What should I do (03 Taurus)???

[beermanj]

I have a 03 Taurus (vulcan engine) with 70,000 miles and I just recently did the Auto-rx treatment. So I went to wal-mart to get the oil changed and I requested 5-20 to do the flush. At the time I was on vacation in Florida and I was traveling back to Texas, I noticed that they stuck 20-50 in my car So when I just dumped out 20-50 when I got home and put 5-20 in.

But to make this short I noticed my car gas mileage went up with the 20-50, but I know this oil is to thick. I'm thinking about going with 0-30 in the Taurus. Is that a dumb idea? Does anybody have any other ideas.

Also I suck at typing and Wal-Mart sucks. Take Care

 

[Johnny]

0W-30 will work well in your Taurus, as will the 5W-20. Don't know why it would get better mpg using the 20W-50 unless it had something to do with the rinse phase of the treatment. If it was my Taurus I would run either Pennzoil YB or Motorcraft 5W-20 in it. Both of those oils work great in the Vulcan engine. At least they did in the company Taurus I use to drive.

 

[ZZman]

Why would you want to run a 0w30 in Texas? If anything I would run a 10-30 or 10-40 for that heat.

 

[dnewton3]

I'd have to question just how you know for sure that they put 20w-50 in? Did you pull a UOA and have the vis checked? I'd no sooner take the word (or documentation) of a wal-mart grease jockey than anyone else I didn't know.

Regardless, I suspect the increasd fuel efficiency was due to one or two things. The ARX certainly helped clean out the engine. Also, a long trip such as your vacation does have it's benefits; long operational times, and more highway driving. Is the mileage increase truely measured over time, or is it just a short duration perception?

Frank has some excellent posts up on the ARX webpage; links regarding the success of ARX contributing to increased fuel efficiency.

But to get back a bit more on topic, I'd use a 5w30 year round in your area. The 20 grade would work too, but the 30 grade might hold up a bit better in the heat.

It's not like oil selection is going to kill the Vulcan anyway; it is the "little engine that could". It is one of the most indestructable engines ever made. A bit underpowered, to be sure, but certainly capable of 250k miles, even on el-cheapo oil.

My BIL was driving my old '92 Vulcan Taurus, with 280k miles on it. It's now stopped dead in their driveway. Not because of oil related issues, but because he can't change a starter. If that thing hung any lower or easier to get to in front of the block, it'd be a plow. Sad end to a car that probably would easily make 300k and more. I suspect it's heading to the junk yard. To bad.

Sorry - I'm getting misty ...

 

[demarpaint]

I'd give the 5W20 a try, I changed my 93 3.0 Vulcan Aerostar over to 5W20 from 5W30, and it is running great! As far as the 20W50 doing better on gas, if that's the case wait till you run it on the 5W20.

Frank D

 

[Greggy_D]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
Why would you want to run a 0w30 in Texas? If anything I would run a 10-30 or 10-40 for that heat.

You do realize that 0w30 and 10w30 are both.......drumroll please........30 WEIGHTS!!!!.

 

[Solidox]

Originally Posted By: Greggy_D
Originally Posted By: ZZman
Why would you want to run a 0w30 in Texas? If anything I would run a 10-30 or 10-40 for that heat.

You do realize that 0w30 and 10w30 are both.......drumroll please........30 WEIGHTS!!!!.



GUESS WHAT

drumroll please

you're wrong...

0w 30 is a 0 weight oil. and 10w 30 is a 10 weight
oil. the 2nd number stands for viscosity index.

 

[calvin1]

Originally Posted By: Solidox
Originally Posted By: Greggy_D
Originally Posted By: ZZman
Why would you want to run a 0w30 in Texas? If anything I would run a 10-30 or 10-40 for that heat.

You do realize that 0w30 and 10w30 are both.......drumroll please........30 WEIGHTS!!!!.



GUESS WHAT

drumroll please

you're wrong...

0w 30 is a 0 weight oil. and 10w 30 is a 10 weight
oil. the 2nd number stands for viscosity index.

This ought to be good.

 

[calvin1]

Originally Posted By: beermanj
I have a 03 Taurus (vulcan engine) with 70,000 miles and I just recently did the Auto-rx treatment. So I went to wal-mart to get the oil changed and I requested 5-20 to do the flush. At the time I was on vacation in Florida and I was traveling back to Texas, I noticed that they stuck 20-50 in my car So when I just dumped out 20-50 when I got home and put 5-20 in.

But to make this short I noticed my car gas mileage went up with the 20-50, but I know this oil is to thick. I'm thinking about going with 0-30 in the Taurus. Is that a dumb idea? Does anybody have any other ideas.

Also I suck at typing and Wal-Mart sucks. Take Care


As to the point at hand, I would stick with the MC 5w20. For a standard OCI (5k or thereabouts) I can't think of an oil that is a better value. I know Texas gets hot, but an engine gets a lot hotter just about anywhere it's run. I have put about 200k on MC 5w20 in the last few years and most of it was in 3.0 Vulcans. It took good care of me in all weather conditions.

 

[greenaccord02]

*grabs a cold beer*

*gets a good seat for the fight*

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: Solidox
Originally Posted By: Greggy_D
Originally Posted By: ZZman
Why would you want to run a 0w30 in Texas? If anything I would run a 10-30 or 10-40 for that heat.

You do realize that 0w30 and 10w30 are both.......drumroll please........30 WEIGHTS!!!!.



GUESS WHAT

drumroll please

you're wrong...

0w 30 is a 0 weight oil. and 10w 30 is a 10 weight
oil. the 2nd number stands for viscosity index.



I really hope you're kidding. The number that comes before the "W" is a winter specification. It relates to its cold flow properties at a certain temperature. The next number, after the W, is the grade, or what the viscosity is at operating temperature.

 

[Johnny]

ThirdeYe is correct.

 

[FrankN4]

Johnny is correct about ThirdYe being correct.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: FrankN4
Johnny is correct about ThirdYe being correct.

Frank is correct about Johnny being correct about ThirdYe being correct that Solidox is wrong

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: dnewton3
a long trip such as your vacation does have it's benefits; long operational times, and more highway driving. Is the mileage increase truely measured over time, or is it just a short duration perception?


This is the issue here. My dad's Taurus (01) will only get 20mpg for all city driving, but for all highway it can get up to 26-27mpg.

 

[addyguy]

Even in Texas, I don't think W-M would put a 20W-50 in your car. They're not THAT dumb to put something THAT out of spec in an engine.

Maybe the tech meant to write '5W-20', and he has some trouble, got distracted...and wrote 20W-50?

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
Why would you want to run a 0w30 in Texas? If anything I would run a 10-30 or 10-40 for that heat.


Originally Posted By: Greggy_D
Originally Posted By: ZZman
Why would you want to run a 0w30 in Texas? If anything I would run a 10-30 or 10-40 for that heat.

You do realize that 0w30 and 10w30 are both.......drumroll please........30 WEIGHTS!!!!.



If we're talking 0W-30, we're talking synthetic; so please explain the advantages of running a thicker conventional oil over, say, German Castrol SYNTEC that meets the tough ACEA A3 European performance spec?

Secondly, GC is "thicker" at temperature than just about any 10w30 out there...

 

[Bryanccfshr]

Originally Posted By: Solidox
Originally Posted By: Greggy_D
Originally Posted By: ZZman
Why would you want to run a 0w30 in Texas? If anything I would run a 10-30 or 10-40 for that heat.

You do realize that 0w30 and 10w30 are both.......drumroll please........30 WEIGHTS!!!!.









GUESS WHAT

drumroll please

you're wrong...

0w 30 is a 0 weight oil. and 10w 30 is a 10 weight
oil. the 2nd number stands for viscosity index.





My suggestion is to stop posting unless you have a question. Read more and abstain from making declarative statements.

 

[HTSS_TR]

It's not possible that gas mileage improved with 20W50 in a car spec'ed for 5W20.

 

[dnewton3]

beermanj - don't let all this bickering and in-fighting distract you from your quest.

I suspect, given your area, that the following will work fine in your Vulcan-powered vehicle:
a) 0w-20
b) 0w-30
c) 5w-20
d) 5w30
e) 5w-40
f) 10w30
g) 10w-40
h) 15w40
i) 20w-50 (as evidenced by your trip)
j) 7w-33 (a home-brew variation, averaged from all the above!

)

from any of the major brands, in anything from cheap house-brand "dino" oil to top end pricey "synthetics". (Did I miss any? Feel free to add in, ad nauseum.)

Truly, that engine doesn't care. You might; and many here would (and apparently will) argure about it.

But the Vulcan doesn't.