If you read back through my engine thread you will see that they concluded the PRIMARY cause of the engine failure was a torn seal. The seal allowed contamination of the pan, burning of oil, failure of the pump and ultimately failure of the engine.

No where did they ever indicate it was the quality of the oil.

I'll read your article today Chris

CaFordDude said:

If you read back through my engine thread you will see that they concluded the PRIMARY cause of the engine failure was a torn seal. The seal allowed contamination of the pan, burning of oil, failure of the pump and ultimately failure of the engine.

No where did they ever indicate it was the quality of the oil.

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Sorry, I kept along with that thread and thought that at the end they were inconclusive about the cause. I don't recall reading about a torn seal. That being said-- what caused the torn seal?

It was a factory defect according to them. Basically they said the engine WAS going to fail the only variable was when. They said Ford had sent out a memo or something or other regarding the issue but never any sort of recall or anything.

Sorry it was a small blurb in my engine thread.

CaFordDude said:

Well I talked to the service writer again today. Unfortunately no 6.4 in my F150's future.

She told me after tearing it down they found a tear in some sort of seal or gasket. That tear caused the engine to burn oil and subsequently kill the engine.

Seal fail first or oil pump fail first? Chicken or the egg was her response. Couldn't tell which went first but they both went causing failure.

Ford is picking up the tab for the engine and hopefully part of my rental car.

The game plan was finishing pulling the engine out today (Friday). New engine should be here this weekend and they hope to have me back in my truck on Tuesday..WOOHOO.

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Ah I think I did read that post, but just overlooked it as being a key detail.

Yeah I didnt remember anything about a seal either.

Sorry that was my bad on that part

Motorcraft 5w20 in the F150 and Escape (both under warranty)

And Castrol syntec in the Mustang.

WalMart SuperTech 10w-30 Full Synthetic in the Ford
WalMart SuperTech HD 30 Conventional in the 1975 Chevrolet

When I do the new motor in the 1987 GMC, I'm doin 15w-40 Rotella T Conventional and 5w-40 Synthetic Rotella T after it's broken in...


And the best article I know of about oil is here: http://www.boss302.com/oil.htm

Skandocious said:

Isn't QS one of the junkier/cheaper oils?

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Might be, but I don't leave it in there very long - about 3000 miles or so.

Can't be too bad - got 214k on the motor and it isn't burning any.

Bricks said:

Might be, but I don't leave it in there very long - about 3000 miles or so.

Can't be too bad - got 214k on the motor and it isn't burning any.

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Which semi makes the point I was making earlier about 'good oils' vs. 'bad oils.'

I will weigh in on the 'good oil bad oil' thing now.

For example, take Rotella T 15w-40 Conventional Motor Oil and SuperTech 15w-40 Universal Diesel Motor Oil.

Wal Mart's supplier uses a generic additive package and adds it to the petroleum.

Shell uses a Shell Patented additive package and adds it to the petroleum.

The difference is similar to store brand ketchup vs Heinz.

Same tomatoes. The spices may taste a little different, but it's basically the same.

Since API licensing, I don't think there is such a thing as a bad oil if its API certified. Some are just better than others. I use Motorcraft or Chevron Delo in the Power Stroke. Havoline in everything else including my bikes.

Since I have engaged in about a 1000 of these threads over the years, the last post was a short answer.

The long of it is this. Its very hard to determine the value of an oil based on a long list of things. Will the cheapest oil work very well for someone who never lets his oil change go past 2900 miles? Absoluetly, the person would be foolish to waste money on an overpriced add pack that offers little value to maintaining his already clean engine. Would a person who bought a higher mileage vehicle that was a little neglected using a much more prolific add pack as far as cleaning a gunked up motor? Absolutely, he saved some big money on buying a used vehicle and is taking advantage of technology to make his investment go even further. Would a person running (FE motors really fit the bill here) and older tech engine that the new emissions requirements in API certs left behind, invest in a quality botique oil ? Again yes, he spent time and money building a hotrod 390, why would you shorten its lifespan by running an inferrior "new" oil in it? I got some real good advice years ago that I take to heart. Find an oil you like and stick with it. Many knowingly or not hold this same feeling, and will defend their brand to the death. In my choice as far as Harleys are concerned, I chose havoline due to the excellent oil writeup I read written by Donnie Peterson from Canada years ago. Oil analysis of virgin oil of a bunch of automotive oils showed the ppms of different addatives in each blend of oil. Havoline was close enough for me being I never run oil in my bikes past 1000 miles. The money I save over buying HD oil I can change it almost 4 times to 1 vs. HD oil. Just some things to consider when choosing an oil.

mrxlh said:

Since I have engaged......... Just some things to consider when choosing an oil.

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Well said!

pennzoil. and one thing i noticed a few years ago, Q.S. and pennzoil are both based out of the same place, i think shell owns them both, way back in the day they were seperate, pennzoil was based out of p.a. and im uncertian of Q.S. origin, while ive heard alot of bad press about Q.S. im not sure how something (supposedly) so bad would still be around, any oil let go unchanged for too long will have sludge issues, esp if the motor is driven short distances and not fully warmed up. ive been using the full synthetic pennzoil for about 2 years now. ive always ran this brand, probly cause thats what dad used, right or wrong, how many of us do that? theres alot of good brands out there, pick one, stick with it, keep up on maintenence and you should be fine. and dont forget the filter too.

Royal Purple gets their hands slapped.

Royal Purple was called on the carpet for some "questionable" advertising.

Truth in Advertising: BP v. Royal Purple

from the article:

Royal Purple Ltd. was black and blue after BP Lubricants USA took it to task over advertising claims for its synthetic motor oil, finding a receptive audience in the advertising industry’s self-regulatory forum.

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Royal Purple also voluntarily agreed to discontinue the claims, “most advanced,” “unsurpassed performance” and “unparalleled performance,” steps the NAD said were necessary and proper to avoid confusion in the marketplace.

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Shell Rotella T 15w40, my diesels approaching the half million mile mark on Rotella with no signs of a needed rebuild (knock on wood), i like it's high zinc content (as much as the government will allow), i would never switch, Delo is good too, i just prefer Rotella myself, to each their own.

Valvoline 10W40