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Amsoil or Motorcraft Engine Oil?

20K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  srjd 
#1 ·
What Amsoil oil are you using? I'm debating on using the older 15w-40 marine stuff b/c my truck is deleted or the 5w-40 cj-4 compliant. I also change the oil earlier than recommended by factory so the truck has always had the motorcraft 15w-40 five gallon jugs from Walmart and filter. $70 vs $170(amsoil).

I was just wondering what people are using and I did a few searches but didn't come up with a previous thread on this.
 
#2 ·
I run Rotella T6 5w40
 
#4 ·
Damn near Apple's and oranges.. well, maybe grapefruit and oranges...

Motorcraft is a blend.. now, it 'sposedly does have anti frothing agent that others don't, and it was 'sposedly formulated for these trucks, but Blackstone doesn't lie.. it's never liked the motorcraft as much as it's liked the shell rotella t6...

Amsoil is the rolls royce of oil... There are some that rival it, but it's not beat... Filters fail long before the oil breaks down. Its detergents suspend as good as anything available.. it's formula clings enough but not too much.... It costs 3x other syn oils and 4x blends and dino oil... Like I said, it will outlast filters...

I've not ran amsoil in my rig, but do in my boat... My boat digs the crap out of it. I run t6 and haven't had an issue...

But back to those filters... You'll be needing to change those just as often... Amsoil shines in its long life span, but early on is comparable to motorcraft or even shell... So, my point is- pick something qualified that fits your application, and stay on the schedule, and you'll be just as well off as someone who uses the boutique stuff...
 
#6 · (Edited)
My pick would be NEITHER of the two choices in the thread title. My pick would be Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 synthetic and change it every 5k miles. My other choice would be Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5W-40 synthetic. I had an 08 Lariat and used the Mobil 1 in it. I later sold that truck after getting a BMW X5 diesel SUV. I love my BMW diesels (also have a 535d) but I kinda miss that truck. It's just a matter of time before I pick up a newer Lariat with the 6.7.

I wouldn't go with the Motorcraft stuff based on the UOA data from Blackstone Labs. I'm a former VW TDI (diesel) owner and I know of many TDI owners who have used Amsoil. Many of them also have had UOAs done by Blackstone. The general consensus is that TDI owners who used to swear by Amsoil years ago now swear AT it. I absolutely will not use Amsoil in any of my diesels.

My pick for 08 and newer PowerStrokes is Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 synthetic.

Good luck.
 
#7 ·
I can't justify spending that much on oil... I generally change my oil 3 times a year, twice for the spring/fall temp changes and once in the middle of summer when I do most of my driving. T6 is expensive enough, but it works great and my truck loves it. I usually put t5 15w40 for my mid summer change just because it is a bit cheaper and in the hot weather it works just fine.

I would never run an extended life oil in my truck. It isn't worth the trouble you will run into, the 6.4 has enough problems with lubrication. The least we can do is keep clean oil in it and keep filters good.
 
#10 ·
Yah, I run it because its in my truck such a short time before I have to do a winter change that it doesn't really matter. That oil is only in there for about 2.5-3k miles before winter hits. But I don't want to run the winter oil up over 5k miles because of the excessive idling I have to do during the winter.


I am deleted as well, that being said I still change oil between 4-5k miles. It is a small price to pay when you consider how expensive it is just to pull a valve cover... If I were stock I would be doing oil changes ever 2500 miles at least.
 
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#12 ·
I am an Amsoil dealer and have been for over a decade. I am deleted and was thinking about running the Marine grade Amsoil 15w-40 since anyone at Amsoil will tell you that is their best oil. Check the TBN # vs others. The newer 15w-40 that is cj-4 compliant is not as good in my opinion and not worth the money for as often as I change the oil.

I was thinking about doing the Amsoil bypass filtration system and running the older 15w-40 and just sending samples back to them to see when I need to change it. I would like to try a 5w-40 in the winter . . . how do the people running 5w-40 like it? Did you notice a difference in engine smoothness, cold start warm up times, fuel mileage, etc?
 
#13 ·
Well, I ended up ordering the Marine 15w-40 (20 quarts) and the bypass kit (BMK-21) along with all the accessories to retrofit it. I also bought the differential fluids for the front (75w-90Severe Gear) and the rear (75w-140). I ordered the transmission fluid while I was at it (20 quarts) and am going to order the antifreeze later in the year. I looking at fully deleting the EGR also since it is only turned off in the tune currently and the coolers are still there.
 
#14 ·
My parents run the Amsoil 5w-30 in our 6.0 and I run the 15w-30HD in my 6.4. Never had a problem. Parents are going on 78K miles without an oil change and I'm coming up on 33K. My parents also have a by-pass system, I don't yet.

We have been using and selling Amsoil for over 20 years now in everything we own and have had ZERO problems. I had a 87 K5 Blazer that when we I had the engine beefed up the shop said they could still see the origional hone marks in the cylinders. That truck had 200K miles on it and had gone many times on 60-80K oil change.
 
#15 ·
I just don't trust the 6.4 during the winter to hold up the oil. There is always some form of wet stacking when you have to idle to get/keep temp... My truck always ran with motorcraft oil and never had problems. I am actually starting to notice now (2nd fill with shell oil) the typewriter noise after switching to t6. The truck runs fine, quiet as ever. It is the damn tick that throws me off, and it is not normal for my truck.(others may be different...)

I don't care if it is normal or not, it isn't normal on my truck. I will try Mobil 1 and see how that runs in the truck (seems to do really well for a lot of people around here especially during winter.). I will be pulling my motor apart next summer and doing a full build so we will see what wear there is. My truck was stock until the 99k mark, so I have been deleted for 9560 miles. I don't think t6 is a bad oil by any means despite one of the topics that was just started in the 6.4 forum. It tends to run well in 6.0s where I live. But most of the guys with 6.0's are having stiction issues after running it for 60k+ miles. I don't think it is entirely the oils fault, but considering my truck doesn't seem as happy with it... I am going to try something new. Your results may vary...
 
#16 ·
The problem comes into play when you have been using conventional oil for a number of miles on a mechanical instrument like a transmission, engine, differential etc and you decide to switch to a full synthetic lubrication. The deposits that have accumulated over time are swept away and the gaps left behind can cause chatter, knocks, slippage, blowby, etc . . . The main thing you need to always maintain is the quality of your oil. You can use whatever oil you deem "good" but if you don't change it or check the quality of it once in a while then even the best of oils will cause failure.
Using an external filter/bypass kit with a petcochk for oil sampling is the best route. I would install a bypass kit before any mod to a diesel. People spend thousands on cold air kits, tuners, exhausts, tires, rims, stereos, yet neglect the most important aspect of a vehicle . . . the engine and its blood. What happens to a human when their kidneys(filters) aren't working well?

When I was using motorcraft the oil was changed every 3k miles. I am driving a lot of miles now and the savings of using Amsoil with a bypass kit installed will be great.
 
#17 ·
Ran mc for over 70k miles. Went avg 10k miles on each change. Blackstone tests on every one of them. They suggested to go further but im good at 10k. Switched to rotella cuz my local wally worlds were sold out of mc. So far rotella stinks A LOT worse out of the ccv.
 
#18 ·
Ran motorcraft 15W40 in my deleted 6.4 and it consistently tested out good for 7500-8000 miles. Tried T6 rotella one time before I deleted and it was not a good UOA so I switched back to Motorcraft. IMO there is 0 point in paying for a synthetic oil when the motorcraft does an excellent job for a fraction of the cost. It also comes in 5 qt jugs which was a bonus for me.
 
#19 ·
#22 ·
I haven't had it analyzed yet but i had rough cold starts and stiction with the dino oils, with the champion it has improved tremendously no stiction and better cold starts .
 
#24 ·
Tried t6 once and got a bad result from Blackstone. Logged over 200k (km) with Mobil 0w40 with no issues I run it year round. Truck loves it in the cold months
 
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