Best Pennzoil Viscosity for my applications

[Matt89]

Good Morning all;

Can you guys help me with a viscosity decision? I've searched the forums but haven't been able to get a complete answer on which conventional Pennzoil to use in my two cars:

00 Chevy Impala 3.4 V6 pushrod 55K miles
98 Volvo S70 non turbo Inline 5cyl 67K miles.

Both run very well and burn no oil.

The Chevy manual says 5W-30 year round, but 10W-30 OK if temp >0F.
Volvo Manual says 10W-30 OK for -4F to 104F, but 5W-30 OK if temp
To make things more confusing, I called the local Volvo dealer and they say they use 5W-30 all the time - maybe because they sell & service Toyotas too?

I'd like to stick with one viscosity year round, and change every 5K/6 months. Should I go with 5W-30 in the Chevy and 10W-30 in the Volvo? Seems backward to have the lighter oil in the pushrod and the thicker oil in the overhead cam engine.

Or should I go 5W-30 in both for the faster flow at startup/fuel mileage, or 10W-30 in both for the better oil stability? Does it even matter which one I use?

Thanks for your time!

 

[Drew99GT]

It really depends on how cold it gets in your area during the winter. You may want to just stick with 10w-30 for all months except the very heart of winter, in which 5w-30 might be a better choice for your area. However, 10w-30 Pennzoil does have a very good pour point of -36 F so it too would still be adequete for over 0 degrees F. Pennzoil's 10w-30 has a lower pour point than many 5w-30 dinos.

 

[Justin]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Matt89:
Good Morning all;

Can you guys help me with a viscosity decision? I've searched the forums but haven't been able to get a complete answer on which conventional Pennzoil to use in my two cars:

00 Chevy Impala 3.4 V6 pushrod 55K miles
98 Volvo S70 non turbo Inline 5cyl 67K miles.

Both run very well and burn no oil.

The Chevy manual says 5W-30 year round, but 10W-30 OK if temp >0F.
Volvo Manual says 10W-30 OK for -4F to 104F, but 5W-30 OK if temp
To make things more confusing, I called the local Volvo dealer and they say they use 5W-30 all the time - maybe because they sell & service Toyotas too?

I'd like to stick with one viscosity year round, and change every 5K/6 months. Should I go with 5W-30 in the Chevy and 10W-30 in the Volvo? Seems backward to have the lighter oil in the pushrod and the thicker oil in the overhead cam engine.

Or should I go 5W-30 in both for the faster flow at startup/fuel mileage, or 10W-30 in both for the better oil stability? Does it even matter which one I use?

Thanks for your time!

---

Unless it's really cold, I always run the highest viscosity oil the manual says I can ran.

For the Chevy, go with 10w-30.

For the Volvo...well, my g/f's '96 Volvo 850 (2.4L I-5 NA) says you can run 15w-40 as long as the temperatures are above 10F. If you manual says that (maybe it does since it is another I-5 NA Volvo), then run 15w-40 Pennzoil Long Life. If not, then run 10w-30.

[ April 22, 2003, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: Justin ]

 

[novadude]

So, you guys think a 10W-30 is OK year round in an area where the temp can drop to 0 deg F in Jan and Feb?

Just curious. I am using 5W-30 in the winter, and 10W-30 in the summer in my GM 3.4L. Would 10W-30 be OK year round. The coldest it usually gets is -5 to 0 degrees, and that would only be like 1-5 mornings per year, typically.

 

[segfault]

Dissenting opinion: I would run 5w30 year-round (for simplicity's sake) due to its better flow properties when cold. You should be fine with Pennzoil, Chevron, or any other quality dino oil. Because I drive 15-25,000 miles per year, I change oil by mileage and not by time or season, so I run the same grade year-round.

quote:

---

Originally posted by novadude:
So, you guys think a 10W-30 is OK year round in an area where the temp can drop to 0 deg F in Jan and Feb?

---

 

[MolaKule]

If the Pennzoil 10W30 has a pour point of -30 something, then the cranking temp would be about -20 F. I would go with the Pennzoil 10w30 unless you expect the temps to dip below -20 F.

 

[Matt89]

The weather conditions I'm looking at are from here in Indiana to the Jersey Shore. Like the Novadude, I'm more likely to see 90-95F than 6 months better?Thanks for the advice so far, incl "dissenting".

 

[Al]

I'd go with the 10W. However with dino oil I am a little afraid of the 0 F. Also I would need to see an analysis at 5K before going to 6K.

Havbe you had the infamous intake manifold gasket leaking on the 3.4 L engine yet??

Make sure you change antifreeze every two years (even with Dex-cool)

[ April 22, 2003, 12:00 PM: Message edited by: Al ]

 

[Norm Olt]

Matt89: You must have bought the Chevy used, right? If you are putting 18-20K per year on this car you need to re-think your change interval, IMHO. Nonwithstanding that...

The temp ranges that you detail are not what I would consider extreme for either hot or cold: a couple 15 degree mornings don't begin to compare with a climate that may be below 0 for days (weeks?) at a time.

(cool)

And 95 degrees ain't Phoenix in the summer, either!

(hot!)

Pennzoil dino is a good oil choice (as would be Chevron Supreme) and if you are changing it every 6 months/5-6K miles should work just fine in either grade you mentioned. IMHO 10W-30 for both.

p.s. The 15W-40 LongLife mentioned by Justin is probably a good recommendation, but we know he likes the HD "Fleet" oils. I do, too! I think this leans towards the "protection/cleaning" side of the coin vs. the "fuel economy" side.

 

[Matt89]

Norm;
Good call - I did get it used, and then had a long commute for a couple years. I do much less driving these days (and for the foreseeable future)...Thanks for the word on the interval & viscosity.

As far as the Dexcool / intake manifold gasket goes, maybe I'll send in an analysis in early May, to see if there's coolant in the oil. Between this Impala and the Volvo I have a reason to go into the garage nearly every week!

 

[Justin]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Norm Olt:
p.s. The 15W-40 LongLife mentioned by Justin is probably a good recommendation, but we know he likes the HD "Fleet" oils. I do, too! I think this leans towards the "protection/cleaning" side of the coin vs. the "fuel economy" side.

---

Norm,

Your exactly right...I'll definitely take protection and cleaning over fuel economy anyday of the week. I must say though...the fuel economy loss when I switched with a few vehicles has been a very small amount (less than a 1mpg in all instances.)

I've always had good experiences with HDMO's in various applications, and that's why I recommend it...on the other hand, I just got a job a Pep Boys, and I'm around oil all day, and I intrest talking about oil is just about dead. I'll probably get out of here soon...thus, synthetic recommendations will rule the board!!! No more "HDMO's for gassers" recommendations.

P.S. - Good to see a fan of the HDMO's!

[ April 22, 2003, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: Justin ]

 

[Matt89]

Al;

Thanks for the reply. I should be more clear - I'm looking to go 5K or 6 months, or when the dashboard light goes off on the Chevy if that happens first. I don't drive a ton of miles so this should work out to 2 changes a year or so.

As far as the cooling goes, the only problems I've had were the brown crud buildup on the radiator cap and in the overflow bottle - apparently some sealer pellets they used in manufacture that they don't use anymore.

What's the cliff notes on the manifold gasket problem? Aerating the coolant?
It's easy enough to drain about half the coolant out, I guess I could do that every year and call it good.

 

[Ray H]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Matt89:
...the only problems I've had were the brown crud buildup on the radiator cap and in the overflow bottle - apparently some sealer pellets they used in manufacture that they don't use anymore...

---

There've been a considerable number of posts about the long term effectiveness of Dexcool spec. antifreeze (even in GM engines) and "brown crud" figured prominently in a few of those discussions.