Triple_Se7en
$50 Site Donor 2024
Could be a blessing in disguise. I think your new oil/weight is fine for your vehicle & climate.
Wrong oil weight put in Trailblazer
- Thread starter Triple_Se7en
- Start date
- Status
Well, I also have the same concerns, as the Chevron/Havoline and the Pennzoil high mileage oils are 12 cSt oils, at the heavy end of the 30 weight viscosity grade.
Even the 5W-30 Havoline high mileage cold crank rating ends up being about 500 cP (6200 cP @ -30C) higher than a conventional 5W-30.
Unless he has oil consumption or seal leaks or engine noise issues, I'd suggest a conventional 5W-30 for winter temps. Or another HM oil, such as Castrol or Maxlife.
Another point to keep in mind, dino oils tend to loose cold temp performance with mileage. So if your BIL gets into sub-zero temps in the middle of January with 3K+ miles on the Havoline 10W-30 HM, he will be cranking that 4.2 Inline 6 over with a fairly thick oil.
Even the 5W-30 Havoline high mileage cold crank rating ends up being about 500 cP (6200 cP @ -30C) higher than a conventional 5W-30.
Unless he has oil consumption or seal leaks or engine noise issues, I'd suggest a conventional 5W-30 for winter temps. Or another HM oil, such as Castrol or Maxlife.
Another point to keep in mind, dino oils tend to loose cold temp performance with mileage. So if your BIL gets into sub-zero temps in the middle of January with 3K+ miles on the Havoline 10W-30 HM, he will be cranking that 4.2 Inline 6 over with a fairly thick oil.
Beyond the cranking there is the time to warm up. I think that during that time that a 5w-30 would be a better choice than a 10w-30. If it's true that most wear comes during the warm up to operating temperature of the oil, which could take more than 15 minutes, even on a warm day, that getting back to the 5w-30 would be worth the effort with winter upon us.
By the way, how does that inline 6 perform? There are not many inline 6's left in passenger vehicles.
By the way, how does that inline 6 perform? There are not many inline 6's left in passenger vehicles.
He wasn't planning on going over 3k miles.
What's the difference between Maxlife and the Havoline HM?
So you're basically suggesting to throw out $17 worth of oil?
What's the difference between Maxlife and the Havoline HM?
So you're basically suggesting to throw out $17 worth of oil?
Don't throw it out. Clean the drain area of the pan and collect it in a clean container for use in a different vehicle or in the spring.
Maxlife is not extra thick, but is 10.5 cSt like a normal 10w30.
Maxlife is not extra thick, but is 10.5 cSt like a normal 10w30.
Boy, you guys are fussy. I suspect that the 5w-30 specification is inspired by an effort to have a slightly better published fuel mileage figure.
I would leave the 10w-30 in and fuggedaboudit.
I would leave the 10w-30 in and fuggedaboudit.
Ditto what UnDummy said. Your Colorado winters aren't that cold (how often do you see -20?). Leave it in and don't worry.
I would be uncomfortable with that oil at temps lower than 0F. But that's subjective.
My brother in law recently purchased a used '02 Trailblazer, 4.2 Inline 6, with 104k miles. Changed the oil the other day, and meant to use 5w-30 high mileage Havoline oil, he instead grabbed the 10w-30 high mileage oil.
Truck's running fine, in fact he says it's really quiet - however, he's concerned it may be too thick for Colorado winters.
Average 5-25 F at night, sometimes as low as -5/-10F at night - but that's not the norm.
I looked up the spec's - and the pour point is -27, with the Viscosity CC -25.
Also, what are your opinions on the Havoline high mileage, does it contain seal "conditioners" or a seal "sweller"??
Truck's running fine, in fact he says it's really quiet - however, he's concerned it may be too thick for Colorado winters.
Average 5-25 F at night, sometimes as low as -5/-10F at night - but that's not the norm.
I looked up the spec's - and the pour point is -27, with the Viscosity CC -25.
Also, what are your opinions on the Havoline high mileage, does it contain seal "conditioners" or a seal "sweller"??
[ November 14, 2005, 08:26 AM: Message edited by: jorton ]
i'm using 10w30 here in Wisconsin myself, i usually switch over to 5w30 before winter but because i haven't used that vehicle that i normally run 10w30 in, it'll run over into winter, but next oil change it'll see the 5w30.
Well - it's seen some fairly COLD nights so far this week, one night dipping into barely 13F, truck started just fine.
I'm understanding this oil is good down to -13F - however, I believe he's gonna run his 3k, which he'll do in a months time and switch to a synethic 5w-30
I'm understanding this oil is good down to -13F - however, I believe he's gonna run his 3k, which he'll do in a months time and switch to a synethic 5w-30
I owned a '94 Nissan Sentra for 7 years and over 100k in Alaska. Winter temps at -20F and scraping off 1/4" of ice was normal there for 3 - 4 months of the year. I drove 8 miles to work one way and often times the heater just STARTED to get warm at the 6 mile mark in stop and go. The car saw nearly ZERO long trips as I used it purely to go to work except for an infrequent 20 mile ride along the Alaska 1 highway. No block heater either. Heck, the only 2 things that broke on that car was the alternator and the clutch cable, both due to extreme cold temp use. By the way, it was normal for me to have this car idle for 15 - 30 minutes on cold mornings because I was lazy and didn't feel like scraping ice. I think this car qualified for severe use conditions.
Not knowing anything about engine oils outside of television commercials I used an Express Lube place that put in Havoline 10w-30 conventional and probably a FRAM filter. This was between 1997 - 2004. I used 5k OCIs. I did have the dealer do the 60k service which included coolant and manual tranny fluid changes.
The car ran and looked like new even though she saw 10 yrs of hellish conditions (previous owner was in AK - leased vehicle) and frequent redlines from a hot headed driver (at the time). The only reason I sold it was due to a rear and side impact accident because one woman was putting on her makeup and the other was desperate to merge on to the 6-lane from the post office. Yes, at the same freakin' time.
While I would never recommend someone treat their car as I did, I highly doubt the 10w-30 in your bro's truck will hurt anything for a 3k OCI in CO. Beautiful state by the way. I lived in Cheyenne, WY for a number of years and frequented CO as often as possible
[ November 20, 2005, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: Fastride95 ]
Not knowing anything about engine oils outside of television commercials I used an Express Lube place that put in Havoline 10w-30 conventional and probably a FRAM filter. This was between 1997 - 2004. I used 5k OCIs. I did have the dealer do the 60k service which included coolant and manual tranny fluid changes.
The car ran and looked like new even though she saw 10 yrs of hellish conditions (previous owner was in AK - leased vehicle) and frequent redlines from a hot headed driver (at the time). The only reason I sold it was due to a rear and side impact accident because one woman was putting on her makeup and the other was desperate to merge on to the 6-lane from the post office. Yes, at the same freakin' time.
While I would never recommend someone treat their car as I did, I highly doubt the 10w-30 in your bro's truck will hurt anything for a 3k OCI in CO. Beautiful state by the way. I lived in Cheyenne, WY for a number of years and frequented CO as often as possible
[ November 20, 2005, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: Fastride95 ]
10W30 will be fine until he drains it. Whoever owned it before him put some serious miles on it though.
He should be fine, but if we get an artic blast like we got last year where it dropped to -10F, he may wish there was 5w-30 in the crankcase.
It gets pretty darn cold here, especially in the mountains. If you head into the mountains at all and expect an early morning cold start, 10w-30 would be iffy. At my parents cabin near Fairplay CO (near Breckenridge), it routinely gets to -5 to -10 with at least a couple spurts of -20 to -30 every winter.
FASTSTRIDE that is an intersting story about your Sentra. I guess we're all too anal about this whole oil topic. Just change your oil and don't worry about anything else. I wish I could do that. My friends tell me that all the time.
- Status
