Should I switch to 10w-30?

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My engine is burning oil after 200k miles. See number 6 for details. Also my father seems to think I should switch to 10w-30 and use lucus oil stabilizer. First off if my owners manual says 5w-20 (I currently use pennzoil high milage 5w-20) is it safe to use 10w-30? Also is that lucas stabilizer even necessary? Thank you. Below are my vehicle details.

1. What kind of vehicle you have-2009 jeep grand cherokee 3.7L 4x4
2. What your owner’s manual says - says to use SAE 5w-20 API certified engine oil
3. Where you live- northwest florida
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)easy and slow. Only drive fast when making a u turn through highway emergency vehicle median haha.
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)first 0-60k miles I have no idea(I try not to buy new vehicles). from 60-160k miles it was mostly all highway miles. From 160k-205k miles it was even city/highway.
6. Whether your car has any known problems (leaks, oil consumption etc)- at around 200k miles started to use/burn/consume/magic alot of oil. Basically it would read at the top of the safe line on dip stick after an oil change and 2 months after oil would only show up at the tip of the dip stick...nowhere near the safe line (I can kick myself). Also I have funny noise humming noise comming from ujoint or front differential. Pretty sure it's ujoint.
 
Use HM 5W20, 5W30, or 10W30 (Maxlife is a good one),try a new PCV valve, check your front axle gear oil & see if it is low or burnt, might want to check wheel bearings too.
 
Thanks bull winkle.Replaced pcv valve recently. I ripped the hose to shreds getting it off so I put a different hose on there with a slightly sharper bend. Still seemed to be big enough in diameter to not effect gas flow. Could that be a problem? Also as far as the funny humming noise I know for a fact it's not wheel bearings. I recently replaced the front diff Fluid too and filled it. But I will check again. Took it to 4 mechanics and 2 said it's differential and 2 said it's u-joint/ drive shaft. It humms loud only when I touch the accelerator at 43mph-50mph and 60-73mph and immediately stops if I let off the accelerator. Thanks again bull winkle
 
Thanks wills and zeng. I will upgrade then
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Skip the Lucas addative for sure. No harm in trying a 10w30, my personal choice would be Valvoline MaxLife. Drivetrain hum that subsidies with throttle position is more likely the rear differential unless its full time 4wd which I dont think yours is.
 
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How much oil brings it from tip of dipstick to full line? Would be good if you knew how much. If its 2 quarts per 10k mile OCI it isnt that bad. Im sure you can go to 10w30 HM and see if it helps. I wouldnt touch Lucas unless even the thickest oil doesnt slow the leak. I would switch to conventional HM and go thicker. Will at least be cheaper to top up.
 
Originally Posted By: NStuart
Remove front dshaft and road test


+1

Remove front driveshaft (should be only a few bolts) and test drive to see if the noise remains. If it does, likely a wheel bearing. If noise is gone, replace the u-joint.

10w30 high mileage should be fine in that engine, don't use Lucas it does nothing but make the oil thicker.
 
Thank you all for the advice. I'm actually going to try the remove front drive shaft suggestion. And I will be switching to 10w-30. Thank you all.
 
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