Anyone Switch to Full Synthetic Oil?

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Honeybadger_Zero

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Mobil 1. Buy at Costco when they have a 10$ off sale like right now. Mobil 1 & Mobil oil filter from 5k miles on and I won’t look back. I have run Mobil in every ICE I have ever owned other than my diesel Jetta that required special Castrol Full Synthetic. Former Porsche Tech, and those were filled from the factory with Mobil… it works. And is readily available anywhere.
 

Scottx

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I Only use redline oil. Oil is cheap,
Engines , transmissions, rears, not so much. ( my 14 gt500 had very notchy shifting and hard to get into gears below 50*,dumped factory fill replaced with redline mtl, problem GONE)Same base stock (esters I believe as used in jet engines, racer Doug ripple at Le Mans had engine overheat big time. Did some repairs and kept on. He was amazed bearing’s weren’t wiped. All big time racers use it no matter what decals on car. But to each their own.
 

lobsterman

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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.
Wow, you put a lot of work in your response. Appreciate all the info.
 

Oldfart

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Most kits on Amazon come with a hose to attach to the valve so you can drain directly into your oil drain bucket. And if you already have the valve I’m sure you can Google and find a hose in 5 minutes or less so you don’t make a mess.
I got mine direct from Fumoto 2 years ago and they didn't offer a hose with it, it did come with the plastic fitting to attach the hose to. I got the new FX which is position adjustable. I think it was $2 at the hardware store to get 2 foot of clear hose, works great.
 
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Macdaddy

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I’ve always used full syn for years now. But it’s also an easy choice for me when dealer does free oil changes for the life of my extended warranty. They only charge me an extra $50 to go full synthetic. I will be out of my manufacturer’s warranty 36 month 36k miles at 2 yrs 2 months. So happy to spend $50 cause I’m driving this baby to my 100k mile warranty and beyond and I think full syn will get me there every 4500+ miles.
 

sixshooter_45

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Was using Penzoil but then switched to Costco Kirkland brand oil and always use the Motorcraft FL-500S oil filter no issues and not using any oil at all.

I've been changing it every 5,000 miles and @ 34,057 miles currently.

Truck right now runs strong with no issues, still love it.
 

Oldfart

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So, if Ford tested this with semi synthetic, builds, ships, and services with semi synthetic…. I would think the engine is meant to run and survive on it. I would not run anything different and risk voiding the needed warranty.
If you ask a Ford Dealer to use full synthetic at an oil change, they will happily do it. They will just charge you more.
 
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