I have a 2014 f-150 with a 5.0l. it takes 5w20 oil in the engine. I have fresh quarts of 5w30 in my garage. Can I use the 5w30 in the engine even thou its takes 5w20
If the engine has variable valve timing, you want to use the oil recommended by Ford.
Tester
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Yes, you can. Certain Mustangs with the same (basically) 5.0 engine (track pack Mustangs) have 5w50 as the recommended oil because they assume the cars will be driven on the track and subjected to high heat, rpm’s, etc. The engines themselves aren’t much different. Also, the 2014 f150 ecoboost engine uses 5w30. I’m going to assume Ford uses a similar vvt system between f150 engines.
Tester
Believe the 5.0 vvt is cam torque actuated rather than oil pressure. At any rate, I know guys who consistently use 5w30 in their 5.0’s without issue.
Here’s an idea for op. Buy 5w20, use 1 quart of 5w30 with each oil change until its gone!
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The 5.0 liter ford engine has cam phasers that are hydraulically controlled with oil pressure.
One for the intake camshafts and one for the exhaust camshafts.
The track pack 5.0 liter engine is tuned to use the 5W-50 viscosity oil. All other 5.0 liter engines require 5W-20 viscosity oil.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,2014,mustang,5.0l+v8,3298468,engine,oil,12138
Tester
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I’m sure that others here will have a better idea if you can get away with this or not, but I know that I’d personally never risk an engine worth thousands of dollars to avoid spending a few bucks on the specified oil.
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The general consensus is that for any modular engine (Coyote included) 5W-30 oil is perfectly acceptable.
If VVT were so sensitive to oil viscosity it wouldn’t work properly until the oil warmed up to near full temp because 5W-20 is so much thicker at mild room temps (like 35C) than even 20W-50 is at 100C.
I’m certainly not qualified to weigh in on oil requirements but gee whiz, how much is a case of old oil, $30? I have had new oil on the shelf that could not be used anymore and have just sent it to the recycling center. Maybe others buy more than I do but I rarely have more than a couple 5 qt bottles of any one weight on hand. Even Mobil 1 would be only $60 worth. Not worth the chance. Give it to your favorite mechanic or something.
I don’t think deviating oil viscosity from0-20 to 5-20 or even 5-20 to 10-40 is anywhere near as big a problem as eating soup from swollen cans or keeping a Mamba under your bed. A committee of individuals of varying opinions came to a compromise and put it on paper which is a far cry from finding the decision etched on stone at the foot of Mt Ararat.
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My truck will start throwing codes related to the exhaust cam phaser if you go about a month past the OLM showing 0%. Oh, you were serious about that 0%? 
This is how I know it is indeed procrastinated too far…
What engine? If it’s a 5.4, I’m not surprised.
And if it throws codes at 0%, I think I’d shorten the interval a bit. That’s just me, though.
Still like I said, $30 for a 5 qt. bottle of Mobil 1? $5-10,000 engine? Can’t hardly buy breakfast for two for that. Just trying to put the problem in perspective.
Did you really mean to say 5W20 is thicker than 20W50 at room temp? Do you think 35C is room temp? You keep your rooms at 95 F?
20W50 weight oil is 3 times thicker viscosity than 5W20 at 100 C.
The “pour point” or the temp below which the oil won’t pour out of a bottle is -24 C for 20W50 and -44 C for 5W20.
It’s the 4.2L.
It hasn’t yet thrown a code at 0%.
You have to be forgetful enough to do what I wrote.
Are we talking about an F-150? The Ford 4.2L was just a stroked 3.8L OHV it didn’t have variable valve timing.
I can’t understand where the confusion is?
Tester
