incorrect oil put in V6 F-150

Hi all, A Dodge dealership where I bought my used F-150 offers oil change service where I only pay for parts. However, they put in 10W30 oil in there, while the engine requires 5W20 according to the manual (it's 4.2L V6). When I brought this up with the floor manager, he said it's ok, and refused to drain and change it to the factory spec one. Having no way to get it changed over the weekend, I drove the truck for 200+ miles, but I thought I'll rush to another shop on Monday to get it all changed to 5W20. Or is it indeed "no big deal" like the manager at the dealership was saying and I should just keep driving it until the next oil change is due? Thanks, Paul

Reply to
Pawel Slusarz
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No big deal. IF it was, you'd have wrecked the valvetrain, among other things in the engine, by now.

Allegedly, 5-20 is offered for emissions reasons from the factory.

Reply to
alfredB18

On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 21:29:59 -0500, Pawel Slusarz rearranged some electrons to form:

It won't hurt it.

Reply to
David M

Not an issue. 5W20 is usually spec'd for emissions and mileage reasons. Ford sys I'm supposed to run their 5W20 oil on my SuperDuty. I run 10W30 and I've got 68,000 hard worked miles on it - zero problems.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net>

mileage

SuperDuty.

Thanks for your and everybody else's replies. So why are you using 10W30 instead of what the factory says? is 5W20 more expensive than 10W30? Or is 10W30 better at protecting engine from wear, or something different altogether?

Paul

Reply to
Pawel Slusarz

Reply to
user

Could you say that again.......in english, this time?

Reply to
Hairy

Dear Mr. English Major,

Just using the language that everyone else uses on this group. You get the drift. I do not know why but I can type something and read it and it look OK then come back and read it 30 minutes later and see it is all messed up. I give up. Old age I guess.

Hairy wrote:

Reply to
user

5W30 refers to the viscosity of the oil. They used to only make oil with a single viscosity (thickness - more like water or more like molasses - but now they make multiple viscosity oil. The water would be like the 5 in the 5W30; the molasses would be like the 30).

This multiple viscosity stuff is supposed to be low when the engine is cold - so it gets into the places where you want oil when it makes the first few rotations, so things are lubricated and last a long time. But after the engine warms up, you want a thicker oil and the 5W30 oil is supposed to look this way when it warms up. I don't know why - I'm not a chemical engineer. But it seems to work, and they all agree it does.

A lot of people seem to be cautiously cynical about this claim, and they will still specify a thicker oil - like the 10W30 - when it is warm outside. (Like me, for instance. Like maybe, is 5W30 really just a

112,5 viscosity, and the 10W30 is like a 20 Viscosity?) So they will want the thicker product in the summer. I know all about warranties, but who wants to get stranded and have some warranty weenie say, "Oops!".

I didn't know that the reason has to do with mileage, but I can understand it and believe it. Problem is that I bought a truck instead of a Focus because I wanted a truck, and I'm willing to pay a little more for gas. Whether it is due to wind resistance; weight; running gear; or the resistance of the moving parts in the mill due to oil viscosity....

Does this help you at all?

H.

Reply to
Rowbotth

Easier to get my grubby paws on. I've yet to find 5W20 at the local parts store and the only place I've seen it is at the dealer and of course, I get zinged dealer pricing. I can pick up a jug of 10W30 at the local 7-11 if need be and it's always in stock.

I don't know any differences in wear, but I would imagine frequency of chages would determine that more than the oil's viscosity.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

Relax. Get some sleep. Since you bought it used, you have no way of knowing that it has not always had 10w-30 or whatever in it or, even if it had ever been changed at all. If it had been mine in my part of the world in the SE USA,

10w30 is all it would have ever seen. The 5w-20 spec was instituted by Ford for CAFE reasons. IIRC, the Ford spec oil is something like a synthetic blend to enhance it's antiwear properties. Manufacturers went to the 5w30 spec years ago for this same reason to accommodate cold start conditions. Now that oil technology has improved, they altered the warm side specs.
Reply to
lugnut

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