OT: switch to 5w20 in 200k mile ranger? any thoughts...

[ryan roopnarine]

any good reason why i shouldn't try this? the truck burns between 1/4 and 1/2 quart per 3k miles, has carbon build up and sluggishness typical of a 200k american gas pick up truck. thanks

[Bill R.]

number of reasons not to try it..... Ford has been running 5w20 since 2001 , is this a 2001 or newer? Also by ford's own data the gas mileage increase going from 5w30 to 5w20 is about 1/2 of 1%. And with 200k miles and some wear based on oil consumption, I'd just stick with 5w30 to make sure that there's a thick enough film of oil there.

any good reason why i shouldn't try this? the truck burns between 1/4 and 1/2 quart per 3k miles, has carbon build up and sluggishness typical of a 200k american gas pick up truck. thanks

[Tiger]

Ahh... I am going dizzy trying to see if those girls were naked or not...

As far as oil is concerned, I'd put in synthetic oil to stem the oil burning.

[repenttokyo]

have you tried running seafoam in through the PCV valve to remove the carbon buildup?

[ryan roopnarine]

i was going to get a deal on a box of 5w20 oil bill, and hit the 134k 99 taurus and the 200k 98 ranger at the same time. neither have ever touched xw20 anything, i'm just going off of the retroactive 20 weight approval ford issued in 2002. gas isn't exactly cheap, and the idea of a nice solid semi-syn motor oil for the price of a name brand conventional oil is attractive. iirc, they haven't been able to make xw20 oil purely out of conventional oil yet, have they?

i'd like to get that carbon out of there, but the thing sounds like soviet trak-tor, and doesn't die, so i don't want to be the one that kills it.

[Jon K]

Man 5w20 is way too thing for my blood. Stay conventional, or hell, go thicker.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Man 5w20 is way too thing for my blood. Stay conventional, or hell, go thicker.

Try tap water

[attack eagle]

hell go 10w 30 or 10 w40. there is no reason to be running super thin oil in a well worn ford pickup anyway. IF anytrhing thicker oil will help with your consumption.

[clindahl]

I wouldn't run 5w20 is anything. Have you heard about the Mazda RX8 problems? Evidently in the US to meet CAFE standards Mazda (In bed w/ Ford) runs 5w20 in their RX8 motors. Everywhere else in the world they supposedly run 5w30. Engine failures are not uncommon in the 5w20 areas especially in the South US where it is HOT. someone at works has a RX8 w/ 20k and already has a new engine Needless to say it will be traded when the warranty runs out.

go with a thicker engine oil. I changed the oil in my g/f's car and it had 5w20 in it, looked like water. I though the 5w30 in one of my cars when really hot was water, but 20w really is water....

[ryan roopnarine]

1) um, if your manufacturer is advising you to check your oil every other fuel fillup, there's likely less wrong with the motor oil than the engine.

2) mazda's rotary has always been screwy with respect to oil consumption.

3) the rx8's dipstick is allegedly hard to get to, and i've heard rumors that the fill cap is located under a plastic engine cover. hardly things conducive to non "car" people maintaining proper oil level.

4) thousands upon thousands of ford fleet vehicles (like police cars and cabs &c. &c.) since 2002 have lived their entire lives on xw20. i'm pretty certain that both ford and dodge (if not chevy too by now) require xw20 in their gas powered full size trucks. i'm not worried about the stuff breaking down.