1999 Mercury Mystique, need to choose an oil

[45ACP]

Well it seems i may be "coming into" a 1999 Mercury Mystique, and that CRX may be on hold. The car has sat around for a bit (few months or more) and i dont know the oil that was in there, maintenance history, etc. When i figure out how and in a month or so when i get around to it i will be changing the oil.

I need to decide whether to use Supertech 5W-20, Supertech 5W-30, Mobil 1 AFE 0W-30, or something else. This is primarily a short-tripper, but it is down here in Dallas.

Which oil would you go with? Its literally a sat-around, "should be ok" condition car that will start seeing short-trip and occasional highway use (though i thought it wasnt supposed to matter if you drove around town or on highway all day) and will see a lot of stop-and-go.

Not sure is 5W-30, 0W-30, or 5W-30 is the right choice here. Also, i cant change it right away, so whatever was "in there" will stay "in there" until Novemmber.

Oil?

 

[jstutz]

I have the exact same car, i have run several 5w30s in it and now have valvoline 5w20. I cant tell a difference between any of them and the gas mileage between the different weights is immeasurable. It seems to be very easy on oil. I drive a lot of highway miles as well as a lot of short trips and i have been doing 6 to 8k mile oil changes with a filter change every other. I dont think the car will notice a difference running any of the oils you listed. Once my dino is used up i will be putting it on the 10K with PP and a filter change every 20K with a P1.

 

[chubbs1]

I would use the Supertech 5w30 or any other 5w30 you choose. 0w30 is fine as well though not needed for you in that climate, but you can definitely use it. I would probably use conventional, though, the choice is totally yours.

Pennzoil prides itself on its cleaning ability...may be a good choice for the first few runs. I know for a fact PU is a great cleaner.

 

[45ACP]

I might give Castrol Edge 5W-20 from Walmart a shot? It will be hard to choose between that and PP/PU (need to scope out my Walmart.) If it runs that good on 5W-20, mr. Stutz, and you seem to indicate you use a conventional, i wonder what it will do on Edge! (Valvoline.. ill see what they have, maybe ill use Nextgen 5W-20, the energy-conserving non-Maxlife one. So many fine details to choose from!)

jstutz, that Valvoline you use, does it have the "Energy Conserving" donut on it? And is this a 4 quart or 5 quart engine? I might get Supertech filter. Is it easy to get to, or is changing the oil/filter a PITA on this car?

I will know more about this car in a few hours but it should be a used, no problems, car. Thinking of synthetic 5W-20 if not conventional 5W-20.. tempted to use Edge. Oh boy!

Or M1 0W-20 AFE............................... scared of 0W here for 0W-20. Should i be?

 

[eljefino]

If it's a V6, you don't say, you want to overfill it by half a quart. They suffer oil starvation when cornering.

It's probably a zetec I4 though.

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
If it's a V6, you don't say, you want to overfill it by half a quart. They suffer oil starvation when cornering.

It's probably a zetec I4 though.


Ill know that when i see the car.

Im debating between Castrol Edge 5W-20, Valvoline nextgen (maxlife or not, i dont know) 5W-20, and... Supertech 5W-20???

 

[addyguy]

In 1999, Ford called for 5W-30 in their engines, not 5W-20. A much older, higher-mileage car may consume a lot more of a thinner oil, so stick to 30-weights.

I'd do a couple of short runs with an inexpensive 5W-30 of your choice to start and make sure any dirt or sludge is cleaned out.

 

[gpshumway]

My 2.5l V6 Mystique was recently totaled by an inattentive driver with 182k miles on it. See the below thread for my UOAs and other advice. Make sure you check out Contour.org.

Since the car is 12+ years old, a high mileage oil like Maxlife is probably the best choice.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...456#Post2206456

 

[OldCowboy]

If this is a short-tripper, you'll want to keep the OCIs short - say 4000-5000 miles. With short OCIs, you will see virtually no benefit from synthetic oils. Any name brand conventional 5W-30 will do the job.

 

[45ACP]

Well its a three-way race!!! Shall I go:

1) Supertech 5W-30 ($11?)
2) NextGen 5W-30 ($25?)
3) (something else)

It appears 5W30 is good and i dont need to be going Edge 5W-20.. perhaps 5W-20 might not be a good choice for this car.

I wonder if my car has an OP gauge. Still havent seen the car, its literally a car ive never had nor seen (in person) that someone is GIVING me. So, i wonder if Supertech is ok....

Also, where is the filter, and is it a PITA. ?

 

[daves87rs]

Important question-how many miles?

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Important question-how many miles?


I do not yet know, sir. It is truly an unknown! What i know abotu the car is that it has remained stationery for a few months, maybe as many as six. I will be putting some new gas in it (as i do expect it to fire right up.) I will check the oil LEVEL when it gets here, it may be driven to me, a friend is dropping it off. The car probably has a crack in the windshield, but no mechanical problems were mentioned.

I do not know the condition of the car.
The fresh gas i put in will be the newest fluid it has received in awhile.
I should check the tire inflation.
I should top up the ATF. perhaps even maybe motor oil, i can not yet do an oil change if i wanted to (no tools, etc. Or money, for that, at this time.)
It could be "high mileage" or "normal mileage," though i dont exactly expect "low mileage." If it is, i will say so!
The oil wil probably be black and whatever oil was in there, perhaps a year ago.
The car will be driven to me on the highway and will probably run fine, whatever is in there will be all warmed up (i will put in more gas.)

I see the logic in the 30-weight oil. I will either go Castrol Edge, Supertech, or Nextgen hi-mi in the 30. I dont know if it is the "SVT" (probably not) or the I4 or the V6. I will know when i see it.

Ill also check out the dipstick. For some reason, a 99 Mystique doesnt seem exactly "photo worthy." Ill know more right when i see it.

So far we agree the 30 is probably best, conventional... which one lol?

 

[MuzzleFlash40]

Quaker state high mileage is $14.xx at walmart . It's a great oil for a cheap price.

 

[hominid7]

Supertech 5w30 or any 5w30 you can find on sale gets my vote.

 

[eljefino]

The filter for the zetec (at least my 97) is a PF16 size, big can, and it is a pain.

 

[addyguy]

Definetly the Supertech 5W-30, and a couple aof short 2-3k changes to clean up after neglect.

 

[merdog]

You might want to ck out PYB in the 5w-30. 14 bucks at wally world.

 

[Whimsey]

I have a 1996 Contour, the Mystique's sibling. It has the 4 cyl Zetec 4, with the 5 sp manual. It's been a great car. Doesn't burn or leak any oil. This engine was spec'd for 5W-30 and even after Ford back spec'd older engines for 5W-20 they did not back spec this one for many years. It's now back spec'd for 5W-20 but I stick with 5W-30. I've run Motorcraft 5W-30 for the first 3,000 miles then went with Mobil 1 5W-30. Experimented with Castrol Syntec 5W-50, big mistake!! Went back to Mobil 1 5W-30 then to Schaeffer's Blend 5W-30. Been running the Schaeffers for approximately 8,000 +++ OCI's. This is a mix of local and many vacation miles. Looking in the oil fill in the valve cover the cam and head looks brand new, no varnish or build up. I also run LC 20 in the oil and FP 60 in the gas. I only put about 3,000 this year on the oil, split between vacation and work(approx 10+ miles each way) this year. I plan to run this oil and Mobil 1 filter from NJ to Key West this coming year. By the time next fall comes I'll have 8,000+ miles on it. The majority of the additional miles will be vacation highway miles.

In Texas I'd continue to use 5W-30 for the Zetec or the 2.5 6. I have no problem running 5W-20 in my 2002 4.6 F150, but it spec'd for it originally.

Whimsey

 

[gpshumway]

Originally Posted By: 45ACP
I should top up the ATF. perhaps even maybe motor oil, i can not yet do an oil change if i wanted to (no tools, etc. Or money, for that, at this time.)

I see the logic in the 30-weight oil. I will either go Castrol Edge, Supertech, or Nextgen hi-mi in the 30. I dont know if it is the "SVT" (probably not) or the I4 or the V6. I will know when i see it.


Of those I vote for Nextgen Hi-Mi. Twelve year old seals need all the help they can get. I mostly used Maxlife synthetic in mine and had good luck with Pennzoil High Mileage conventional as well.

Oh, and no such thing as an SVT Mystique, also all SVT Contours are 5sp manual.

 

[bodeh6]

Mobil 1 5W-30 High Mileage would be my choice.