S-I-L's soon to be car...

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My S-I-L will be getting a 1996 Ford Escort from her parents, once she passes her driving test (she's just at the point of waiting for a convenient time to book it). The vehicle has over 244,000 miles, and has had regular maintenance at an indy mechanic, and before it was my F-I-L's car, his dad did all the maintenance, and I know he's meticulous.

I offered to do/show my S-I-L how to change oil, just that she'd buy the oil and filter. Price of the oil will be an issue for her. She'll likely be relegated to parking outside, and winters here can reach -40, though normally, it is around -4F or warmer. Vehicle does have a block heater. Don't know the kind of driving, but suspect it will be 99% commuter duty, and likely a long enough drive to warm up completely on all but the coldest days.

What oils should be considered for this application? PYB 5W-30 with a 5,000 mile OCI? Or a good, robust 0W-30 synthetic (like an HDEO such as Mobil Delvac Elite 222, previously known as Esso XD-3), and go possibly as long as a 10,000 mile/annual OCI?

I'll suggest an ATF change for her as well, as I suspect my F-I-L may be in the camp that never gets this work done.
 
Go to a Petro-Canada bulk lubricant distributor and buy a case of Petro-Canada Supreme Synthetic 0W-30 - cost $5.50/L when bought by the case, and oil has great cold-weather properties.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Go to a Petro-Canada bulk lubricant distributor and buy a case of Petro-Canada Supreme Synthetic 0W-30 - cost $5.50/L when bought by the case, and oil has great cold-weather properties.




Sounds like a plan to me. A "syn" or true syn 0w30 would be great. Petro-Canada SS 0w30 is high in quality.
 
For the price/performance ratio, you pretty much can't beat the PC oil.
The only problem is its not quite as readily available as other standard oils.

No big deal if you ask me, but it is a con.
 
If your SIL will check the oil level once in a while I'd be tempted to go with a HDEO 0W30 on a yearly change in the fall. Can't get much cheaper than that. Odds are the car won't last too much longer anyways if no one with any car experience is going to be "supervising" its use. Its too easy to have a small problem kill an old car if its ignored.
For example, one of my friends has been driving a Focus for a week without any heat... Only when the coolant gauge spent most of its time near the red did he think to do something about it... Maybe its fine, maybe not...
 
Negative 40 degrees! Wow! I wouldn't drive a car in that temperature for fear of it breaking down & me freezing to death.

Perhaps an engine block heater would be a wise investment.
 
Originally Posted By: Radman
Negative 40 degrees! Wow! I wouldn't drive a car in that temperature for fear of it breaking down & me freezing to death.

Perhaps an engine block heater would be a wise investment.

OP already said it's got a block heater.
smile.gif


Most synthetics have a pour point of -42 and lower, and I'm sure antifreeze is designed to protect at those temperatures as well, especially with a stronger concentration. If the car does break down I doubt temperature would be the main cause.
 
My F-I-L, while capable of doing maintenance himself, has for as long as I've known him, chosen not to do it himself. Don't know what OCI he was using, but it was always taken to an indy mechanic, and given, I'm sure, dino at each oil change. As for maintenance when his dad owned it, he was a more DIY guy, and I know he would have used a good quality dino (I converted him to using syn with his Dodge Cummins diesel, but that was after he sold of the Escort).

S-I-L's use will be different. I suspect mileage per year will be much lower, and I know for a fact she will be on a shoestring budget. She will also get the driveway as her parking spot instead of the garage.

Knowing the operating conditions this vehicle will likely see, leads me to ask what would be her better choice (both for her wallet and the vehicle): a dino 5W-30, changed twice a year; or an HDEO syn 0W-30, changed every fall.

I think I know what I am leaning towards, but would love to hear why I should consider one over the other.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Go to a Petro-Canada bulk lubricant distributor and buy a case of Petro-Canada Supreme Synthetic 0W-30 - cost $5.50/L when bought by the case, and oil has great cold-weather properties.




This seems like very good advice.
 
So would the PCMO Petro Canada Supreme Synthetic be good for an annual OCI, up to 10,000 miles in this application? I've got it on my list of oils to watch for my own vehicle, but the engine and usage is different than this application.

I was thinking an HDEO, like Delvac Elite 222, or Delo, would be better than a PCMO in this application, given that this is an old engine (higher ZDDP), and this engine may see more fuel dilution, or have less burn off of moisture. Or am I on the wrong track?
 
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