20W-50 engine oil

Greetings:

I have a 1992 Ford Ranger with the small 4 cyl engine. It has 105,000 miles on it and is in excellent condition. The engine burns no oil. Now, I have suddenly acquired two cases of Castrol 20W-50 oil--free gratis. The owners manual recommends the use of 5W-30 oil, however, considering the age and mileage on this engine, could I safely use the 20W-50 oil? Many thanks.

Joe Martin

Reply to
Joe Martin
Loading thread data ...

I wouldn't use it. It is just to heavy and you don't need it. My '92 5.8L originally specified 10-30 and Ford changed it to 5-30. I use 5-30 and the engine has 173,000 miles on it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Stick with what has worked. Give the 20-50 away to somebody with a air cooled motorcycle.

Reply to
Mellowed

Joe, in my 20 plus years of auto repair I am sold on 20W50 oil. However ones location in the country needs to be considered. I live in the Florida Panhandle so 20W50 year round is OK. In colder climates you may need to adjust in the winter to a lighter oil that will flow when cold. As far as your Ranger I have a 1991 2.3 which I got about 2 months ago from a relative. He swears it has 215,000 miles on it and it don't use oil or smoke. I use 20W50 in every car or truck I have had and I think the world of it. There are exceptions as I mentioned weather concerns and such but I will relay this. My wife has a 2001 Kia and I use 10W30 in it and the reason is that there are 2 separate warnings in the owners manual about using oils of a viscosity other than recommended. So with the 100,000 mile engine warrantee hanging over my head I stick to the

10W30 for that reason. 5W30 is too th>Greetings:
Reply to
fredzo

How about So Cal - -

5.8L : >originally specified 10-30 and Ford changed it to 5-30. I use 5-30 and the : >engine has 173,000 miles on it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Stick : >with what has worked. Give the 20-50 away to somebody with a air cooled : >motorcycle. : >

: >

: >

: >

: >

: : -- : Fred Mehlos : snipped-for-privacy@mchsi.com : :

Reply to
Mellowed

Don't they have a law in So Cal that your car has to smoke or is it just that if your car smokes you are cool??

Reply to
Snowseeker

fredzo:

I live in middle Tennessee. Should that be a factor. Thanks.

Joe Martin

Reply to
Joe Martin

Keep using what you been using and throw that $hit away. There's a reason it was given away. Think about it. If it wasn't good enough for the givers car, why should it be good enough for yours??

Reply to
Steve Barker

Find someone with a Harley and give it to them. They'll appreciate it. Rosscoe

Reply to
Rosscoe

I copy that!! You will NEVER EVER find a Castrol lubrication product in or on ANY of my vehicles. Its about as low as you can go. I used to handle oil at the retail distributor level, and my favored is Kendall but in any case, once I get my new truck (F350 6.0LDiesel CC

4x4) >Keep using what you been using and throw that $hit away. There's a reason
Reply to
Gromit

Reply to
Gromit

It seems ok to me. Actually, I think it's about as good as most other "regular" brands. I also knew a guy that worked at mobil. He seems to think they made good oil. I don't know how true that is, but I haven't had any problems with it in the past few years. I also used it in my monte carlo.

I wouldn't use it if I thought it was no good. They aren't really on sale per say, but generally are at the low end price range at say autozones, etc. Exxon oil is another one of the "low cost" oils they commonly sell. I seem to prefer mobil regular oil over the exxon regular oil for some reason. I change my oil often enough, it probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference. I've never used synth oil yet, but may start using it on this engine later. I see a few tests that do show reduced wear over the long haul when using synth oil. I'll probably use mobil 1 if I do. It's easy to find at any store...MK

Reply to
Mark Keith

On Thu, 31 Jul 2003 16:16:16 -0700, Mark Keith rearranged some electrons to form:

Exxon & Mobil are the same company now.

Reply to
David M

Yes you can safely use the 20/50 oil. The reason for the light weight oil is to contribute to fuel economy. Heavier oils take more energy to pump through the engine.

How about So Cal - -

5.8L : >originally specified 10-30 and Ford changed it to 5-30. I use 5-30 and the : >engine has 173,000 miles on it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Stick : >with what has worked. Give the 20-50 away to somebody with a air cooled : >motorcycle. : >

: >

: >

: >

: >

: : -- : Fred Mehlos : snipped-for-privacy@mchsi.com : :

Reply to
Evereddy

Reply to
Jamie and Chip Owens

All the oil on sale today has to meet the current API spec, which is pretty stringent - and about to get much more so. IMO you almost cannot buy a bad oil. All are good, there may be a few that are marginally better in some way due to an additive package. Even the private labels are made mostly by Pennzoil/Quaker State or Valvoline. Go with a brand you are comfortable with.

My choices for oil tend to be:

Castrol, because I like the rep and they occasionally contribute oil for my race cars. Valvoline, because they sponsor the SCCA Runoffs. Also, because they are a no-nonsense manufacturer of high-quality lubricants. Parts Plus Oil, because it's inexpensive and it's made by Pennzoil/Quaker State or Valvoline, depending on where you order it. I figure it's the same oil as the branded products. It's also the same oil you get at the Kwik Lubes.

Redl

Reply to
Rex B

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.