Oil Consumption,2006 Ranger

[AndyF]

I use 5W20 regular in my 3 litre engine(automatic) as recommended in the manual.

I do my own lite maintenance and I changed the oil at 5000 kms. I've got 10000 kms on it now and it's down a litre. The Ford guy couldn't explain the oil consumption but was persistant that I stay with this, I call, "sewing machine oil".

I think the truck is screaming for 30 weight, as I do a lot of highway, but I never overload and I'm easy on driving, and drive at 60 MPH. I never accelarate quickly, and I allow the tranny to shift without pulling to hard. Basically I baby the truck as I'm not a trader and need to get max life out of it.

Should I go up to 5W30, or maybe switch to synthetic? What happens to the warranty with the weight change?

Thanks

 

[ExplorerDMB]

Well...if you change to 5w30 and something happens to that motor, Ford will EASILY void that warranty. My Explorer calls for 5w-30 - You should be able to use it just fine. Make sure it's nothing small like not tightening the drain plug tight enough or oil filter and it allows to leak slowly. Or maybe your drain plug is leaking because of a bad gasket on it - just look for leaks too.

-Drew

 

[JohnnyO]

5w-30 will probably void the warranty, but I seriously doubt it will actually hurt anything. Because I'm one of those nutty people who sends their old oil to a lab for testing, I can tell you that 5w-20 after 5000 miles in my wife's 3.0 Taurus came back perfectly fine and the wear metals were all very low. In fact the results were pretty much identical with Mobil 1 and the Motorcraft blend that costs half as much.
If it would make you feel better, drop $20 per at Blackstone for UOA's on the 20 and 30 both and see what they tell you.
www.blackstone-labs.com
Anything else is just speculation.

 

[gijoecam]

For the record, Ford has it in writing that anything less than 1 quart every 900 miles is just fine. (I'm not saying I agree with it, but that's the spec anyways).

Check it often and top it off as necessary.

-Joe

 

[rookieshooter]

I bet you have a small leak somewhere. Put some newspaper under the truck when you park it for the night. Check next day.

 

[hunterdan]

Stick with the 5W-20 if its what the motor calls for. Yes the oil is thinner, but it is what is required to get to where it needs to be. 5W-20 is thick enough to support the loads the engine is placing on it. All bearings that are under oil pressure ride on a film of oil, if that film is too thick, it will not flow where it should, if its too thin, the film will not be able to support the load. Theres a lot involved for the engineers to determine proper oil. While the 30 wt may work, your motor is still new and tolerances are still tight and I wouldn't chance it. Look at all the new imports, most of them are running the same oil and get well over 100,000 miles out of the motors with no problems. Stick with the recommended oil, its recommended for a reason.

Dan

 

[AndyF]

Stick with the 5W-20 if its what the motor calls for. Yes the oil is thinner, but it is what is required to get to where it needs to be. 5W-20 is thick enough to support the loads the engine is placing on it. All bearings that are under oil pressure ride on a film of oil, if that film is too thick, it will not flow where it should, if its too thin, the film will not be able to support the load. Theres a lot involved for the engineers to determine proper oil. While the 30 wt may work, your motor is still new and tolerances are still tight and I wouldn't chance it. Look at all the new imports, most of them are running the same oil and get well over 100,000 miles out of the motors with no problems. Stick with the recommended oil, its recommended for a reason.

Dan

Thanks everyone for the tips.!!!!

The wife's 05 Echo calls for 5W30 every 5000 miles(8000KMs), can't figure it. The big six would seem like a heavier worker than the 4 banger.

I agree with the tolerances and such, just doesn't seem right.

Andy