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Sunday, September 21, 2014

What is FoMoCo Doing?

I guess I am slowly sliding into Curmudgeon territory. Why on God's green earth does a 302 CID V-8 engine now take EIGHT QUARTS OF OIL! 

In a weird weight too. Back in the day it was 10W-30 or 10W-40. Five quarts. 

I'm getting old. 


 New happy ride. 302 CID V-8.



 Old happy ride. With FIVE QUARTS of oil.302 CID V-8. AND it used to be Motorcraft oil filter FL-1A for pretty much all V-8 engines.

8 comments:

  1. 5 quarts of 30wt. would do back in the day, so what's changed? My LS is 242CI and takes 6 of some special weight. Asinine.

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  2. 5 quarts of 30 wt. would do. My LS 242CI takes 6 of some stupid special weight. Asinine.

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  3. Well, for one thing, it's physically a much larger engine, with a lot more surface area that oil gets slung on to, and takes a while to drain back in the pan.

    Does it have an oil cooler?

    Add a couple of quarts for the cooler and lines.

    Does it have a well baffled pan to prevent oil starvation in hard cornering?

    Add another quart for that.

    I've had older American Iron that took TEN quarts after I plumbed in an oil cooler and remote filter.

    Look at it this way......there's a lot more oil, so it holds a lot more dirt, allowing you extended drain intervals.......

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  4. That is strange, taking 8 vs. 5. My GMC Z71 pickup takes six quarts, I maintain using 5 and adding two STP Oil Treatments, which extends the life of the engine for about the same cost as that 6th quart.

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  5. The purpose of engine oil is to 1) Lubricate 2) Keep the engine in the correct operating temperature range.
    When the original 5 liter small block evolved from the 3.6 liter (221 cu in) it had a service life expectancy of about 100,000 miles under normal use.
    The current 5 liter is a completely different engine based on the Modular design created in 1990.
    Ford took the lessons learned from old engine design flaws to improve efficiency and reliability. The result is an engine that has a service life expectancy of well over 250,000 miles.

    That is why your modern 302 uses 8 qt of oil.

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  6. Hey at least it doesn't take as much oil as a Bugatti Veyron. Estimates on that beauty run approx. 11 gallons.

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