08 Ford Escape... 10w30hm dino to 5w20 synthetic

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My just acquired Ford escape has about 211k miles on the 3.0L V6. It's been serviced for years at the local Castrol quick-lube and according to the sticker they put in 10w-30 high mileage. If I go to 5w-20 (which the car calls for) non-high-mileage, is it going to start leaking out everywhere, or will it be OK? I intend to use Royal Purple because I can get it for the same price or cheaper as Castrol and Mobil1.
 
You should be fine, nothing to worry about. However, some people say that they have leakage when stopping use of a HM oil. It may happen, it may not (all SN oils have seal conditioners, HM just have more).
 
That HM oil has seal conditioners, but seal swelling should be engineered to be the same as non-HM oils according to seal swell test requirements in SM/SN oils these days. It should be fine, but I'd still want to use an HM (pick 5w30 HM) oil in that 10 year old vehicle.
 
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Originally Posted By: dogememe
My just acquired Ford escape has about 211k miles on the 3.0L V6. It's been serviced for years at the local Castrol quick-lube and according to the sticker they put in 10w-30 high mileage. If I go to 5w-20 (which the car calls for) non-high-mileage, is it going to start leaking out everywhere, or will it be OK? I intend to use Royal Purple because I can get it for the same price or cheaper as Castrol and Mobil1.


try it with just the RP (and no additives); IT will let you know...
i've got an '05 chevy with 280K miles and it STILL doesn't burn or leak a drop of oil using only ST FULL SYN 5w30 @7K intervals for last 180k miles . . .
no additives
no hm
 
Originally Posted By: oldoak2000
Originally Posted By: dogememe
My just acquired Ford escape has about 211k miles on the 3.0L V6. It's been serviced for years at the local Castrol quick-lube and according to the sticker they put in 10w-30 high mileage. If I go to 5w-20 (which the car calls for) non-high-mileage, is it going to start leaking out everywhere, or will it be OK? I intend to use Royal Purple because I can get it for the same price or cheaper as Castrol and Mobil1.


try it with just the RP (and no additives); IT will let you know...
i've got an '05 chevy with 280K miles and it STILL doesn't burn or leak a drop of oil using only ST FULL SYN 5w30 @7K intervals for last 180k miles . . .
no additives
no hm


Oh yeah, I would NEVER put in any oil additives. Alright, I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Worst case I switch to Valvoline Maxlife Synblend or O'Reilly brand Full Syn HM. Thanks
smile.gif


Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
That HM oil has seal conditioners, but seal swelling should be engineered to be the same as non-HM oils according to seal swell test requirements in SM/SN oils these days. It should be fine, but I'd still want to use an HM (pick 5w30 HM) oil in that 10 year old vehicle.


Thank you! I was under the impression high mileage oil actually swelled seals, not just conditioning... good information! Makes me a little less worried. Any particular benefit to 5w-30 in an engine that calls for 5w-20. I mean, when I had my Crown Vic I ran 5w-30 instead of 5w-20 because I know thesame engine originally called for 5w-30 and were back-specced to 5w-20 for fuel economy reasons and I beat the snot out of that car... but I'm pretty sure the 3.0L V6 is a newer design with thinner oil in mind. Maybe I'm wrong? Wouldn't be the first time
laugh.gif
And btw this is my "gas saver" car so I need best MPG possible
smile.gif
 
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Originally Posted By: dogememe
Any particular benefit to 5w-30 in an engine that calls for 5w-20. I mean, when I had my Crown Vic I ran 5w-30 instead of 5w-20 because I know thesame engine originally called for 5w-30 and were back-specced to 5w-20 for fuel economy reasons... but I'm pretty sure the 3.0L V6 is a newer design with thinner oil in mind. Maybe I'm wrong? Wouldn't be the first time
laugh.gif
And btw this is my "gas saver" car so I need best MPG possible
smile.gif



I tend to say go up slightly in viscosity with a 200+ thousand mile engine like that for better ring and valve stem sealing on a worn engine. You'll do fine on 5w20 or 0w20 if you don't notice any consumption issues, and you will gain around 1.5% MPG due to less viscous oil drag using the xw20 oils.

As for your V6's design, it ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Duratec_V6_engine ) was produced a long time ago, 1993, and Ford evolved it gradually all the way to the end in 2012. It used 10w30 back in 1993. Going up slightly in viscosity never hurts wear at all, might even improve it if driven hard, and only hurts MPG some.

As for seal swell vs. conditioning concepts, the SL/SM/SN, and sometimes additional dexos1 shrink/swell testing, means it is within spec, i.e., the seals aren't going out of bounds with any oil that carries those specs. Conditioning keeps them from hardening too much (older seals).
 
I would stay with the 10w-30.

I know I may get some flak but I had an old Honda Prelude that had been on Castrol 5w30 conventional for the first 250K miles not using or dripping a drop of oil. I decided to go with a very popular and readily available synthetic and 25 K miles later my driveway is now covered in oil spots. I knew better. I knew better. I knew it in my guts.

Coincidence? Could be. What I know is I wish I had stayed with a conventional oil. I believe my changing to synthetic after over 200K miles caused these leaks. The leaking started the first 5K after changing over. I don't want to argue. Just my observation.
 
Originally Posted By: dogememe
Originally Posted By: oldoak2000
Originally Posted By: dogememe
My just acquired Ford escape has about 211k miles on the 3.0L V6. It's been serviced for years at the local Castrol quick-lube and according to the sticker they put in 10w-30 high mileage. If I go to 5w-20 (which the car calls for) non-high-mileage, is it going to start leaking out everywhere, or will it be OK? I intend to use Royal Purple because I can get it for the same price or cheaper as Castrol and Mobil1.


try it with just the RP (and no additives); IT will let you know...
i've got an '05 chevy with 280K miles and it STILL doesn't burn or leak a drop of oil using only ST FULL SYN 5w30 @7K intervals for last 180k miles . . .
no additives
no hm


Oh yeah, I would NEVER put in any oil additives. Alright, I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Worst case I switch to Valvoline Maxlife Synblend or O'Reilly brand Full Syn HM. Thanks
smile.gif


Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
That HM oil has seal conditioners, but seal swelling should be engineered to be the same as non-HM oils according to seal swell test requirements in SM/SN oils these days. It should be fine, but I'd still want to use an HM (pick 5w30 HM) oil in that 10 year old vehicle.


Thank you! I was under the impression high mileage oil actually swelled seals, not just conditioning... good information! Makes me a little less worried. Any particular benefit to 5w-30 in an engine that calls for 5w-20. I mean, when I had my Crown Vic I ran 5w-30 instead of 5w-20 because I know thesame engine originally called for 5w-30 and were back-specced to 5w-20 for fuel economy reasons and I beat the snot out of that car... but I'm pretty sure the 3.0L V6 is a newer design with thinner oil in mind. Maybe I'm wrong? Wouldn't be the first time
laugh.gif
And btw this is my "gas saver" car so I need best MPG possible
smile.gif



I have the 3.0L v6 in my fusion and you can run anything from 5w20 to 20w50. I'm currently running M1 HM 10w-30 and its doing quite well with about 5k miles on the oil.

If you haven't replaced the PCV valve with a new OEM valve I recommend you do so. Mine started allowing a lot of oil to pass around 150k. Changed the valve and now I'm back to a quart in 6k.

Monitor the level closely when you switch to 5w20 in case it does develop a leak or consumption increases.

Spend $8 at Walmart for the dual pack of throttle body cleaner and MAF sensor cleaner. Clean out the MAF and allow to dry. Take the throttle body loose from the manifold and clean it. Put it all back together and enjoy the smooth running. I just did the cleaning on mine and it cleaned up a slight miss I was seeing on cold idle. Now it runs smooth as silk.

It's a great motor. Will serve you well. Wind it out occasionally and consider a drain/fill in he transmission of you haven't done one recently
 
Originally Posted By: Eddie
I see no reason to change what has worked so well so long. Why fix, what is working? Ed


Fuel economy
smile.gif
 
Oil has been changed and so far no leaks, no engine noise, no problems. Will monitor consumption but honestly I doubt it's gonna be an issue - after all, my 92 Chevy didn't experience any consumption issues after switching to Royal Purple. They're both on their first oil changes under my ownership but after second oil changes I'll get UOAs done and see how both are doing.
 
The engine is already stretched out from being ran with the thick 10W-30 in there. If you try to run it with 5W-20, you're going to have low oil pressure.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The engine is already stretched out from being ran with the thick 10W-30 in there. If you try to run it with 5W-20, you're going to have low oil pressure.


What?
 
Originally Posted By: dogememe
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The engine is already stretched out from being ran with the thick 10W-30 in there. If you try to run it with 5W-20, you're going to have low oil pressure.


What?


+1. He does waste our time with this nonsense.
 
Originally Posted By: Ammofirst
At 211k I'd be more likely to try mobil 1 10w-30HM it's at 3.5 hths.


After using dino for this long I fully agree.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: dogememe
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The engine is already stretched out from being ran with the thick 10W-30 in there. If you try to run it with 5W-20, you're going to have low oil pressure.


What?


+1. He does waste our time with this nonsense.


but really, is that a thing. "stretched out"?? I mean, I understand that too large of tolerances due to wear and then too thin of an oil could cause low oil pressure, but from running a 5w-30 in my 240k+ mile 92 Chevy and experiencing normal oil pressures I don't see how you HAVE to use thicker oil on an old engine. Fine, I'll use a 5w-30 oil next time, since this thing still seems to get [censored] mileage on 5w-20, but like seriously, I don't see how an engine could get "stretched out" from a thicker oil. Unless I'm wrong, which is completely possible...
 
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