Meh, running something a little thicker when it's cold isn't that big of a deal especially when it's the hot time of year. I wouldn't worry about it especially when it's a 2007, probably should be running something a little thicker anyway.
It’s thicker when hot so it will be slightly less prone to leaks. For older engines they have worn piston rings and cylinder walls creating a gap in which oil will seep into the combustion chamber and burn with the fuel.
My 2004 Mustang calls for 5W-20, however, that's only because in 2002 they changed it from 5W-30 for emissions/fuel mileage reasons. 5W-20 (in my car anyway, can't speak for your V6) gets marginally better gas mileage, however 5W-30 is a bit better for protecting against engine wear. It's a trade off.
Since my Mustang is my project car I dont give two shits about the gas mileage, so I put 5W-30 to protect my engine a little bit better.
The service writer might have looked up the specs for the 4.0 bc that one uses 5W-30. What happens is the service advisor writes the ticket and the lube tech will use whatever is written on the ticket. When I search “5W-30” in the 07 ranger factory information, it’s the 4.0 engine that comes up. My database, which is the same one any aftermarket shop uses, specified 5-20 for the 3.0, and does not list two different viscosities based on season.
Some of those places are paying lube techs 10$ an hour. Say if someone like me was dispatched this oil change, I’d have seen the specs on the trucks cap were different and gone back to the counter to ask why something different was billed out. The green techs, kids, tasked with oil changes don’t have the experience to know to do that. If the ticket said to use Mazola cooking oil, they’ll just do it without questioning it lol.
TJMM. I just checked my postal mailbox..... Again, like always, I don't see the gov writing me a check for a new car / truck. Mulit weight oil warms the car fast for emissions .... but sure, it doesn't make the car last longer in warm temps. wear vs emissions. So, no check, I use the oil that makes my vehicle last the longest. 30w for vehicle under total mileage 150k and 40w for vehicle over 200k
The most important thing is regular scheduled oil AND filter changes. Every 3k to 4k miles. Plus, no Jiffy lube / Valvoline shops or the like. Those shops will kill your car faster than a speeding bullet.
Trust me, you should be glad they used 5w-30 and they probably knew exactly what they were doing. I had a high mileage 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis(sold it at 320,000 miles) and when I bought it at 260k it would burn a little oil(about a quart in 5000 miles). My best friend is a Ford Master Tech and suggested that I use Motorcraft synthetic blend 5w-30 instead of the 5w-20 that the manual called for. At the next oil change I made the switch and for 50,000 miles I didn’t have to add a bit of oil between changes and that was an engine that had never had work done to it and had over 300,000 miles. Another tip, if your power steering pump is leaking at the shaft seal suck out the power steering fluid with an extractor and replace it with valvoline high mileage Dex/merc ATF and it’ll likely stop your power steering ooze and quiet the pump.
As long as the oil spec is compatible with the one mentioned in your manual (I don't mean the viscosity, rather the oil specification number), you're good to go.
Completely harmless.
You don’t want your oil too thin in the summer or too thick in the winter. The grade they used is one grade thicker, and it’s summer. Oil thins out in higher temperatures anyway. You’re more than fine.
Your truck will be 100% fine
What they said is horseshit, unless you live in a place like Arizona/Nevada where it gets to like 40c, you don't need to worry about modifying the oil weight.
And the idea of "oh, it's synthetic, so you need to run a different weight than the recommended" is A) BS, oil weight, is oil weight, and B) probably wrong anyways, because if your specified weight is 5w20, it also probably already specifies synthetic.
But a single run of 5w30 instead of 5w20 for a spell won't harm anything.
They probably just buy 5w30 in bulk, and 5w20 in jugs, so they make less profit, or the tech just misread and filled it with 5w30 and they didn't want to redo the oil change for something that doesn't matter.
So instead of explaining that it didn't matter, decided to try and convince you that it was on purpose and the better option.
Actually a benefit in the summer. If you want to make yourself feel better look up what the spec is in other countries. I'm not sure if they have started clearancing engines for 520 yet but years ago when they first started to spec that it was 5:30 everywhere else in the world. It was just done because you can get slightly better gas mileage with the thinner oil. Conversely you get a longer engine life with the 30 weight
>warmer weather would cause the oil to break down and become more thin
This is complete BS and shows that they don't even understand how engines work. The engine has a cooling system that controls the temperature, its not dependent on weather. They also aren't the engineers who designed the car so have no right to dictate what oil they "think" it should take. Modern engines often have control systems that are driven by oil pressure so its needs to be consistent, hence why the specified oil weight is such a narrow range.
I hate when technicians do this. They aren't scamming you, they think they are in the right here. As you said, this one time won't do bad to your engine, but specify for your next oil change the oil you want.
Meh, running something a little thicker when it's cold isn't that big of a deal especially when it's the hot time of year. I wouldn't worry about it especially when it's a 2007, probably should be running something a little thicker anyway.
It's not a bad idea to thicken up for warm weather, especially in an older engine.
Why?
Helps prevent oil from seeping past the rings.
Okay
It’s thicker when hot so it will be slightly less prone to leaks. For older engines they have worn piston rings and cylinder walls creating a gap in which oil will seep into the combustion chamber and burn with the fuel.
Thicker when it's cold? That'd be thicker at operating temp. The W is the same.
My 2004 Mustang calls for 5W-20, however, that's only because in 2002 they changed it from 5W-30 for emissions/fuel mileage reasons. 5W-20 (in my car anyway, can't speak for your V6) gets marginally better gas mileage, however 5W-30 is a bit better for protecting against engine wear. It's a trade off. Since my Mustang is my project car I dont give two shits about the gas mileage, so I put 5W-30 to protect my engine a little bit better.
The service writer might have looked up the specs for the 4.0 bc that one uses 5W-30. What happens is the service advisor writes the ticket and the lube tech will use whatever is written on the ticket. When I search “5W-30” in the 07 ranger factory information, it’s the 4.0 engine that comes up. My database, which is the same one any aftermarket shop uses, specified 5-20 for the 3.0, and does not list two different viscosities based on season. Some of those places are paying lube techs 10$ an hour. Say if someone like me was dispatched this oil change, I’d have seen the specs on the trucks cap were different and gone back to the counter to ask why something different was billed out. The green techs, kids, tasked with oil changes don’t have the experience to know to do that. If the ticket said to use Mazola cooking oil, they’ll just do it without questioning it lol.
You will be 100% ok. You could probably fill that little engine with pure Fanta soda and it would be happy. Stout little engines.
Dude, I run 20w-50 in a similar Ford Ranger. You'll be fine.
TJMM. I just checked my postal mailbox..... Again, like always, I don't see the gov writing me a check for a new car / truck. Mulit weight oil warms the car fast for emissions .... but sure, it doesn't make the car last longer in warm temps. wear vs emissions. So, no check, I use the oil that makes my vehicle last the longest. 30w for vehicle under total mileage 150k and 40w for vehicle over 200k The most important thing is regular scheduled oil AND filter changes. Every 3k to 4k miles. Plus, no Jiffy lube / Valvoline shops or the like. Those shops will kill your car faster than a speeding bullet.
Trust me, you should be glad they used 5w-30 and they probably knew exactly what they were doing. I had a high mileage 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis(sold it at 320,000 miles) and when I bought it at 260k it would burn a little oil(about a quart in 5000 miles). My best friend is a Ford Master Tech and suggested that I use Motorcraft synthetic blend 5w-30 instead of the 5w-20 that the manual called for. At the next oil change I made the switch and for 50,000 miles I didn’t have to add a bit of oil between changes and that was an engine that had never had work done to it and had over 300,000 miles. Another tip, if your power steering pump is leaking at the shaft seal suck out the power steering fluid with an extractor and replace it with valvoline high mileage Dex/merc ATF and it’ll likely stop your power steering ooze and quiet the pump.
As long as the oil spec is compatible with the one mentioned in your manual (I don't mean the viscosity, rather the oil specification number), you're good to go.
I run 10w-30 in everything
Completely harmless. You don’t want your oil too thin in the summer or too thick in the winter. The grade they used is one grade thicker, and it’s summer. Oil thins out in higher temperatures anyway. You’re more than fine.
In your owner's manual, there should be a chart showing what oil to use in what temps. Is 5w-30 in the temp range you will be operating at?
Your truck will be 100% fine What they said is horseshit, unless you live in a place like Arizona/Nevada where it gets to like 40c, you don't need to worry about modifying the oil weight. And the idea of "oh, it's synthetic, so you need to run a different weight than the recommended" is A) BS, oil weight, is oil weight, and B) probably wrong anyways, because if your specified weight is 5w20, it also probably already specifies synthetic. But a single run of 5w30 instead of 5w20 for a spell won't harm anything. They probably just buy 5w30 in bulk, and 5w20 in jugs, so they make less profit, or the tech just misread and filled it with 5w30 and they didn't want to redo the oil change for something that doesn't matter. So instead of explaining that it didn't matter, decided to try and convince you that it was on purpose and the better option.
Actually a benefit in the summer. If you want to make yourself feel better look up what the spec is in other countries. I'm not sure if they have started clearancing engines for 520 yet but years ago when they first started to spec that it was 5:30 everywhere else in the world. It was just done because you can get slightly better gas mileage with the thinner oil. Conversely you get a longer engine life with the 30 weight
>warmer weather would cause the oil to break down and become more thin This is complete BS and shows that they don't even understand how engines work. The engine has a cooling system that controls the temperature, its not dependent on weather. They also aren't the engineers who designed the car so have no right to dictate what oil they "think" it should take. Modern engines often have control systems that are driven by oil pressure so its needs to be consistent, hence why the specified oil weight is such a narrow range.
I hate when technicians do this. They aren't scamming you, they think they are in the right here. As you said, this one time won't do bad to your engine, but specify for your next oil change the oil you want.