Switch from QSUD 5w-30 to M1 0w-30?

[HangFire]

I'm thinking of switching from QSUD to M1 0w-30 since the recent Wally World price drop in M1. The history- I've been using QS "Full Synthetic" (in its many other names) 5w-30 for the entire 130K mile life of my 3.9L Dakota. The 3.9L is a bit of a sludge monster, it consumed a quart of oil every 2K miles until it became every 1K miles. I recently had the cracked heads replaced and an improved intake manifold gasket installed as per a TSB. I'm not entirely sure what the new oil consumption is as I'm still coming up on the first oil change after the head replacement. Driving conditions- it used to be a daily driver. Now it gets used once a week for around town, and occasionally for hunting trips where it does some tough 4WD work in cold weather. It is stored outside and temps here get down to single digits in the coldest part of Winter and as high as 100 in peak Summer heat. While I have no complaints about the QSUD 5w-30, and it is supposed to be a good cold weather oil, I'm thinking the M1 0w-30 should be even better given the Winter rating, and some things I read here indicate it might even be better in reducing oil consumption in the Summer heat as well. Now that the price difference is less than $2 for 5 quarts and an OCI of once or twice a year, cost is not a factor. Warranty is also not a factor, the truck is out of Dodge warranty and I discovered my original Quaker State 300K warranty registration required 4K oil changes, and I have been doing 5K all these years. Thanks! HF PS Here's some info on that TSB for any interested 3.9L owners: http://www.amsoil.com/techservicesbullet...um%20gasket.pdf

 

[Rolla07]

Might flow a bit better in winter, but i doubt it will reduce consumption..

 

[Clevy]

Reduce consumption ? I doubt it. Try a 10w-30 to reduce consumption. An engine will consume most of the oil its going to consume at start up when the piston is loose in the bore and will lessen as the engine warms up. A 0w will consume more at start up due to it being thinner.

 

[ARB1977]

Or go to 5W30 HM.

 

[J. A. Rizzo]

The engine will be fine with M1 0W-30. It's hard to gauge whether the consumption will change without knowing where it's being lost. If consumption stays at a quart per 1k miles, I would just use whichever low-cost 5W-30 conventional is most convenient. With the frequent refresh of additives, sludging should not be a problem, and it will keep your costs down.

 

[double vanos]

Beings as you had some engine work done, how well did the Quakerstate products do at keeping the engine clean?

 

[JR]

Run 0w qsud. But i under stand m1 for less then two bucks more at wal-[censored]. I have been looking at amsoil ss 0w-20. But for 40.40/gal i think i may opt for delvac1, i think it would give ams a run for 25k and last as good. Ken

 

[HangFire]

At the moment it looks like my driving of this vehicle will consist of: 10 miles around town every weekend and 4-500 every late Fall (Hunting Season) including off-road.

Originally Posted By: ARB1977

Or go to 5W30 HM.

That's a real option, especially during Summer. I didn't really consider it because I thought it was price at $26+ but the jugs must have been on the wrong part of the shelves (that never happens at Wally World, huh?); looking online, the Extended Performance is the pricey one, not the High Mileage. My desire to move to a 0w is the lifter rattle after startup during very cold weather. I'm worried in general about oil migration, its not just the lifter rattle but the engine sounds very unhappy for several seconds after each weekly start. (Switching to Ethanol-free in Winter and using some in Summer has sure helped starting issues, the truck sat enough for the Ethanol+water to stratify and it would run awful for the first several minutes every time I started it until I found the e-free).

Originally Posted By: J. A. Rizzo

The engine will be fine with M1 0W-30. It's hard to gauge whether the consumption will change without knowing where it's being lost. If consumption stays at a quart per 1k miles, I would just use whichever low-cost 5W-30 conventional is most convenient. With the frequent refresh of additives, sludging should not be a problem, and it will keep your costs down.

I'm sure the engine will be fine with most any modern oil. I like to take good care of my equipment within a reasonable price. I'm really, really hoping that oil consumption will be less after this work, no matter what I use. From discussing with my mechanic, the crack between the valve holes sets the valve stem a little crooked and then it burns more oil through the head. That, plus the intake manifold issue described in the TSB, plus the usual cylinder/ring wear-n-tear of a 100K+ mile engine made for a real oil hog. I won't find out about oil consumption until this Fall when I drive it a bit more.

Originally Posted By: double vanos

Beings as you had some engine work done, how well did the Quakerstate products do at keeping the engine clean?

The engine looked pretty good. Oil always looked awful due to the three issues listed above. This will be my first post-upper-end-rebuild oil change and I'm curious to see what the oil will look like.

Originally Posted By: JR

Run 0w qsud. But i under stand m1 for less then two bucks more at wal-[censored]. I have been looking at amsoil ss 0w-20. But for 40.40/gal i think i may opt for delvac1, i think it would give ams a run for 25k and last as good.

I'm not familiar with any 0w from Quaker State... OK after a little googling I see from a press release that they've introduced it in 2010 but Wally World is not carrying it locally (yet). Anyway the only 0w I can find from QS is 0w20 and I'm not looking to go down in weight due to the oil consumption and age issues. I'm with you on the amsoil et al, great stuff I'm sure but I'm already overbuying and overpaying for my needs.

Originally Posted By: Rolla07

Might flow a bit better in winter, but i doubt it will reduce consumption..

Oh, well.

Originally Posted By: Clevy

Reduce consumption ? I doubt it. Try a 10w-30 to reduce consumption. An engine will consume most of the oil its going to consume at start up when the piston is loose in the bore and will lessen as the engine warms up. A 0w will consume more at start up due to it being thinner.

I can (and will have to) live with a little oil consumption when cold. My primary concern is cold weather starts after 1 and occasionally 2 weeks of not running. My goal is to avoid any major engine work for as long as possible, I hope to own this truck for a very long time! Thanks, everyone! HF

 

[il_signore97]

I wouldn't hesitate to try the M1 AFE 0W30. It's a very good choice for a winter oil when the outside temps are below freezing. But it's equally good during the summer months as it will withstand high temps without issue.

 

[HangFire]

Thanks, Il Signore. That was my thinking as well. I made the change on Sunday, doing my usual routine- drop 2 oz through with the drain plug out to flush more old oil, and fill the oil filter can twice (first gets thoroughly absorbed) before installing. That way it gets oil pressure almost immediately on starting. First start had practically zero valve rattle (more of a Winter problem, really) so I'm off to a good start.