30 Only Weight In a 00 Ford Ranger 3.0 V6

[addyguy]

SAE 30 is 'usually recommended' down to 40F.

In reality, most group II 30's are actually closer to 15W-30's - they are good to lower temps.

In Miami, this point is moot, as you will rarely see temps below 40F, so the oil will be just fine. Yeah, it's old-school, but it will work just fine.

 

[02zx9r]

Didnt Patman run straight 30 weight in one of his vehicles, Chrysler 300M? I recall reading that someone who knows it will not do any harm posting that he did

 

[AuthorEditor]

This is one of those situations where saving a few bucks on the case of oil really isn't saving a few bucks. The 10W-30 would be better for the engine in the long run, but in reality it would be unlikely you could ever trace any future failure back to the use of the straight 30W for a few OCIs. Just for the record, I have been in Miami when it dropped below freezing long enough to freeze a bucket of water and it even snowed a little bit, though it didn't stay that way for long!

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: 02zx9r
Didnt Patman run straight 30 weight in one of his vehicles, Chrysler 300M? I recall reading that someone who knows it will not do any harm posting that he did


It was member 'G-MAN' who did that.

He also did it with straight 20-weight, and that UOA is posted in the section. Did very well!

 

[demarpaint]

The 3.0 Ford engine is pretty much bullet proof. While a straight 30 grade oil won't hurt it, especially in Miami, there are much better choices, such as 5W30 or 10W30. In fact Ford back spec'd that engine so he could even use 5W20 if he wanted.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Just a update on the 3.0 since this topic was brought back from the dead...The 30 only weight caused a very loud rapping sound in the AM or if the truck sat for more then 5 hours...It would go away after it was warmed up but still took about 5 to 10 minutes...It seemed like a real bad case of piston slap...This did not happen on the 5w30...Going back to the 5w30 did not solve the problem...He took it to a independent shop he trusted and 600 bucks later the truck is doing just fine at 140K miles...He has since moved to Texas so do not know what they did to get it quiet again but will ask him next time I talk to him which might be this weekend...If he just stayed with the 5w30 none of this aggravation would have happened...He was really stressed out over this.

Even down here in Miami we get cool mornings every so often...This year we a had number of temperatures in the am in the 30's and 40's.

 

[JT1]

What did he spend the 600 on?

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: JT1
What did he spend the 600 on?


I never found out cause he moved to Texas right after it was fixed but when I talk to him again [maybe over the weekend ] I will find out.

 

[Zaedock]

I doubt the SAE30 caused the damage at only 30-40*F. It would most certainly not take 5-10 minutes to warm up enough to flow at that temp.

I've started my trail Jeep at 25*F+/- with Delo SAE30 and it was fine. It cranked and sounded the same. I don't think you mentioned what SAE30 he used, but my Delo has a pour point of -24*F. That's about the same as most 10w30's.

 

[Andyge]

SAE30 is all I would run when I was living in TX.

Andy

 

[JT1]

I agree with everyone else, albeit not optimal the sae 30 had no relation to any damage done to that engine.

As has been said most sae 30's act just like a 10-15w30 which would certainly be fine in any of miami's weather.

 

[sangyup81]

Some SAE30 is non detergent and that would be a problem

 

[FusilliJerry82]

I hope you got to give a nice satisfying "told ya so".

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: JT1
What did he spend the 600 on?


I spoke to him yesterday and he said it was spent on fixing a bad lifter and they did something to the maifold but he is unsure what...All is quiet now.

Turns out the 30 weight had nothing to do with it but the 5w20 Mobil 1 did...He said after 120K miles of using 5w30 with no issues he thought he would try Mobil 1...That is when all the trouble started with the lifter noise...It started as soon as the oil went into the truck.

He put the 30 [only] oil in it after all the lifter noise started to see if it would quiet it down...It did not.

I know there are tons of people of who love Mobil 1 and have no issues with it and I am not knocking Mobil 1...I know of at least 2 people who love Mobil 1 and have no issues with it for years...But in this particular case it did not work out.