10W-30 in a Ford Duratec V6??

[LexAtlanta]

Happy Holidays everyone:

The 2003 Ford Escape in my signature has a slight oil leak/drip that was helped tremendously by running 5w30 Maxlife. It still leaks/drips a little bit.....drips in the driveway about the size of a dime some days. This occurs on days when it is driven a short distance....less then 10 miles in a day. If driven longer at highway speeds the drips don't seem to appear. Willl the engine sustain any damage if I run Valvoline MaxLife 10w30 this OCI? My hope is that the thicker oil will slow the drips down to almost nothing. The vehicle runs like a top and I don't want to do anything that will change that.

The engine has ~164,000 miles on it currently. I live in Atlanta so the temp here really never gets cold. Currently 31 degrees today but it will warm up to the 40s later. Annual mileage is low......less than 5,000 as it is driven by a college student. Current oil has been in there since January of this year. I'll be getting a sample for Blackstone when I change it on Friday. I am anxious to see how it looks after almost a year.

Thanks for the input.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

a 10w should not be an issue above freezing. Its not really "thicker" at temp, 10w30 may just have less VII polymers and may be somewhat more resistant to shearing and ring sticking when towing and driving with heavy loading. Or not

 

[barkingspider]

Leaks suck. It's possible that it will still drip using 10w30, but give it a try. Good luck

 

[rshaw125]

Have this engine in my Sable. Had to replace the oil pan gasket. Not fun.
Maxlife slowed the leak but never cured it. So new updated gasket was installed.

 

[JOD]

I think that engine will run well on pretty much anything, so if you want to try it, sure--but I doubt it will help. The seal swell agents in a High Mileage oil are really independent of viscosity, so my guess is that using any High Mileage oil, it's as good as it's going to get. If it's a valve cover or cam seal, then I'd just fix the leak. My 3.0 is newer and the only common leaks are at the cam seal. If it's the oil pan or timing cover, that's going to be a bear to fix.

 

[KCJeep]

While I'm sure your vehicle will run fine on the 10w30, the difference in thickness between the two in Maxlife flavor is miniscule. HTHS of 5w30 is 3.0, the 10w30 3.1, virtually nada.

If you really want thicker, try a HM that favors thickness like QS Defy or Pennzoil High Mileage.

 

[NMBurb02]

I think some are missing the point of why (I think) the OP is considering going with a 10W- over a 5w30. The drops of oil are primarily left after short trips, so stepping up to a 10W- will keep the oil thicker during those short trips, hopefully keeping it from leaking out. I would give it a shot.

 

[bigjl]

If this is the same 2.5 and 3.0 Duratec as we hot in the UK it was specced for 5w30 low HTHS oil.

I would go for a High Mileage oil in that spec if available.

Ford has used low HTHS lubes on all the petrol and diesel engines for many years. There have been the odd exception but not many.

I think we got the Escape over here and they called it a Maverick but is was not popular as it was a small SUV and the previous Maverick was a full size 4x4 with reliable Nissan diesel engines.

Never understood why Ford did that.

They are bargain wheels in the UK for that reason.

They are also on my "Export to Ghana" shortlist.

 

[TFB1]

If leak is worse when cold then slows as it heats, likely a gasket is expanding, I wouldn't expect the 10w30 to make enough difference to notice...