Community Forums

Mr.Steve · 05-28-2008, 07:47 AM

My MH just hit 4000 miles and I want to change the oil, myself. I have an upcoming trip to Lake Mojave and thought this would be a good time to change thre oil . I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the oil weight to use? I want to use syn oil. I always used syn on my last MH and it works great. My engine is the 6.8L Triton V-10. Thanks for any input.

Mr.Steve · 05-28-2008, 07:47 AM

My MH just hit 4000 miles and I want to change the oil, myself. I have an upcoming trip to Lake Mojave and thought this would be a good time to change thre oil . I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the oil weight to use? I want to use syn oil. I always used syn on my last MH and it works great. My engine is the 6.8L Triton V-10. Thanks for any input.

wglassjr · 05-28-2008, 09:01 AM

Your owners manual should tell you.I have 2006 v10 i bought new and i use motorcraft 5w30 semi synthic oil in mine or 5w20 thats what ford recomends.Also use a quality oil filter.

BigRedLancer · 05-28-2008, 10:10 AM

I use 5W20 Mobil 1 with the Ford filter. I have kept the engine above 4000 RPM for several minutes at a time while climbing hills and I believe the synthetic helps.

Frankie · 05-28-2008, 10:56 AM

Okay for starters,let put the whole baseball rivalery aside

. I am a firm believer in synthetics,but have been following the recomended brake in period for dino oil.I grew up with the advice to keep dino oil in for at least 10,000 miles.Then switch over.Dont know what other feel,but have been doing this with all my rigs. Congrats on the new rig,I am very happy with my Ford.

Mr.Steve · 05-28-2008, 04:17 PM

Thanks for the imput eveyone, and thank you Frankie for not mentioning baseball too much, great year so far for enjoying my motor home with my wife, bad year for Yankee baseball.

LVJ58 · 05-28-2008, 07:09 PM

Must agree with Frankie on this, I did the same, switched to Mobil 1 5w30 after 10k miles. I used 5w30 as that's what the Ford manual spec'd for the 99 & 2000 v10's. Later Ford changed specs to 5w20 for later model v10's. After warranty expired I change oil & filter between 4 & 5k miles even with the synthetic. I also lube chassis & drive line every other oil change.

John Hilley · 05-28-2008, 07:28 PM

I change my own oil and it has always been difficult to get the drain pan out without making a mess. I found a new drain pan that is shallower and now it is very easy as it sits on axle and pulls out without touching anything. I bought the new drain pan at Mills Fleet Farm.

Mr.Steve · 05-28-2008, 07:37 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LVJ58:
Must agree with Frankie on this, I did the same, switched to Mobil 1 5w30 after 10k miles. I used 5w30 as that's what the Ford manual spec'd for the 99 & 2000 v10's. Later Ford changed specs to 5w20 for later model v10's. After warranty expired I change oil & filter between 4 & 5k miles even with the synthetic. I also lube chassis & drive line every other oil change. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is really new to me, is it the break in period or something? Why is regular oil preferred up to 10,000 miles?

NeilV · 05-29-2008, 02:00 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mr.Steve:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LVJ58:
Must agree with Frankie on this, I did the same, switched to Mobil 1 5w30 after 10k miles. I used 5w30 as that's what the Ford manual spec'd for the 99 & 2000 v10's. Later Ford changed specs to 5w20 for later model v10's. After warranty expired I change oil & filter between 4 & 5k miles even with the synthetic. I also lube chassis & drive line every other oil change. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is really new to me, is it the break in period or something? Why is regular oil preferred up to 10,000 miles?

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Some scoff at this others swear by it. Wait until the break in period is over to allow for things to seat is the thinking as there is zero wear when using synthetic. However I have seen engines at 120,000 miles that ran nothing but synthetic and they looked pretty worn out with grooving of the cam lobes and other obvious signs of wear and tear.

I would still be inclined to wait until the breaking period is over.

Tom N · 05-29-2008, 05:06 AM

A break in period is a thing of the past for todays gas engines.

Today many engine manufacturer install synthetic oil at the factory before the engine is even turned over.

-Tom

Hikerdogs · 05-29-2008, 06:02 AM

In days past engine manufacturers recommended synthetic oil only after the breakin period believing the synthetics weren't viscous enough. They wanted to be sure the seals had all seated so the less viscous synthetics wouldn't leak out.

In the last several years the rubber compounds in the seals have been changed providing a better seal and allowing synthetics to be used from the factory.

I'm not so sure the breakin period is completely a thing of the past. We just purchased a new GM car and the owners manual still recommends a 500 mile breakin period. During the first 500 miles you're supposed to avoid "sustained high speeds" and use of the cruise control. After the first 500 miles it sounds like anything goes.

FrontRangeRVer · 06-02-2008, 11:20 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom N:
A break in period is a thing of the past for todays gas engines.

Today many engine manufacturer install synthetic oil at the factory before the engine is even turned over.

-Tom </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree with this. Today's engines with tight tolerences don't require a certain amount of miles "before you can go to sythetic". Lots of engines come straight from the factory with sythetic...including Corvettes.

You can go straight to synthetic at the first oil change.

DriVer · 06-03-2008, 03:07 AM

You are going to own your motorhome for quite some time therefore the urgency to change your oil to synthetics immediately I believe is not there.

I would suggest that a 10K to 13K dinosaur based "non break-in period" running with mineral based oil is a good strategy because your motor will be allowed to completely seat and it will begin a wear pattern that is sustainable over the long run.

When you do introduce synthetic oil into your engine what we most often hear is that the engine's wear pattern is greatly reduced because of he lubricity and other chemical properties of the oil all the way down to the molecular level.

I have been running synthetic oil for about 50,000 miles and I wouldn't consider going back.

Take your time, there isn't any rush to get onboard with syns right out of the starting blocks. The original manufacturer's warranty in some cases 5 years or 50,000 miles is based on using brontosaurus based petroleum.

Ford should be able to provide guidance in this matter by calling their customer service office. Our sponsor Blackstone Labs should be able I believe to give you a scientific opinion regarding synthetic based oils and how soon to introduce them. Ultimately the decision is up to you.

No one is talking any type of major wear or lack of wear with one strategy of another since both oils meet API standards set by the engine builder.