer's lab because I got in a GP for the kits at $10 per. This gives all the popular results except for TBN, but only a simple interpretation, that is nowhere near as intuitive as Terry's. To be informed of the next Schaeffer's kit GP, email davidsolomon@person.net

If you do this, share your results so other can see. You can also go to http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php to share, or to research.