5 W20 oil

[Mike Fish]

Hi: Does anyone know if I can use 5 W 20 oil in my 230 engine in place of
the SAE 20 that is specified.

Thanks

Mike Fishman
1948 B-1 PW

[Gordon Maney]

Yes, you probably could, but I believe I would use 10W30 or even 10/40.

What outdoor temperatures will it see?

[Mike Fish]

5 w 20

Hi Gordon:

I would say a low of 10 deg and a high of 95 in the summer.
20 weight is not available. This is my 2d oil change after getting the truck running after 40 plus years. The present oil has all of the sludge that worked loose internally. The pan was dropped and cleaned of course.

Mike Fishman
1948 B-1 PW

[Desoto61]

I would think so, but 5w20 is fairly new in regular use and from what I've heard is mostly to try and improve engine effeciency by reducing power loss from thicker oils.

This is however pretty thin, which I would think is fine for a modern engine with high precision manufacture, but like Gordon I'm not sure I'd spec it for an older engine. I would also tend to lean toward a 5 or 10w30.

I had been told that 10w40 wasn't the best choice because of all the modifiers that had to be added to make the oil work over the larger range of viscosity could cause issues with performance or longevity.

No idea if this is or was ever true or if it's no longer an issue thanks to modern chemistry.

[Tom Petroff]

I use 15/40 Rotella in everything I own Gas/Diesel,mower,etc.,including the wife's Durango.
Have been for over 30+ years.
Tom

[Gordon Maney]

Hi Gordon:

I would say a low of 10 deg and a high of 95 in the summer.
20 weight is not available. This is my 2d oil change after getting the truck running after 40 plus years. The present oil has all of the sludge that worked loose internally. The pan was dropped and cleaned of course.

Mike Fishman
1948 B-1 PW

Either 10W-30 or 10W-40 would be perfectly fine. Tom's mention of 15W-40 would be good, too, with the only possible disadvantage is that it would resist cranking at your 10 degree F figure a bit more.

No matter which of these you choose, I would definitely not use 5W20, as that is too thin for summer.

I did vote in your poll, but that is a separate question from, should you use it.

[Gordon Maney]

I have to say I can't understand the way the voting has gone. For any application where you might want 20 the 5W would be just fine.

Again, given your application, you don't want either one.

[Mike Fish]

5 W 20 oil

Thanks all for your input.
I went with 10 W 30

regards

Mike Fishman

1948 B-1 PW

ps wish I could have attended the rally

[Matthew Ziegler]

oil

I recently had a wwII ford flathead rebuilt, in talking to the rebuilder he recommended 15w40 rotella and nothing else, said the old 30 non detergent was actually detremential to the old flatheads, also the Rotella still has zinc in it. Something to do with wear on flat tappet cams, so I switched over to Rotella in my Dodge. About 3 months later I decided to change my pan gasket due to some leaks, there was almost no sludge in the pan and inside the motor was spotless. I'm not an engine builder, or a great mechanic, but I trust an engine rebuilder's recommendation. just my 2 cents

[Ggg6]

I too use 15w40 diesel oil in a lot of my old or high mileage engines. I also agree some engines will have a hard time cranking over in real cold temps, so I change to a thinner oil for winter only.

[Charles Talbert]

May be too light for a 230

I pay very close attention to oils, especially the newer technologies. My concern with this would be the fact that newer engines that have recommendations for 5w20 and many now days recommending 0w20 oils are built to much tighter tolerances than 230's are. The tighter tolerances require the thinner grades of oil, where as the common tolerances in a 230 are not nearly as close, thus the thinner oils can escape the critical areas much easier and may not be able to supply optimum lubrication in certain situations as a result. Based on that, I wouldn't use it myself. I agree that the lighter oils that will perform in a satisfactory manner to do all it should be doing is usually the best choice; but I'd have to know without a doubt that all the need was met before I would go too far toward the lighter side. Some oil reps will tell you literally anything, do your own research to see hard evidence.