Oil Catch Can. Yes or No?

[TORQUERULES]

Report back what? I don't see how you could possibly evaluate if that oil has been better , worse or no change. the job of oil is to protect the engine from friction and wear. There is no way to properly evaluate this without tearing down the engine and inspect it.

I just want to report on what the catch can contents look like. Since this is the catch can thread and all. Looking at oil dilution (fuel). Not gonna do any internet jockey oil analysis, etc.

Right now I have mostly moisture, but it's tainted with a little fuel. Mostly smell. Won't burn. Since going to 5w40 Pennzoil Platinum Euro I see very little dilution. But, I thought since a truck application can be comperable to a high performance application due to how the engine is worked, trying what Ford recommended for the RS would be a good experiment. The thin oil our Rangers originally call for is mostly for fuel mileage gains IMHO.

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[rcairflr]

The thin oil our Rangers originally call for is mostly for fuel mileage gains IMHO.

Yes, for fuel mileage gains, but why do they get better fuel economy? See below for what I found to answer this question:


Engines are Built to Use a Certain Viscosity of Motor Oil
Today’s advanced engines are built with much tighter tolerances than their predecessors. The clearances between the crankshaft journals and main bearings are tighter, for one. This is purposely done to allow modern engines to use lower-viscosity motor oil, like 0W-20 and even 0W-16.

Lower-viscosity oils reduce internal friction since they flow more easily than higher-viscosity oils, improving fuel economy.

 

[rcairflr]

The thin oil our Rangers originally call for is mostly for fuel mileage gains IMHO.

Assuming my post above is correct, and lower viscosity oils actually reduce friction. Then what do you expect to accomplish? Just what is in the catch can?
Since I am no expert on engine friction and wear, I would never change the oil the manufacturer calls for.

 

[dtech]

You can read a bit on viscosity and what a wide range means to the oil - it's done with extenders that can sometimes have negative impact on the effectiveness of the oil.

https://syntheticlubricants.ca/the-thick-thin-of-viscosity/

 

[puckdodger]

I wouldn't put 5w50 in a stock Ranger.

me neither. I trust the engineers to occasionally get some things correct, oil viscosity being one of them.

 

[Zvedza]

fwiw, the manual on the Lightning says to use 5w-20, been using 5w-30 for roughly 100k miles.
Then again, thats 2004, dunno if the tolerances for the 2.3 are tighter.
Running 0w-30 in the ranger for about 7.5k miles. Always figured the lower weight helps protect the engine at cold start better.

5W-50 seems high to me, only thing i had that used that was a '12 gt500. The hellcat motors use 0w-40.
My bike uses 10w-40 per factory and its noisy for a bit before quieting down.

 

[dtech]

Questionable as to whether it will actually harm anything with the exception of fuel economy, but doubtful that there are any benefits. Even though an engine may have been originally designed many yrs back - engineers do make changes geared to improve mpgs in areas like oil pump size and capabilities, reduced oil feed passages and bearing passages, and you also have relatively small bore sizes for stuff like the CVVT cams.
I'd feel comfortable with a 5w-40 but can't see any good reason to go to a higher weight.

 

[Dgc333]

FWIW, the 2.3 Ecoboost in the Mustang recommends 5w-50 all the time when you order the High Performance Package (HPP) and the standard 2.3 Ecoboost recommends 5w-50 when you track the car otherwise it recommends 5w-30. Using 5w-40 is not going to be detrimental to your engine and will provide extra protection if you drive hard or tow regularly but you may see a mileage reduction.

The reason for the different viscosities has to do with the expected usage not differences in how the engine was manufactured. An engine that spends a lot of time at the upper rpm range at or near WOT requires more protection hence the recommendation for the 5w-50 oil by Ford.

All oils thin out as they get hotter. With a multi viscosity oil the 5w represents the viscosity of the oil at -25C. The second number represents the viscosity of the oil at 100C. This does not mean that a 5w-30 gets thicker at 100C, rather it only thins out to what a straight 30 weight would be at 100C. They get this multi viscosity rating by the additives used in the oil. The additive has a unique characteristic that when cold the molecules cure up into a ball and when hot they uncurl into a string. This is how the oil is prevented from thinning out more than the second number rating when hot. The down side to the wide viscosity range oils like 5w-50 is it takes more additives to get the rating and these additives break down with use resulting in a 5w-50 acting like a 5w-30 over time. If your engine needed the 50 rating for protection you would need to change the oil more often.

 

[MikeyB]

Agreed to stay with what's recommended for the Ranger 2.3
My truck prior to the Ranger was a '18 Nissan Titan with a Very stout 5.6 that called for 0W20 for the new gen Titans. Prior year 5.6 (2015 and older, they skipped the 2016 model year) called for 5W30 to be used in them.
Model years 17,18 and even some 2019's had some engines go bad and there was concern that the thinner oil contributed to the engines knocking but it turned out Nissan had some bad Aluminum blocks not honed properly in the bores.
5W30 is a very stout oil IMHO and I feel comfortable using this in the 2.3
And I didn't blink an eye having to use 0W20 in the 5.6
Just my 2c

 

[Dr3wDrop]

I contacted CFM about my crank case vent spitting a ton of oil and they told me to send it in and they would tighten up the internals. They had it for a week and sent it back. I’ll put another 1,000 miles on it and check the sweat band and give them an update if it helped.

 

[kieefer]

https://www.stratifiedauto.com/blog/

 

[Dr3wDrop]

Two months and 1,500 miles worth of yuckyness.

 

[Josebd]

Two months and 1,500 miles worth of yuckyness.

Has your catch can stopped the level rising on oil dipstick?

 

[Dr3wDrop]

Has your catch can stopped the level rising on oil dipstick?

I think it has been to early to tell still.
I am impressed how much stuff the can collects though. The slimy middle layer is what really gets me...

 

[Dr3wDrop]

Update on my crank breather. Put another 2k miles on since CFM modified the vent and it is still spitting a ton of oil. Installed a new sweat band today.

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