Greetings,
As an equipment tech for a state agency, I would like to hear your opinion on a suggestion being considered (not by me) to change from the manufactured oil recommendations of 5W-30 and 5W-20 to the “good ‘ol Delo 400” or 15W-40 oil to be installed in our fleet of various makes and models of mainly American brands….from 4.0 L Chevys to V-10 F450s. It has been suggested (not by me) to do this change over after the vehicle is off warranty. My concern and objection is the extreme duty and climate of eastern Washington where the temperature can vary from minus 30 degrees in the winter to over 105 degrees in the summer. We have a variety of vehicles in our fleet that I take care of…little pool vehicle sedans, forester half ton 4 wheel drive trucks and some 1 ton pumper trucks in the fire program. Our agency fleet does have a “revolving fund” set up to replace vehicles at 100k miles utilizing the monthly rental rate that funds the replacement cost of each vehicle. I have now received emails of stories on how amazingly the engine life has increased 100k miles with no oil consumption after using 15W-40 oil, but my guess is I can find 100 more success stories of increased engine life- and mileage from those who stayed with, for example a 5W-20 oil. Do you believe there would be any significant benefit by switching to a heavier, oil or could there possibly be problems associated with a heavier oil being used in some engines? My recommendation at this point (with our fleet) would be to stay with the manufacture’s recommended oil viscosity.
Thanks much for your time,
Rick Johnson
As an equipment tech for a state agency, I would like to hear your opinion on a suggestion being considered (not by me) to change from the manufactured oil recommendations of 5W-30 and 5W-20 to the “good ‘ol Delo 400” or 15W-40 oil to be installed in our fleet of various makes and models of mainly American brands….from 4.0 L Chevys to V-10 F450s. It has been suggested (not by me) to do this change over after the vehicle is off warranty. My concern and objection is the extreme duty and climate of eastern Washington where the temperature can vary from minus 30 degrees in the winter to over 105 degrees in the summer. We have a variety of vehicles in our fleet that I take care of…little pool vehicle sedans, forester half ton 4 wheel drive trucks and some 1 ton pumper trucks in the fire program. Our agency fleet does have a “revolving fund” set up to replace vehicles at 100k miles utilizing the monthly rental rate that funds the replacement cost of each vehicle. I have now received emails of stories on how amazingly the engine life has increased 100k miles with no oil consumption after using 15W-40 oil, but my guess is I can find 100 more success stories of increased engine life- and mileage from those who stayed with, for example a 5W-20 oil. Do you believe there would be any significant benefit by switching to a heavier, oil or could there possibly be problems associated with a heavier oil being used in some engines? My recommendation at this point (with our fleet) would be to stay with the manufacture’s recommended oil viscosity.
Thanks much for your time,
Rick Johnson