How often do you service your AU engine?

[Sox]

Originally Posted by rowan194

Started it up today after a couple of days sitting idle and the lifters clattered like hell for a second or two. :-\ Usually it's a lighter ticking after driving for some time. I don't think I've ever heard a noisy clatter at startup with this car.

The thicker oil is more to lessen leaks in old engines, right? I thought that my engine was burning a bit of oil, but I checked just before I changed it and the level hasn't dropped. So should I stick with something thinner to be a bit more friendly to the lifters and the engine overall? I was looking at Magnatec Fuel Saver 5W-30, is that too thin for a series 3 I6?

It helps to know the service history and usage.

A well maintained engine can go for several 100,000k's without any undue wear, hence can still use the grade of oil recommended from the start.

Engines with infrequent oil changes and a constant hard life can show a lot of wear after just 100,000k and might need a slightly thicker grade to take up clearances which have grown.

Something else to consider is what part of OZ you live, north or south.
If you were towards the top end it probably wouldn't hurt to go up to the next grade.
OTOH, if you were in Tas, it would probably be sensible to use whatever was recommended by Ford for pretty much all of it's life.

Personally, I wouldn't stray too far away from standard no matter what.