What type of motor oil should I use?

I am driving a 1998 Windstar with 312000 Kilometers on it! Runs great, but with that much mileage, can I protect the engine better by using a special oil?What type of motor oil should I use?
Well this is an interesting question...





I am a big believer in synthetic oil. But many people do not think it is worth the money. My thought is, if there is some catastrophic failure like the oil pump breaking the synthetic oil may save your engine if you have to continue driving it to get to safe place to stop.





But synthetic oil is way more expensive. There are also synthetic blends which are kind of in the middle price wise. The other issue with some synthetics is that they tend to leak more than conventional oils so if you have an oil pan leak lets say, which is tiny, it might be worse.





I have a high mileage car also, One of our cars is a 1995 Saturn with 125000 miles which is not as much as your Windstar which is like 193000 miles. I use synthetic and have no problems. I guess if you have no leaks I would use synthetic in the same weight range as recommended by Ford. Just in case something breaks in the engine it might save you.





Another option is the so call high mileage oils which are out there now. They are supposed to increase performance and minimize wear on high mileage cars. I have no idea if they work any better I guess they control oil consumption better. You did not say if you are using oil between changes or how much. If you are having to add oil then don't go with synthetic I would use a high mileage oil.





The pro and con on synthetic oils is being debated and they do cost more. I like them because of the extra safety factor of their increased film strength and temperature stability. But some very knowledgeable folks say conventional oil is just as good and cheaper!What type of motor oil should I use?
I would just use a good brand of crude base oil and change it and the filter at whatever the equivalent of 3000 miles would be. Change the air filter every 3 or 4 oil changes too. I've had many high mileage vehicles and never had a lubrication related failure.