It's OK to mix engine oil brands, types, and viscosity...

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I've mentioned this before but the proof that you can mix it all together and it's totally fine is my friend's 2007 Crown Vic P71 that he absolutely beats on. In fact, his engine runs quieter than mine...

The gauge cluster has been replaced but it's got somewhere between 175-200k miles at this point. Every time he has time to make the trip down here he gets a Microgard 51372 and whatever comes out of my bucket of oil leftovers. What ends up in that bucket? Well anytime someone gives me extra oil, or we have a leaking container of oil at the store, etc. I pour it in there. It's a soup of all sorts of different oils ranging from 0w-20 synthetic to 10w-30 conventional and really anything in between.

Our schedules and the weather don't always work out (we intend to do oil changes at 7500 miles, lol) and this time around it was about 5 months and almost 12000 miles. it does use a little oil (probably because he likes to drive at full throttle a little too much), so maybe 2 quarts were added during that time, and it was maybe half a quart low when I got it in for the oil change. And yes, I overfilled it about half a quart.

I'll be excited to share how that Microgard looks when I cut it open tomorrow. And no, there's no more timing chain rattle at startup despite the long OCIs and Microgard filters than any of the 3 Vics I've owned including my current one.

I did my oil change right after his and we were laughing about the fact that his car happily goes 12k on that random oil soup and here I am pouring AMSOIL into mine... I think we all worry about oil choice and OCIs a little too much.
 
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Nothing blew up...and in Ca...doesn't say much about what would have happened in Canada during the vortex.
 
I don't see any problem mixing brands or viscosities of motor oil. I keep a 5qt. jug and add any of my leftovers to it. It's usually about 10oz. on every oil change. It's all 5W30 of several brands and a Synthetic/Blend combo. At some point, I will use it in the KIA.
 
I think on the older vehicles, engines and technology, perhaps you can get away with throwing almost anything in there, but I wouldn't attempt that on a newer direct injected engine with variable valve timing. The life of oil is no longer "easy" in these newer engines...turbos, timing chain, cylinder shut off, direct injection and fuel dilution, variable valve timing...it's just a bit much.

In my wife's 2008 Honda CRV I can put any type of 5w20/0w20 in it...not check it until 8,000 miles...and the oil is full and looks pretty clean. Meanwhile the last two direct injection engines we've had (Lexus, Chevy Silverado) you had better check that oil at around 2,000 miles because it's going to need a top off and at 5,000 miles it looks dark and nasty. I'm not a fan of direct injection yet.
 
Yep, I've been doing it for almost 50 years. Although it may not be optimum, it works fine.
When I worked with my DAD at his ESSO Station, we used to flip over all of the qt cans of oil into a larger container.

When a stranger came in the station with a beater vehicle with little money, this is what they got. Sometime DAD would charge'em(very little) & sometimes not. Even today I'll use up straggler qts of oils for an OCI and I still turn over my qts into a larger 5qt jug and this is all my OPE ever gets. And the occasional top offs for our vehicles should they need it, which is seldom.

In the past/yrs ago, for any particular OCI, I have used 5 different brands each being a different grade of oil. Although I don't quite do that today I may in fact use two brands/two grades just to use up the straggler qts.
 
Originally Posted by MParr
I don't see any problem mixing brands or viscosities of motor oil. I keep a 5qt. jug and add any of my leftovers to it. It's usually about 10oz. on every oil change. It's all 5W30 of several brands and a Synthetic/Blend combo. At some point, I will use it in the KIA.


I do the same. I have 4 vehicles I maintain and I use it if a vehicle needs top up oil and I also use it on my riding lawnmower that burns oil. I don't like keeping a bunch of containers around with just a little bit of oil so it all goes into the 5 quart jug labeled "Witch's Brew" :) It saves room and is perfect for how I use it. It gets everything from XW30 to 10W40 in it. It is all high quality mostly synthetic.
 
Originally Posted by Shannow
Nothing blew up...and in Ca...doesn't say much about what would have happened in Canada during the vortex.


Yup, the new metric around here apparently
21.gif
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by Shannow
Nothing blew up...and in Ca...doesn't say much about what would have happened in Canada during the vortex.


Yup, the new metric around here apparently
21.gif




Opinions become facts.

Edit to add: https://youtu.be/363ZAmQEA84
 
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Originally Posted by Shannow
Nothing blew up...and in Ca...doesn't say much about what would have happened in Canada during the vortex.


With it being a Crown Vic, the darn thing might still be going.....

Seems like nothing kills these cars....
 
Originally Posted by Nickdfresh
It's probably okay, but not smart.

Baloney
30 years doing it with no issues and you are calling me a dummy?
hahahahaha..... now that's not smart.
 
I don't do it intentionally, but there's always a blending whenever there's an oil change and a different oil is used or the manufacturer has changed formulations. I remember having 4 different bottles of Kendall 10W-30 that were labelled exactly the same way, but they were clearly different by smell. Some engines apparently keep about 30-40% of the previous oil when changed.

I suppose there's always the possibility that a witch's brew can create strange interactions. I remember one guy working in an engine testing lab said that the occasional mixing of different additive packages could result in two different 5W-30s with a viscosity maybe in the 20W-40 range.
 
Originally Posted by y_p_w
I don't do it intentionally, but there's always a blending whenever there's an oil change and a different oil is used or the manufacturer has changed formulations. I remember having 4 different bottles of Kendall 10W-30 that were labelled exactly the same way, but they were clearly different by smell. Some engines apparently keep about 30-40% of the previous oil when changed.

I suppose there's always the possibility that a witch's brew can create strange interactions. I remember one guy working in an engine testing lab said that the occasional mixing of different additive packages could result in two different 5W-30s with a viscosity maybe in the 20W-40 range.


I'm interested in the source of that claim. That's like an engine with a 5L sump only draining 3L of oil and taking a 3L change capacity. I don't believe I've ever run across that. About the closest I can think of would be the old double-hump Ford oil pans where somebody neglected to drain the front part of the pan, but even then, that wouldn't be 2L of oil.
 
Overkill

Some folks raise their vehicles for oil changes, in the most unusual configurations. My Colorado drain plug faces the driver door and I've seen my neighbor raise his Colorado vehicle right at that drain plug, which pushes the oil to the opposite side of the pan.

Crazy...... That will definitely leave a bunch of oil remaining, especially if it's not hot.
 
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Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Overkill

Some folks raise their vehicles for oil changes, in the most unusual configurations. My Colorado drain plug faces the driver door and I've seen my neighbor raise his Colorado vehicle right at that drain plug, which pushes the oil to the opposite side of the pan.

Crazy...... That will definitely leave a bunch of oil remaining, especially if it's not hot.


Sure, but it wouldn't be 40%, maybe 5%-10% (1/4 - 1/2L in a 5L sump). That would still present as a "bunch of oil". The front hump in the Windsor would have been 1/2-1L and was supposed to be drained, so it certainly wasn't Ford's intention for there to be a significant volume of the previous fill left in the engine.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by Shannow
Nothing blew up...and in Ca...doesn't say much about what would have happened in Canada during the vortex.


Yup, the new metric around here apparently
21.gif




Yep... It's the "new" lofty and high standard
57.gif


15.gif
 
My LT1 calls for 7 quarts of oil but it only takes 6 quarts to show full on the dipstick after an oil change, but even that's only 15% getting left behind.

I do find it a bit odd that the owner's manual says to use 7 quarts, because if someone just used that figure without double checking on the dipstick first, they'd overfill this engine by a quart. The engine probably takes 7 quarts right from when it's brand new and doesn't have any oil in it at all yet, but that's not the number that should be listed in the manual for subsequent oil changes.
 
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