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The family has 4 automobiles-Ford Bronco, crown victoria, toyota sienna and saturn SL2; not to mention Son's 4 stroke dirtbikes. Upto now, I have 3 diff viscosities of motor oil- 5w30, 10w40,5w20 between the cars. My question is how important is it to stay with the manufacture recommended viscosity? I live in Georgia where the temps rarely get below freezing but does get up in the high 90s during the hot summers. Would it do any damage to engine to go with 10w40 in all the cars?( its kind of a hastle to buy and keep all those diff viscosities)
You could probably get away with it but I wouldn't. I would go with a synthetic in the cars that use 5W-20 and 5W-30, given the Georgia heat.
The manufacturers make oil viscosity recommendations based on experience and testing, it's not arbitrary. 5W20 is not the same spec as 10W40.
Lots of good info on Bobistheoilguy. Engine lube oil is relatively cheap and it protects relatively expensive equipment, your engine, which can last a long time if properly cared for, less if not.
The Ford Bronco may or not be in the same range as the rest, you did not state the year and they were made for about 30 years. I had a 1994 bronco and ran Mobil 1 10w40 with no problems. A synthetic may not work well on older trucks from the 60's.
I would personally stick with the manufacturers viscosity ratings. If anything standardizing to a 10W30 would probably work the best. There really isn't as much savings as you might think there is buying one level in bulk.
ok here is more specific: 1996 ford bronco V8 5.4; 2007 toyota sienna V6 3.7 (not sure about displacement); 2003 ford crn vic V8 4.6; 1999 saturn 4 cyl (? displacement). Currenly I do run the 10W40 in the ford bronco and after reading its temperature range protection was wondering if it would protect the other engines as well as their recommendations but sounds like it might not be a good idea so unless I find out otherwise I may just continue buying a stocking diff viscosities.
Why do modern engines use 5W-20? Very tight tolerances in machining from all the latest CNC equipment. The thick oil is too thick and has trouble getting through them and to protect. Do not run anything heavier in engines that require 5W-20. Running 10W-30 in one that requires 5W-30 isn't such a big deal. I wouldn't really recommend 10W-40 though. I'm assuming that '96 Bronco with a 5.4L is a typo? The '96 Ford Bronco did not come with the 5.4L. Check again, it should be a 5.0L (302) or a 5.8L (351) unless it was swapped? If it is, 5W-30 should be recommended but 10W-30 can be used. I used 10W-30 in my '96 with no problems. As for the kid's bike...... check very closely. Many Harley's and other bikes take 20W-50. Why do they? Heat.... you need 20W-50 to handle it. DO NOT RUN lighter weights in a bike that calls for it. That engine will be history! Use common sense and try to follow manufacturers recommendations in everything as much as possible. Modified engines can use different weights as some of the internals may or have been changed. BE CAREFUL!
YEah those engines are vastly different, I would stick to the recommended oils.
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