Just had oil changed at a local place, and noticed on the bill that the oil was 10W-40 rather than the 5W-40 that the car normally has. Car is a 2001 Mk3 Mondeo (Duratec engine, 90k miles). Will this cause any problems or is it ok. I change the oil every 6000 miles.
Thanks, Yoby.
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Yoby
Not ideal. Normal recommendation for these engines is a 5W-30. Moving to a 10W will reduce oil flow from cold, and can cause problems with the hydraulic lifters. The 'hot' 40 spec won't be so much of an issue. I suspect also the 10-40 is a semi-synthetic - most oils of this grade are - whereas the 5 - 40 normally used is a probably fully synthetic.
JS
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I'm assuming this isn't a Ford dealer then?
John S is right, this type of engine should definately be ran on a 5W30 oil, even Fords own oil is very cheap, running them on other specs such as 10W40 has been known to cause problems.
Has it really been run on the wrong oil for 90K miles? I'm quite impressed that it hasn't developed any problems yet if it has!
Also, it shows that whichever garage you're using aren't all that hot on using the right stuff, Ford have specified only 5W30 for over 10 years now, even the backstreet place that I've used for cheapo work before use a 5W30...
Blue
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Not sure whether I can say on this forum, but National Tyres, where the Oil change is a lot cheaper than doing it myself!
Have just checked the Haynes manual which says that 5W/30, 5W/40 or 10W/40 is all fine. The engine has never missed a beat - the only thing that has ever gone wrong with this car is a seized windscreen washer pump and a dashboard bulb going!
Perhaps a regular oil change is helping to prevent problems or the oil never gets a chance to get too dirty .....
Anyway, thanks for the advice - I hope the engine's got a bit more life in it yet!!
Yoby
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By far the best site on the internet to explain any question about oil:
www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/engineoil_bible....l
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Glad to see that you are around, GIM. Have you had a look at the Magnatec thread in Discussion?
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Nice to be remembered ... thanks.
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I wouldn't worry about this.
The only difference is that the 10/40 oil would be slightly thicker when cold, but in this country it doesnt get cold enough for the real differnce to be felt, ie -10 and below.
In the Ford manual it shows the 5w-40 covering a wider range of temps than the 10w-40 however the temp, range for the 10w-40 is still well outside the UK's climate.
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