0W-30 a good choice for 4L SOHC ford V6?

[BlueOval]

Just curious. I have heard alot of people around here running 0w30 motor oil, my 4L SOHC ford V6 calls for 5w30, would it do any harm or would i see any benefits switching to a 0W-30?

 

[Thax]

I would just stick to 5w30 , the 4.0L SOHC is picky about its oil.

 

[volk06]

You could switch with no problems. The 0w would be beneficial during the Canadian winter. Might be a little bit more noisy at first until it gets warmed up but thats a maybe and not a problem.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

GF5/SN 0w or API SL or ACEA A3,B4? Both are very different lubes.

 

[4ever4d]

I would stick with the 5w30 in that engine. Ford had an abundant problem with timing chain guides in the 4.0 quite a few were replaced under warranty but many were not and were owner replaced with a kit. As mentioned the 4.0 is a little pickey about what oil is used in it. If you're concerned about cold start issues a quality synthetic would likely have a lower 40c vis than a conventional in the 5w30 grade,especially one with a higher VI

 

[tstep]

I have about 170k on a 2002 Explorer that has seen nothing but dino 5w30 except one time I used 5w-20 GTX by mistake, but it was winter and GTX is a thicker 5w-20. No engine troubles to date and seems to running well. I see no tangible reason to change this regiment, however I would not believe that a 0w30 w/ an HTHS similar to 3.0 would adversely affect a 4.0 either. Transmission though, that's another story.

 

[Oldwolf]

I ran 0W40 in my 4.0L SOHC Explorer with no problems. In hindsight 0W30 would have been just as good and probably better in terms of mpg.

 

[CATERHAM]

There is no problem using a 0w30 but there are not a lot of PCMO 0w30 oil choices in Canada.
Basically there two choices, PC and Irving (or Carquest).

We don't get M1 AFE 0w30 in Canada but you can make your own Mobil 0w30 with Mobil's blessing by blending 50/50 M1 AFE 0W-20 (MRV 10,400cP) and Mobil Delvac Elite 222 0W-30. The later is a heavy diesel oil but with a very low MRV @-40 of only 14,900cP.
This will give you a suitable 0w30 with the lowest extreme cold temp's performance available.

If you're not starting your truck at temp's much below -30C Pennzoil Platnium 5w30 is the lightest 5w30 oil available.