What oil for the Sahara?

[MarkWillenbrock]

I have a couple of Ford Explorers and have just helped a friend buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

I run an adventure tour company based in Morocco and the vehicles see a great deal of use in the Sahara. Summer temperatures are well over 110 degrees F, along with heavy dust.

The book for the Explorers recommends an 10w30 oil, which is not available here. I have a BMW which runs perfectly on Mobil 1 0w50, but this makes the cam chains rattle on the one Explorer I tried it on! On 10w40 the chains are quiet and it uses no oil. On 40 monograde it used a litre of oil in 200 miles... on 10w40 it uses nothing with 3,000 mile intervals.

So - are there any alternatives?

And what should we be running the jeep on?

All advice is very welcome.

 

[Drew99GT]

Well, I would have said straight 40 weight, but...

I'd stay away from long spread oils like 0w50.

Maybe try an ACEA A3 approved 10w30 or 10w-40 synthetic?

 

[PandaBear]

At 110F or so, probably safe to say 10w40 or even 15w40 won't hurt anything. I'd say you need to worry more about the sand rather than the oil, and change out filters (oil and air) regularly, so dino with 3k miles or so change.

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Can you give us the specs off the back of the bottle from the 10w40 you are currently using? Also out of curiosity what is the name and brand of the oil?

 

[tig1]

Check this out.


http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Drive/Drive_Around_the_World_Home.aspx

 

[Black_Thunder]

i'm guessing these are SOHC 4.0 liter engines?

yeah i definitely wouldn't use anything thicker then 40 weight

 

[Johnny]

Originally Posted By: MarkWillenbrock
I have a couple of Ford Explorers and have just helped a friend buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

I run an adventure tour company based in Morocco and the vehicles see a great deal of use in the Sahara. Summer temperatures are well over 110 degrees F, along with heavy dust.

The book for the Explorers recommends an 10w30 oil, which is not available here. I have a BMW which runs perfectly on Mobil 1 0w50, but this makes the cam chains rattle on the one Explorer I tried it on! On 10w40 the chains are quiet and it uses no oil. On 40 monograde it used a litre of oil in 200 miles... on 10w40 it uses nothing with 3,000 mile intervals.

So - are there any alternatives?

And what should we be running the jeep on?

All advice is very welcome.

to BITOG. What brands and weights of oil are available to you in Morocco ? I would think Mobil 1 0W-40 would be a good choice for you.

 

[Falcon_LS]

I would say stick with 15w40, although Motorcraft 10w30 is your best bet for extreme conditions in the Explorers. Might be worth checking with Ford MENA on the availability of Motorcraft.

 

[frank83]

Just curious, what air filter do you use and how often do you change it?

 

[Nickdfresh]

Can you get weights in 5W-40 or 10W-50/60?

I would think Shell Helix (if available) would be perfect...

 

[jmac]

It's an explorer for goodness sake, and with the high dust/sand the oil should be changed pretty regularly anyway. Use a 15w40 HD oil and forget about the high price 0-40's and change it regularly and the engine will last just as long as on those other high price oils.

 

[Audi Junkie]

In the Mid-East people run cool-down before shutting off on a normal engine, just like we do here w/turbos.

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Originally Posted By: jmac
It's an explorer for goodness sake, and with the high dust/sand the oil should be changed pretty regularly anyway. Use a 15w40 HD oil and forget about the high price 0-40's and change it regularly and the engine will last just as long as on those other high price oils.


I agree except I wanna see what 10w40 he was using and the specs off the back of the jug. In other parts of the world they seem to get these marvelous 10w40's that meet all kinds fabulous specs and come in pretty bottles. He might already have a good oil. I do concur that if an HD 15w40 is available and is economical that might be the way to go.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
In the Mid-East people run cool-down before shutting off on a normal engine, just like we do here w/turbos.


Really depends on how the vehicle was driven before turning off the engine. I only do that if my driving was hard on the engine during a particular journey.