In an attempt to save money I'm doing an oil change myself and looking for some advice. The recommended oil page of the manual for my 2002 Ford Transit 2.4L Dura Torq V184 Diesel engine recommends me to use either:
5w30, 5w40 or.. 10w40
I live in QLD and the temp never drops below 0° (coldest ever 3.6°C).
I'm considering using 20w40 Castrol Agri MP Plus because I have a 20L drum of it in the shed and have no other use for it since I sold my tractor.
Is this oil ok to use?
Isn't there a flip side to that meaning the thicker oil will be better for hot engine at higher rpm? If so wouldn't that cancel out the cold start wear issue?
95% of wear is done within the first couple of minutes from a cold start, if you want to run that oil listed at least wait until spring/summer then change it out before winter.
But personally since oil is fairly cheap i would just get the 10w/40 and go from there.
The hot viscosity is denoted by the 40, which is the same for both the recommended oil and your proposed substitute. It's the Winter viscosity that differs.
How old is your engine, and how much life left in the van? If it's getting towards the end of its life, use whatever oil you have. If you want to keep it for a lot longer, that's a different story.
Are you changing the oil, or just topping up? I'd top up with the other stuff in an old van. If you change oil every 6months, use the 20/40 over summer and change it back before winter?
If Ford recommend a minimum of 10 why in the world would you go to a 20??
and you could probably use agg oil to save yourself from trouble but i would not use it between services.
Just buy magnatec 10w-40 Meets and exceeds API SN/CF, ACEA A3/B3, A3/B allways on special for half price
just crazy to use Agg oil
Cheers for all the help. Seems I need to buy some oil. That's ok I was just trying to be cheap… Yes I want this car to last. It's 2002 model with over 200K but I still want to look after it, can't afford a new car :)
You should be able to use the spare oil in summer.
Repco have 30% off tomorrow any oil suggestions? I'm thinking the cheapest 5 or 10 but cheapest might be bad oil? I"m clueless lol.
so long as it meets the viscosity rating AND the other named specs, like SAE or ACEA or C4 or whatever else is in your book
personally i would recommend a 5w30, diesel oil, that meets the SAE (or whatever) and of course a new filter
an expensive oil is maybe $15 per L and a cheap one $10 per L, over a 6 month or 12 month period, does that small amount really matter to you?
i guess you need more than one 5L bottle?
Yeah 7Ltr. Thanks mate that really helps and you are right the extra cost does not matter. I do wonder though how much better the expensive stuff is from the cheapest stuff.
dunno - don't want to find out for myself
in theory, if one oil is the same spec as another, there is no difference…..
Totally also why wouldn’t the mechanic use the cheapest stuff? I mean it costs him less and he gets more business right?
If you use the 20 oil, that means the oil is thicker when cold, meaning it takes longer to thin out as it warms and there is more friction between moving parts for longer, causing more wear. It's up to you. I wouldn't. I would always go the 5, even over the 10, regardless of where you are in Australia.