Oil Viscosity Question

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Cristobal

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My crankcase right now has about 5-1/2 quarts of PYB, 10W-30. That weight is OK down to about 10 degrees F. But it is getting iffy at 0 degrees F. The sump officially holds six quarts and can take some over-fill.

In about a month, I will go up to an area where the 5:00 AM lows are around -10 F to zero F.

Do you think it will do if I just haul along a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil to put in the crank case and thin it if need be? How much would this thin it? I am just concerned about morning starts when it has been cold all night.
 
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
My crankcase right now has about 5-1/2 quarts of PYB, 10W-30. That weight is OK down to about 10 degrees F. But it is getting iffy at 0 degrees F. The sump officially holds six quarts and can take some over-fill.

In about a month, I will go up to an area where the 5:00 AM lows are around -10 F to zero F.

Do you think it will do if I just haul along a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil to put in the crank case and thin it if need be? How much would this thin it? I am just concerned about morning starts when it has been cold all night.

On cold days, just run the engine before you go to bed it won't get too cold by the morning.
wink.gif


Next time, run synthetic 5W-30 or 0W-30 instead of conventional 10W-30 and you will be set year-around and world-around. Even better, run 0W-40 for added protection.
 
1. How long will you stay there?
2. How close are you to your oil change?

For me, I would just put in a quart of 5w-30 in before the trip and call it good. If it really gets down to -10F I would just let her idle for a few minutes first.

That said, my father has run 15w-40 HDEO in his 1992 Suburban from the day he bought it up here in Michigan. Nearly 400,000 miles later, it's still ticking like a timex watch.
 
Forget the MMO.
The engine will start with the 10W-30, just keep the rev's as low as possible, very gradually warming up the engine and you'll be fine.

But next oil change go with a 5W-30.
 
That is not the ideal way I would want to thin out my oil.

Can you remove a couple of quarts of the oil and then put in a couple quarts of 0w20?

That is what I would do and then you would have oil at about 7w27 weight and that should be ok for cold starts. Or just change it out and put in your desired wt or what is recommended
 
Originally Posted By: BobsArmory

That said, my father has run 15w-40 HDEO in his 1992 Suburban from the day he bought it up here in Michigan. Nearly 400,000 miles later, it's still ticking like a timex watch.


So much for 0W-xx oils. LOL On a more serious note long before 5W-xx oils were popular I used Mobil 1 10W30 down to -30F on a few occasions. My pre-luber couldn't pump it, but the engine started and ran. Just let it run a few minutes and go slow and easy until it warms up.
 
Originally Posted By: BobsArmory
1. How long will you stay there?
2. How close are you to your oil change?

For me, I would just put in a quart of 5w-30 in before the trip and call it good. If it really gets down to -10F I would just let her idle for a few minutes first.

That said, my father has run 15w-40 HDEO in his 1992 Suburban from the day he bought it up here in Michigan. Nearly 400,000 miles later, it's still ticking like a timex watch.


Love hearing thing like this.
Wish my truck could run thicker like 10-30 or 40
 
Originally Posted By: Gokhan
Even better, run 0W-40 for added protection.

That's ridiculous.
The 0W-40 will likely still be heavier on start-up at these temp's vs a typical synthetic 5W-30 and reduced oil flow 100% of the time otherwise.
So where is "added protection" unless a 40 grade oil was specified? None.
 
Originally Posted By: CATERHAM

The 0W-40 will likely still be heavier on start-up at these temp's vs a typical synthetic 5W-30


At -23C? (-10F) No. The crossover will be somewhere around -15C (5F)

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
and reduced oil flow 100% of the time otherwise.


LOL!!! He doesn't even list his application and you toss this out there like it is some universal factoid. Classic.

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
So where is "added protection" unless a 40 grade oil was specified? None.


Higher levels of AW additives, but those are probably insignificant if the OP's application just calls for a regular oil (which I would assume it does based on his use of 10w-30).

Your fear mongering of the claimed pitfalls of heavier oils is just as ridiculous as Gokan's overzealous peddling of M1 0w-40.
 
You boys are gonna run your blood presssure sky high, just read the darn manual and have a nice day...remember the odds of you blowing your engine to kindom come are slim and none...
 
Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
So where is "added protection" unless a 40 grade oil was specified? None.

OP's car apparently specifies 10W-30 but not 5W-30, which means it likes thicker oil. xW-30 oils sold in US are ILSAC oils, which means they are blended for the thinnest allowable xW-30 viscosity. If a car specifies 10W-30 but not 5W-30, 0W-40 is a good choice for added protection at normal operating temperatures.
 
Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
and reduced oil flow 100% of the time otherwise.


You know that the bearings only take what they need from the pressurised galleries (or should, I've shown you enough times)...

Flow doesn't lubricate.


Funnily enough, in your drive to reduce OP to below the relief setting, you are actually reducing flow to places where flow actually matters, like piston cooling jets and the like.
 
As with a lot of BTOG threads, a lot of you guys are not answering the question. I have noted that many times on other people's BITOG threads. It's annoying. It's like asking a question about Canadian whiskey and getting told all about wine from Crete.

I have a lot of different oil weights in my stash. This is just the latest change. I am not going to change it early. I am not about to dump any of it. I am not going to drain it partially, as that is just Micky-Mouse nonsense.

My specific question was about the MMO. A LOT of guys run MMO with their oil anyway. I am at a loss as to why some of you are freaking out over it. Again, will the MMO lower the viscosity if I add a quart, and by about how much? I presume it will, maybe change the 10W-30 to about a 5W-25.

The car is spec'd for 5W-30 or 10W-30. It is a 1996 Avalon with a 1MZ-FE engine. I have run everything from 5W-20 to 15-W-50 in it over the last 20 years with good results.

My the way, a buddy of mine has been running MMO for over 300,000 miles in his old Toyota truck, a quart with every change.
 
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