I recently (500miles ago) changed the oil in my commuter car 2018 Ford Escape 2.0 with 75,000 miles on it. I was using some Castrol Edge High mileage 5w30 and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing good, nothing bad but did get Slightly higher fuel mileage than with a the previous change. This fill I used Quaker State FS 10w30 for the summer months. The car starts quiet and runs great but when hot, like at a stop light in gear, the engine is noticeably loader. No bad sounds just normal engine sounds amplified. Is this any indication that this engine doesn’t care for this oil or is sound totally inadmissible in the function of the oil?
I Just must mention that pro engine builders and proper mechanics
and drivers have been using engine sound, harmonics and noises as a partial assessment of engine health since time immemorial.
I have been a vocal proponent of QS FS 10w30 in my Ecosport 2.0L D.I engine. Last year I installed that oil around this time, and the car ran fantastic all summer through fall and showed good fuel mileage , and when drained at end of the OCI came out looking great for a D.I run. This past winter I ran QS 5w20 - it is much nosier hot, but the car ran good enough.
Hoping to repeat last years success with the QS, which - showed no evidence of its 10w30 grade in bogging the engine -
I installed the same with the same motorcraft oil filter (in my signature below). Well this time, the oil felt like thick goo - even warmed, and the engine had lost its spritelyness - even though fuel mileage improved (3mpg long term ave) over the winter run. It just wasn't running "right". Even the filter was dripping a bit - and it was on tight enough.
What to do? So, yesterday afternoon I decided to drain 3/4 quart and substitute some 5w20 I had left over from other fills. The oil drained came out surprisingly slow - though it was cold that afternoon - being a bit under 50F ambient and raining. I actually had to cap and drain it twice to just get a long 1/2 of a quart out. I was soggy and I wasn't going back for thirds t get that 3/4 out.
Haven't driven the car yet today. Don't expect a huge difference but we will see.
My overall point is - with allowable substitutions in base stocks and allowable variations within a grade - you never know what you are going to get year to year.
I am very disappointed. This lube was " magic" on its first run but not even recommendable on its second.
I would not read too much into small differences in noise - just when the car is not performing properly AND it's noisy with odd harmonics I would then start investigating. Regular noisy starts could be a filter issue.
- Ken