I recently did an oil change on a '93 Buick Century. I used a 5W/ 30 oil. After I was finished putting the oil in, I read on the cap " use
You are supposed to read the cap before putting oil in, but I guess you figured that out by now. 5W30 is not optimal, but it won't make your engine seize after ten miles. If you change your oil every 2000 to 3000 miles, I wouldn't worry about it. If you change it at a year or 7000 miles, then consider putting 10W30 in it. What are we talking about here, ten dollars worth of oil?
Your oil gauge or indicator light will tell you if the pressure in the oil feed passages is too low, but that isn't your real worry. What you have to worry about, is the instantaneous pressure at the crankshaft bearings. 5W30 is probably good enough, unless you plan on racing the vehicle.
There is no real answer to this question.
Earle
Probably not, but if it's a 93 it probably has a lot of time (miles) on it, so the clearances are even wider than when made. It's usually best to put in heavier oils the older an engine gets.
You needn't change the filter again, just the oil.
If he has that many miles he should consider 15W-40 or 20W-50 wouldn't you think?
I used Shell's Rotella T 15W-40 for a long time in high mileage cars
No, it'll leak out faster than the thicker oil, that's a downside. But it'll get into the tight places -- if there are any left -- easier in winter, that's an upside.
Thanks for all the input. Believe it or not, the car only has 70K on it. It was a grandma's car that was only driven to church on Sunday's.
1 owner. My wife got it 2 years ago with 23K on it. It is nearing the end of summer, so should I worry about changing it to 10W/30 or 2000-3000 Miles... It is not the cost of the oil... its the time.....Does the owners manual say anything about alternate oil viscosities? I have a vague recollection GM had gone to 5W-30 before that....
The necessity to go to a 5W-X isn't even fathonable until you own an AMC 258 in Northern Canada LMARO !!!!
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