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motorcraft oil

C

compudude86

CEG'er
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
414
Location
Algonquin, IL
So, in my last engine, I used whatever was on sale at Autozone, and it looks like the last owner did too, it was all varnished up. My new engine suffers the same problem.

I normally pay $24-$25 for a jug of oil (quaker state, pennzoil, valvoline, castrol, etc) plus whatever filter they have as part of the deal. some days STP, sometimes its Fram, etc. I have read some of these oils increase this varnishing.

Well, I priced out oil at walmart, and found that I got a Motorcraft filter ($4), and a jug of Motorcraft synthetic blend oil ($18), and it turns out to be cheaper than the "third-party" oils and filters out there.

Why, if the OEM spec oil and filter costs less, do people continue to use the other stuff? (excluding Mobil 1 and other full synthetics, I get that) Why is OEM cheaper? I'm planning to use Motorcraft from here on out anyways...
 
check out bobstheoilguy.com. All of your answer can be found there.

As for the filter, iirc, its made by the same people that make Mobil1 and Puralator filters, its also highly rated. I have been using them for years now.

From some people here the varnish in the engine is from the use of conventional oil. Those who have used sythetic have very clean engines internally.
 
I use Mobil 1 just about every time I change (twice a year for winter and summer temps). As for filters, I try to use either Mobile or Motorcraft.

On the topic of "oil change specials" I try to wait until there is a Mobil 1 deal out and buy multiple changes during that special. If not, I'll go Royal Purple or Valvoline Full Synthetic. Mobil 1 specials usually come with a Mobil filter, or if they don't, will let you upgrade to a Mobil filter for 2-4 bucks. Yes, it will usually cost 35-40 bucks versus the 20-25 that you have been paying, but its worth it to me.

You get what you pay for
 
I have used Motorcraft 5w20 in two vehicles that I put over 100k on, and that's what we run in my wife's Explorer. I run it in the 3L now and for the cost I don't know how you can beat it. I do run Mobil1 in my VW and that typically costs twice as much as the Motorcraft oil changes, but it runs 10k miles.

BrApple said:
check out bobstheoilguy.com. All of your answer can be found there.
Click to expand...

I can't find anything bad on here about Motorcraft synth blend, lots of good though. I forgot about that site, lots of good info.
 
I've been using Motorcraft Syn Blend in my Cougar since I bought it in 2002, 4000-5000 mile intervals, with Motorcraft filters. It has crossed over 190,000 miles now. I put new valve cover gaskets on it last summer, and the heads and cams were immaculate; astonishingly so. No sludge whatsoever. It's all I use on my SVT Focus, too.
 
Cheap me

Cheap me

I run whatever the $15 oil change with filter place special gives me four times a year. 185,000 miles and just fine. Oil is pretty much oil for most of our needs. If you have increased the stress on the engine by horsepower increase or you just can't keep your foot out it you might want a bit more protection.

As for those who think that price is directly linked to 'quality' you are fooling youselves and emptying your wallet faster than need be. Major oil companies spend tremendous amount of YOUR dollars advertizing, trying hard to convince you that paying double is worth it. Don't think so? Then study marketing a bit. You will see that there are folks whose entire business' are built on convincing you to pay more for their item rather than someone elses.
 
The way I see it, there is reasoning for Motorcraft being cheaper. For starters, I am sure this Motorcraft oil is the same Motorcraft oil put in on the assembly line, the same Motorcraft oil changed at the stealership. This means Ford buys a LOT of oil from whatever source, in large volumes, some goes into 55-gal drums, some goes in to 5-qt jugs, some goes into qt containers. Ford also doesn't piss money away advertising this oil, aside from the "have your oil changed at your local Ford dealer" commercials, but they don't plaster logos all over racecars (aside from standard Ford advertising) and push it like Q, Penn, Castrol, etc do. The other point I figured, is that Ford doesn't rely solely on oil to make money. They make and sell cars, and parts. To them, its "we recommend motorcraft. It's our product. Our engineers spec it. The manual says it. You can put whatever you want in it though." And it just sits quietly on the shelf, without big yellow starbursts on the label (now with more snake oil added!), without all the heavy advertising, without the parts store deals. But, from here on out, I will be using Motorcraft. It is Ford oil, made for my Ford car (though I'm sure it works just fine in other brands).
 
RichR said:
IIRC Motorcraft Oil is made by Conoco/Phillips.
Click to expand...

Perhaps right now it is. I used to work for a major oil company that unfortunately was a victim of a takeover by another oil company. But when I did work for them we made motor oil for many companies that sold oil under their own brand name. GM's "GoodWrench" brand, John Deere, Massey Ferguson, Motorcraft, and a few others that I can't remember now. Like gasoline all conventional motor oil starts out the same. It's the additives that made each brand it's own. But like gasoline all of them have to meet a certain minimum quality level. That's why engines last longer then they did "back in the day". When my dad was growing up it was not uncommon to have to rebuild an engine before it got to 50K miles. Today on many cars you usually don't have to do anything to a car for the first 50K miles except change the oil and add gas!

Better control of the engine is the main reason. With carburators it was very easy to have a rich air/fuel mixture that would wash down the oil off the cylinder walls and lead to worn rings and cylinder bores, then the fuel would dilute the oil and cause more rapid wear of the bearings. With O2 sensors and computer controlled fuel injection engine life nearly doubled! Today 150K is common and 200K is not unusual with some car owners who value regular maintenance seeing 300 K!
 
where do you guys get oil filters. because walmart only has fram and i dont trust fram. i started getting napa filters.
i would like to try a mobil1 or motorcraft filter.
 
All of the Walmarts in my area carry Motorcraft filters, at least they did the last time I checked. It does seem they carry a little less of the Motorcraft stuff, but FL820S has always been there.

That's odd you can't get them there.
 
There is 5 walmarts in my area. 3 of them carry motorcraft filters. Don't know why. I did notice however that all walmarts I have been to stopped selling Motorcraft Synth 5w30 in the big 5 quart jugs. Only 5w20 is in the 5 quart jugs.
 
RichR said:
There is 5 walmarts in my area. 3 of them carry motorcraft filters. Don't know why. I did notice however that all walmarts I have been to stopped selling Motorcraft Synth 5w30 in the big 5 quart jugs. Only 5w20 is in the 5 quart jugs.
Click to expand...

That is because that is Fords new standard. Supposedly to increase fuel economy.
 
The Motorcraft oil is a great oil no doubt. It just used to be better priced and a super deal for the money. While is still is an excellent product, great synthetic oils that can offer more of a bang for the buck and available for the price. A great "cheap" performer is the Quaker State Ultimate Durability. Around me it's about $20 for a five quart jug and you can run an extended drain on it with a good filter.

Like others have stated waiting for one of your local parts store to run an oil deal works too. With all the coupon codes these days some great deals can be had. Also keep an eye out at places when they are clearing old stock/poor sellers. Everyone has an oil that they like and will have their personal preference. Only way you'll know the oil is doing the job and how long you can run it is by doing an analysis.
 
Synthetics? It depends

Synthetics? It depends

Synthetics fine oils, but extended oil changes? It depends. If you drive long enough to fully warm up the engine and oil, then by all means.

But if you do mostly short drives. Not a good idea. Plenty of combustion blowby adding acids and other nasty stuff. Additionally plenty of moisture that never burns off. For that type of driving, regular oil changes are the best and in my book, the cheaper the better.
 
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