Motor Oil Question

[el festy]

Hey guys, I just bought some penzoil platinum full synthetic oil because it was on sale, it is 10W30. I also bought some fram synthetic oil treatment because I will eventually get my licence and the car will not be driven much. The 10W30 oil is ok for my stock b3 engine right? Is there anything I should look out for when I change my oil?
Thanks.

[DuritzCrows17]

I am not sure if you got an oil filter with that aswell but make sure to do that so your new oil doesn't go to waste.

[el festy]

Ya I forgot about that, I got a fram synthetic oil filter. Thats what the guy recomended.

[darkdan]

#1 Fram sucks
#2 10w30 is NOT okay in Ontario in the winter
#3 Pennzoil Platinum was a nice gas to oil synthetic, but now it uses a Shell group III oil

https://www.oilfilterstudy.com

http://home.mindspring.com/~cewhite3nc/index.html

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=3631&page_number=1

You want a good 5w30 or even 0w30 in a Canadian winter. 10w30 is fine during the summer (or at temps above freezing).

I'm not sure what the "synthetic oil treatment" is, but I'm guessing it's a complete waste of money. If you want to use the one oil additive in the world that actually works as advertised then get some www.auto-rx.com Feel free to use coupon code arxdd to save a little money. It should not be used with synthetic during the rinse phases.

[el festy]

Thanks, I will keep that in mind for next time.

[stefan]

agreed, i got a car that was parked since summer, so it had 10-30 in it... the car had trouble starting the oil was so thick. when its -20C 10-30 is ridiculously thick

[miami man]

happened to me when i was younger. put strait 30 in a pinto next day it got really cold and it would not start. changed the oil and put 5w30 in it and it started right up. oil came out really slow out of the drain plug

[slomoe]

el festy, if the car will start or not in winter when using 10W30 should not be your main consern. Hopefully it won't even turn over. How long it takes to get oil flowing through the engine is the question. What would you rather have; no oil flow through out the engine for 15/20 seconds or maybe much longer after start up, (think about a cold soaked engine and how metal contracts when cold making clearences even tighter,) or 0W30 oil flowing through out the engine in very few seconds. Any thing flowing through the engine is better than nothing! What oil to use when is in the book for a reason. Mike

[Bowls]

What is the ford factory recomendation for oil? or if somone has a suggestion of oil that works better i'd be willing to listen.

[Gforcefd]

It is usually 5w30 for colder climates. 10w30 for warmer. No matter what the vehicle. You don't really need full synthetic in a festiva engine. But most newer vehicles should have it.

[WmWatt]

I use 10W30 in Ottawa year 'round.
Maybe your engine is gummed up and needs chemical cleaning?
A block heater really helps on cold mornings. As soon as you wake up grab a coat, run out in your bare feet, and plug in the block heater. Great way to start the day! Faster than coffee and better for you too.

[Bowls]

my engine is fine minus the compression problems, i just want to know waht specific oil brand ford recommends for the car, this car has had faithful oil changes every 6 months of its 15 years. the oil on the dipstick looks like i poured fresh oil onto it.

[Damkid]

i don't think ford recommends a certain brand of oil, i think it depends on what brand each individual likes

[Diego]

My guess is that Ford uses the same as everybody else "Lowest Bidder Brand Bulk"

[WmWatt]

Sorry, I'm at the public library and do not have access to my owner's manual which was written 18 years ago anyway, so I don't know if there is a brand mentioned. Look on the can for SAE approved SG grade.
I've used mostly cheap CTC oil in my '89 since I bought it new.
It says it exceeds the SAE standard. Sometimes I give the car a liter of expensive Quaker State as a treat but that's mostly just to ease my own feelings of guilt for being so cheap to such a nice car. I don't think the car cares one way or another so long as the oil is up to spec. Right now I'm using oil I bought last summer at a garage sale. I once emailed Quaker State about the shelf life of oil and was told it's about 2 years.