I am picking up a new to me 02 Ford minivan. My question is did ford call for 5W20 in the 3.8 V6 in 02? The Amsoil site mentions this TSB "5W-20 approved for this application per Ford TSB 02-1-9" MC 5000 is on sale at Fleet Farm for $1.69 a Qt and I want to stock up but need to know which one.
2002 Ford Windstar oil 5W20 or5W30
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Use either. The car is out of warranty plus if it is a TSB that changes it to 5w20 then it was spec'd for 5w30 when it was brand new anyway.
Looking at the last printing of the manual from Ford it indicates that 5w20 is spec'd. I think this vehicle came out originally in 1995 and the oil may have been spec'd other than 5w20. I believe that Ford back spec'd most of its engines from 5w30 etc to 5w20 around 2001 for increased Fuel Economy except for a few engines like the 4.0 SOHC and maybe the lincoln LS?
Check out the manual on Fords website.
Check out the manual on Fords website.
if it were me, i'd go 5w30 in hot weather and 5w20 otherwise
since you're in WI, it's probably ok to go 5w20 most of the year. does it get pretty hot there in the summer?
i'm not saying you need 5w30 in hot weather but you can get away with 5w30 in hot weather without as much efficiency loss due to the oil
since you're in WI, it's probably ok to go 5w20 most of the year. does it get pretty hot there in the summer?
i'm not saying you need 5w30 in hot weather but you can get away with 5w30 in hot weather without as much efficiency loss due to the oil
5w20 was spec'd on my 2001 Windstar 3.8L. I believe Ford started the spec around 1999-2000. That's all I ran in it, in the years I owned it. It was a great van for us BTW. Much more importatnly than the engine oil visc. range, be sure to change out the transmission fluid. The AX4N trans in this application turns it's Merc V all nasty in under 36Kmi. I had a pan drop & filter change done at ~36K, then did yearly pump outs and refills thru the ATF dipstick tube.
Joel
Joel
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We live just a few miles from the Floria line with long hot summers and use 5W20 year around.
Same goes for the police cars here and you know the abuse they get.
I would use 5W20 year around.
Same goes for the police cars here and you know the abuse they get.
I would use 5W20 year around.
I had a 1996 3.8L Windstar.
Owner's manual specified 5W-30
TSB later recommended 5W-20, at which point I switched to the 5W-20.
I ran that oil for most of the time I had the van, got it in 1999 with just under 38K miles on it and sold it this past spring with over 229K miles on it.
It was still running VERY well.
I would recommend the 5W-20 oil year round.
It is VERY important to stay on top of transmission fluid changes.
The transmission fluid needs to be changed every 30K miles for normal service....that is a full fluid exchange, replacing all the fluid.
Some folks do a drain and refill of the pan, but that would need to be done MUCH more frequently.
I also installed a auxillary transmission fluid cooler.
Owner's manual specified 5W-30
TSB later recommended 5W-20, at which point I switched to the 5W-20.
I ran that oil for most of the time I had the van, got it in 1999 with just under 38K miles on it and sold it this past spring with over 229K miles on it.
It was still running VERY well.
I would recommend the 5W-20 oil year round.
It is VERY important to stay on top of transmission fluid changes.
The transmission fluid needs to be changed every 30K miles for normal service....that is a full fluid exchange, replacing all the fluid.
Some folks do a drain and refill of the pan, but that would need to be done MUCH more frequently.
I also installed a auxillary transmission fluid cooler.
Thanks for the replies. I will use the 5W20. The van has 86000 miles on it and will be mostly in town mommy duty type driving.
The trans was flushed this summer
The trans was flushed this summer
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