Picked up my work truck today after the maintenance department performed the routine service. The truck is a 2003 F250 with a V-8 gas engine that specs 5w20. I asked the service mgr. what type of oil that they put in. He said that they use Hydrotex synthetic blend 15w40 in everything, including the diesel school buses, with yearly oil changes. I have a 2003 F150, and have used 5w20, 5w30, and 10w30 but never 15w40. Any thoughts?
5w20=15w40
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I wouldn't sweat it, especially in the summer heat. If the shop made this mistake in winter, I'd dump it & re-fill with 5w20.
If they conclude that it's proper to use this oil in everything, they sure wouldn't be comfortable perusing mfrs. recommendations, or the BITOG forum.
Pat your oil change tech on the back. Shake his hand and say, "job well done."
I usually change my own oil. However, sometimes I don't have time and I have to argue with the oil techie to get them to put in the viscosity I want.
They think I'm insane when I as for an xW-40 for my Ford 4.6 that has an oil cap labeled 5W20.
I usually change my own oil. However, sometimes I don't have time and I have to argue with the oil techie to get them to put in the viscosity I want.
They think I'm insane when I as for an xW-40 for my Ford 4.6 that has an oil cap labeled 5W20.
15w40 is totally old school for the mixed gasoline and diesel fleets and it simply does not meet the requirements of modern day gasoline engines. If I were running a fleet and looking for a universal gas and diesel oil I would use a 100% synthetic diesel oil like Mobil Delvac 1 5w40 or a heavy duty synthetic diesel oil like Amsoil Series 3000 5w30. Both oils are rated heavy duty diesel and meet gasoline performance requirements and are a lot closer to the 56w20 grade then 15w40.
If money were tight I think that a good 10w30 or 10w40 semi-synthetic heavy duty diesel oil that meets gas specs may do the job a lot better than 15w40.
If money were tight I think that a good 10w30 or 10w40 semi-synthetic heavy duty diesel oil that meets gas specs may do the job a lot better than 15w40.
Shell Rottella also makes a 0w30 CH-4 grade oil that would work good for 5w20 applications
I'd give 'em a big thumbs up. In Tx, you can rarely go wrong with 15W-40. Reminds me of the oil filler for the rearend of an old (20s) Fordson tractor- simply said "keep full of heavy oil" on it. I need to make a custom cap for my truck that says that. It really should be all the instruction anyone needs. That outta get the "engine oil needs to be just a touch thinner than WD-40" crowd riled up....
Yes but with the high price of diesel and gasoline these days a fleet needs a thinner fuel economy oil just to save money.
So you think you know more than the service department ? The oil is a heavy duty motor oil not a diesel oil there is a difference. A heavy duty engine is designed for the most demanding commercial use in gasoline and diesel engines.
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Here's where you really lose me. If thinner oils were going to substantially provide any gain in commercial/fleet use ..they would design engines to use them ...and indeed use them. Neither the diesel engine manufacturers or the vast number of fleet operators grew up in a vacuum and just arbitrarily drew a 15w-40 line in the sand that they have stood by for a good bit ..and probably will for a good bit more.
Tell me where these 10's of thousands of people ...people who are paid professionals to know everything there is at making fleets run ..and run at the most sensible level of economics ..have missed your point
Now I'm all for thinner oils. I use them whenever possible ...and attempt to buck irrational convention at every step. I'll try 5w-20 in engines that have proven to react favorably to 40 weights. I challenge most who believe "thicker is better" and think that "the manufacturer is screwing you and will blow up your engine because they want you to buy another one cuz they think you're that stupid to do it and then still stupid enough to do it again".
But it appears that YOU are revolutionizing the entire commercial/heavy duty service requirements of the world based on .......
Can you give us some tid bits and ancillary impressions so that I can accept your take on this over the aforementioned masses of qualified personnel??
You must think I am reffering to Mobil 1 5w40 Truck and SUV oil and think I'm trying to make that oil into a big rig oil. But the fact is that major Heavy duty OEM's have been recommending synthetic 5w40 engine oils for years now. Look at Detroit Diesel Powerguard 1 5w40 synthetic diesel oil. And look at Cummins Premium Blue 5w40 synthetic diesel oil. If these oils are SUV oils why are they sold in one gallon jugs ? Why do they have pictures of big rig trucks on the bottle? Why do they meet all the latest big rig specifications. The OEM's have been doing their part to encourage the use of 5w40 energy conserving oils but they can't force the trucking community to buy these products so naturally they target the SUV market.
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..btw- 0w-30 Shell blend has NO diesel engine manufacturer spec's and is only an SJ oil. Any mixed fleet ..even one that was brand new ..outside of the artic circle ..could use it on anything and be in spec. It would be unlikely that it would be carried for such limited non-use.
..and M1 T&SUV had identical spec's to D1 ..I don't know what you were getting at by saying what you did
5w30 is about as low as you can go for a full specification heavy duty 4 stroke diesel oil.
25 years ago 15w40 was the universal fleet oil because the trucks were running on 15w40 and SAE 30 grade oil and most passenger cars called for 10w40 engine oils. But in this day and age when most cars are running on 5w20 and 5w30 engine oil a good case is being made to make 5w30, 5w40 or 10w30 the new universal fleet oil.
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Well Pennzoil doesn't offer a 5w-30 "fully spec'd" HDEO.
Shell offers no 5w-30 "fully spec'd"
QuakerState offers on 5w-30 "fully spec'd"
They all offer CF spec oils in 5w-30.
Mobil T&SUV 5w-30 is CF/CD
Superflow has no "C" spec according to the PDS
AFAIK: Amsoil is the only one that I'm aware of that offers a fully spec'd 5w-30 diesel oil.
They do yearly oil changes on your work truck? How many miles do you put on it in a year? How is your work truck used?
You can use 15w40 in your truck if you want, but it's a waste of gas, and it's not going to provide any less wear for a close to normal OCI. A member here already demonstrated that using a credible test procedure:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=002975
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001965
I wouldn't use 15w40 in the winter, as I once lived in Allen so I know the cold snaps you can get there.
To quote the 2006 Ford F250 SuperDuty owner's manual for gasoline engines (5.4L/6.8L):
To protect your engine’s warranty use Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 or an equivalent 5W-20 oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C930-A. SAE 5W-20 oil provides optimum fuel economy and durability performance meeting all requirements for your vehicle’s engine.
[ July 28, 2006, 07:00 AM: Message edited by: 427Z06 ]
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