Can I use 5W30 instead of 5W20?

[wag123]

In terms of Ford, and specifically Ford's honoring of their warranty, using an oil other that what they recommend should be a legitimate concern.
Of all the manufacturers that I have had personal experience with, when it comes to warranty claims, Ford is the worst. It seems to me that Ford tries very hard to find a reason NOT to do a warranty repair, and they will flatly refuse to do any kind of "good will" warranty repair.
Case in point, I have a friend who owned a 2004 Explorer, in the fall of 2006 when the 36 month or 36000 mile warranty had just expired (on time), with 21000 miles on it the timing chain broke. The warranty was 14 days past the 36 month expiration and Ford flatly refused to do anything about it, even though it had been meticulously maintained and he had documented proof. Needless to say, he will never again purchase a Ford product.
To the OP, be careful with Ford and their warranty.

 

[Triton_330]

Originally Posted By: wag123
In terms of Ford, and specifically Ford's honoring of their warranty, using an oil other that what they recommend should be a legitimate concern.
Of all the manufacturers that I have had personal experience with, when it comes to warranty claims, Ford is the worst. It seems to me that Ford tries very hard to find a reason NOT to do a warranty repair, and they will flatly refuse to do any kind of "good will" warranty repair.
Case in point, I have a friend who owned a 2004 Explorer, in the fall of 2006 when the 36 month or 36000 mile warranty had just expired (on time), with 21000 miles on it the timing chain broke. The warranty was 14 days past the 36 month expiration and Ford flatly refused to do anything about it, even though it had been meticulously maintained and he had documented proof. Needless to say, he will never again purchase a Ford product.
To the OP, be careful with Ford and their warranty.


With all due respect... and assuming the engine was the 4.0L V6 SOHC... those engines were prone to timing chain problems, so Ford probably figured that out soon and said to themselves "Uh, let's just pretend we didn't even know they had those problems..." and thus, they didn't want to do anything about those engines' problems after the warranty period. (And heck, I'm a Ford guy saying this)...

My mother has a 96 Explorer with the 4.0L OHV (luckily). It's never had any problems except for recently we had to replace the fuel pump (no biggie). It's just over 180k right now.

---


To the OP - Take it for what you will, but I run 5w-30 in my '01 F-150 (see sig) which states to use 5w-20 on the cap and in the book. However, before CAFE got involved, the truck was actually spec'd for 5w-30... So, whether it's actually relevant or not is up to you. Just take it with a grain of salt.

IMHO, the 5w-20 vs 5w-30 (and vice versa) debates are almost always blown out of proportion here. If it were such a big deal, there'd be sevenfold times more the dead vehicles on the side of the road. It might or might not be true that newer vehicles have tighter clearances/passages/etc., but there's no way they're tight enough for such a debate to have so much controversy. (Especially when multiple persons have posted they've used 40+ grades in cars calling for 20, as well as those who've posted they've used 20 grades in cars calling for 30 or 40 grades - both without adverse effects).

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I have no doubt that somewhere in the world your car is good to go on 5w-30.

Move there, and the whiners will cease.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible

I have no doubt that somewhere in the world your car is good to go on 5w-30.

Move there, and the whiners will cease.


+1.

 

[Merkava_4]

This thread is loaded with people who are scared to death of 30 weight.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

"30w will blow up yur danged car." Bubba.
"20w will blow up yur danged car." Bubba Jr.

"16w will blow up yur danged car." Bubba III.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible

I have no doubt that somewhere in the world your car is good to go on 5w-30.

Move there, and the whiners will cease.


+1.

My +1 was for the underlined statement. Somewhere in this world there are those that could care less if you use a 5W30 over a 5W20. I do it all the time in my truck engine, and would encourage it. And, the engine is still in (1) piece.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
"30w will blow up yur danged car." Bubba.
"20w will blow up yur danged car." Bubba Jr.

"16w will blow up yur danged car." Bubba III.


20W50 will blow up your car...I've seen it multiple times...but I can't prove it, show it, or demonstrate it, but will shout it every time an owner's manual doesn't say 20...you don't know anything...weekly on BITOG.

 

[ElastoHydro]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
20W50 will blow up your car...I've seen it multiple times...but I can't prove it, show it, or demonstrate it, but will shout it every time an owner's manual doesn't say 20...you don't know anything...mayor of Smuggsville.


Although you and some 14-year-old girls might call me Smugg, the question here was never about blowing up an engine. Its only about showing what HTHS in what engine minimizes wear. That one is difficult to prove, as one can only point to careful engineering studies to answer it. In my judgement, using a Xw-30 where an Xw-20 is specified may just result in less wear in most cases.

 

[Shannow]

No, even 'though I disagreed with FarFetched's assessment, that wasn't the reference I was making...

Do a search, you will find references to failed engines on 50s, seen regularly, lots of them, and not an iota of proof of even one of them...even when asked.

BTW, you/he still hasn't proved that that HTHS increases wear, particularly when hydrodynamics means that parts are further apart with viscosity.

 

[Tony10s]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
This thread is loaded with people who are scared to death of 30 weight.

I have both 5W-20 and 5W-30 oils that I am using in my 2012 Hyundai Elantra. I plan to use up the 5W-20 motor oil from Nov - April and the 5W-30 oil from May - October. Once the 5W-20 has been used up, I plan to use only 5W-30 after that because my car runs more smoothly and quietly with this viscosity. (According to the manual, Hyundai recommends 5W-20 for better fuel economy, but 5W-30 is also acceptable.)

 

[boundarylayer]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
No, even 'though I disagreed with FarFetched's assessment, that wasn't the reference I was making...

Do a search, you will find references to failed engines on 50s, seen regularly, lots of them, and not an iota of proof of even one of them...even when asked.

BTW, you/he still hasn't proved that that HTHS increases wear, particularly when hydrodynamics means that parts are further apart with viscosity.


Folks, this is why meth is a bad idea, posts like that.

I've only seen very slight decreases in journal bearing weight with higher HTHS oils, and that might have been due to a little extra start-up wear.

 

[KrisZ]

I'm running 5w30 in Mazda 3 and Focus, both specifying 5w20. But don't tell it to my cars, as they would surely experience a catastrophic failure if they knew lol.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Although the engine is quite different, I've gone back and forth with 5W-30 and 5W-20 in my sister's Ford Windstar 3.8 with no ill-effects. Still runs great with well over 200,000 hard-driven miles.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I'm running 5w30 in Mazda 3 and Focus, both specifying 5w20. But don't tell it to my cars, as they would surely experience a catastrophic failure if they knew lol.

I tied into your cars PC's last night and revealed your secret. By weeks end both engines will have removed themselves from their engine bays and will find new owners that respect the correct oil they should be receiving.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Although the engine is quite different, I've gone back and forth with 5W-30 and 5W-20 in my sister's Ford Windstar 3.8 with no ill-effects. Still runs great with well over 200,000 hard-driven miles.

The 3.8 engine is the same engine as my 4.2, only that the 4.2 is bored larger. It has always been specd 5W30 oil. I do the same thing with mine, switch back and forth with both weights.
But, I always am looking in my rear view mirror for the 5W20 police to pull me over when I am using a 5W30 oil.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Depending on the oil, if you're running 5W-30 in an engine, you'll soon be running a 5W-20 anyways..

 

[RGR]

Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
Depending on the oil, if you're running 5W-30 in an engine, you'll soon be running a 5W-20 anyways..


Give me the right cage, and I can turn a 10w-30 into a 5w-20. Think I've already done it as a matter of fact.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Although the engine is quite different, I've gone back and forth with 5W-30 and 5W-20 in my sister's Ford Windstar 3.8 with no ill-effects. Still runs great with well over 200,000 hard-driven miles.

The 3.8 engine is the same engine as my 4.2, only that the 4.2 is bored larger. It has always been specd 5W30 oil. I do the same thing with mine, switch back and forth with both weights.
But, I always am looking in my rear view mirror for the 5W20 police to pull me over when I am using a 5W30 oil.

That's strange that they had different requirements. On her van, it specifies 5W-20 in the owner's manual and on the oil filler cap. It's a 2001, FWIW.

 

[wemay]

2014 Hyundai Sonata. The mfr's take on the question:

From the Owners Manual:

Engine oil viscosity (thickness) has an effect on fuel economy and cold weather operating (engine start and engine oil flowability). Lower viscosity engine oils can provide better fuel economy and cold weather performance, however, higher viscosity engine oils are required for satisfactory lubrication in hot weather. Using oils of any viscosity other than those recommended could result in engine damage.
When choosing an oil, consider the range of temperature your vehicle will be operated in before the next oil change. Proceed to select the recommended oil viscosity from the chart.

Engine Oil (2.4 GDI) - 5W-20 / 5W-30 / 10W-30

*1. For better fuel economy, it is recommended to use the engine oil of a viscosity grade SAE 5W-20 (API SM / ILSAC GF-4). However, if the engine oil is not available in your country, select the proper engine oil using the engine oil viscosity chart.