Anyone Switch to Full Synthetic Oil?

[beachz]

While I am not doing it yet, I will be (cause I don't have the truck). Based on my my own 11 year experience with a small displacement, high horsepower twin turbo motor, I will almost certainly be running Mobile 1 full synthetic. I built and auto-crossed a 1990 300ZX TT. It was putting down 528 at the wheels on the race tune. When I pulled the motor to go with bigger turbos, I went through the motor to freshen it up and it looked almost new with over 100k brutal miles on it. I put another 40k trouble free miles on it after that build. It never showed any signs of additional wear due to the turbo temps. I will say that I did run a turbo timer on it so it ran until the temps came down after it was shut off.

 

[lobsterman]

Why would Ford not use full synthetic over semi? You would think they are the experts. I am not saying one is better than the other because I know nothing about oil (semi vs full) but assume Ford would want us to use what would work best in our engines. There has to be a reason Ford wants us to use semi, anyone know?

 

[Torchy]

Why would Ford not use full synthetic over semi? You would think they are the experts. I am not saying one is better than the other because I know nothing about oil (semi vs full) but assume Ford would want us to use what would work best in our engines. There has to be a reason Ford wants us to use semi, anyone know?

Pretty easy on this one. Cost

 

[lobsterman]

Pretty easy on this one. Cost

Of course I thought of that, but they only are filling the engine once. Don’t they make $ every time we do an oil change using Motorcraft oil? I would think they would make a little more $ with us buying full synthetic. So for a few dollars Ford would rather us not use the best oil in our truck?

 

[djevox]

Of course I thought of that, but they only are filling the engine once. Don’t they make $ every time we do an oil change using Motorcraft oil? I would think they would make a little more $ with us buying full synthetic. So for a few dollars Ford would rather us not use the best oil in our truck?

Yes, that’s exactly what it means. Plus, they technically only need to make the engine last the warranty period. Let’s say they have produced 500,000 engines in the last 10 years and they save $0.50 on each unit. That’s still a massive savings at scale.

 

[jh225]

Pro tip: On yout first change, add this valve to your pan and will make future changes super easy!

Fumoto Valve

I get that the Fumoto valve makes changes easier and plenty of folks use them, but….. It’s a mechanical valve that can fail and then, you are pretty much fked. Will it fail? Very likely never, but I personally will deal with taking out a bolt and putting a bolt back in. New engines are very expensive.

 

[lobsterman]

Yes, that’s exactly what it means. Plus, they technically only need to make the engine last the warranty period. Let’s say they have produced 500,000 engines in the last 10 years and they save $0.50 on each unit. That’s still a massive savings at scale.

I guess so, doesn’t seem right though. Although I expect engines using semi synthetic have lasted many miles and many years. Right or wrong I have oil changes done at the dealer using what Ford recommends (semi synthetic) every 5000 miles. For a few $ more should I ask for full synthetic? Is it just better protection and peace of mind? Can’t imagine it would void my warranty? The two oil changes I had done, the maintenance minder was still over 50%. Also, I have the extended warranty of 8yrs and 125,000 miles and plan to keep the truck at least that long. I appreciate any insight and advice.

 

[djevox]

I guess so, doesn’t seem right though. Although I expect engines using semi synthetic have lasted many miles and many years. Right or wrong I have oil changes done at the dealer using what Ford recommends (semi synthetic) every 5000 miles. For a few $ more should I ask for full synthetic? Is it just better protection and peace of mind? Can’t imagine it would void my warranty? The two oil changes I had done, the maintenance minder was still over 50%. Also, I have the extended warranty of 8yrs and 125,000 miles and plan to keep the truck at least that long. I appreciate any insight and advice.

Since this thread started with a gen3 owner asking, I'm using the gen3 manual contents for 2021 as an example. While gen2 and gen3 have the same requirements (IIRC), Ford made manuals available online- which is why I'm sticking to that to illustrate my opinion.

The manual states if using 5w-30 to use oil that meets the WSS-M2C961-A1 spec, and WSS-M2C963-A1 for 0w-30.This means when looking for oil, you need to make sure the oil meets that spec. An example of this is Mobil1 5w-30, and this pdf shows the requirement is met for a couple of different types of Mobil1 5w-30. I'm not saying Mobil1 is the best, and I'm also not going to attempt to dig into a bunch of different brands- I feel that can be left to whoever's interested in a particular brand of oil. What this means is that as long as you meet spec and can prove it through lab testing (like Blackstone labs), you're in compliance for warranty purposes. The reason I mention lab testing is that every reputable oil manufacturer will tell you the same thing. Ford has removed from the manual the line mentioning that you can substitute an API SP oil for the Ford spec oil, but it's still there for the oil filter as seen in one of my screenshots.

The Act behind any oil that meets spec being covered under warranty is the Magnusson-Moss Act (this is a link to the final review). It's pretty long and has had a lot of rulings based on the Act. There are a couple of documents of note, however. This review of the Act shows in plain speech that aftermarket oil does not constitute a warranty being void (in the doc, search with CNTRL+F and the term 'maintenance'). Additionally, 16 CFR 700.10 states the same and talks about warranties in more detail.

All that being said, it is solely up to you how you what oil you want to use. Keep in mind that if you do your own oil changes and use Motorcraft oil, the burden will still be on you to prove you used the proper oil and filter and followed proper intervals if something goes to mediation/arbitration/court. If you don't want to deal with any of that, keep having a dealer or independent shop change the oil and keep your receipts.

 

[Oldfart]

I get that the Fumoto valve makes changes easier and plenty of folks use them, but….. It’s a mechanical valve that can fail and then, you are pretty much fked. Will it fail? Very likely never, but I personally will deal with taking out a bolt and putting a bolt back in. New engines are very expensive.

Using a Fumoto actually has NOTHING to do with saving you taking a bolt in and out. You'll see when you do your first oil change that the oil goes all over the frame cross member and spreads out to make a mess that will be dripping in your garage for a week and blowing around the engine and skids as you drive. Or you could spend 20 minutes with rags and paper towels reaching in up to your shoulder to clean up the oil, also great fun. Or you could put in a Fumoto valve which is a ball valve with a safety lock on it and have the oil go straight into a container. There is nothing to fail in a ball valve, other than if the whole valve fell out, which the drain bolt could do likewise if not installed properly.

 

[MRV99]

Been running full synthetic in every car since mid 90’s and will not change now.