What oil weight and brand does everyone use for their 3.8/3.0 windstars?
Ford WindstarIntroduced in the mid-1990s, the front-wheel-drive Ford Windstar minivan campaigned with an emphasis on, and reputation for, safety. And in the hotly contested family minivan market of the time, that was an especially solid piece of ground to be on. As long as buyers didn't need to haul adults in back on a regular basis, the Windstar served a family's needs just fine.
98Windstar3.8GL, your profile says you are in the NE US? I'd figure that the 15W40 is too thick even for our summers. I'm in Ontario, and the thickest I use is 10W30. I always went by the thought that the thicker oils 15W40, 20W50, etc. were mainly for racing or for the far southern states. There is a shop around here that uses 20W50 in Toyota corollas (can't believe it but it happened to a buddy of mine). My usual preference is Mobil 1 5W30 for all my cars, and I've had great results. My toyota had a steady diet of this since new and at 260,000km it runs like a new engine. Depends on your driving too though...
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98Windstar3.8GL, your profile says you are in the NE US? I'd figure that the 15W40 is too thick even for our summers. I'm in Ontario, and the thickest I use is 10W30. I always went by the thought that the thicker oils 15W40, 20W50, etc. were mainly for racing or for the far southern states. There is a shop around here that uses 20W50 in Toyota corollas (can't believe it but it happened to a buddy of mine). My usual preference is Mobil 1 5W30 for all my cars, and I've had great results. My toyota had a steady diet of this since new and at 260,000km it runs like a new engine. Depends on your driving too though...
The 15-40 worked well for the extremely hot humid summers in all of my Volvos, I used nothing but 5w-30/10w-30 for my 850. up and down a hwy 99% in hot humid weather is hard on an engine 15-40 worked well!
I'm in New Brunswick and there is nothing wrong at all with using 15W40 in the warmer weather, but like I said before come winter I switch to 5W30 it is thinner oil and makes cold starts easier.
What year were your Volvo's? Engine technology has changed in the years.
I had a 1981 Delorean with a 2.8PRV engine (V6 Volvo Engine) and I ran 20W50 in the summer cause it was recommended for summer driving due to how the engine was built. You dont see cars running this grade any more.
New engines have very tight clearances now days and need the 5W and not a 15W or 20W in the engines.
Back in the day cars were built for 10W40. Ever put 5W30 in one of them? I put 5W30 in my 1977 Thunderbird and it drank it for breakfast and blew oil out the tail pipe in clouds..... Why...... The 5W30 was to thin for the engine and burned right out. Ended up doing an oil change on the car the next day.
Engine manufactures spent millions building and designing our car engines and know what oil grade is bast for them over years of testing, what makes you smarter than them?
You said that 15W40 worked well, you didnt say it worked excellent. I bet on the cold mornings engine wear was happening during start up with the thicker oil since the oil pump was never designed to pump that thick oil cold!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 98windstar3.8gl
The 15-40 worked well for the extremely hot humid summers in all of my Volvos, I used nothing but 5w-30/10w-30 for my 850. up and down a hwy 99% in hot humid weather is hard on an engine 15-40 worked well!
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Mark V
Look for me on the PS3 network, I am usually playing Uncharted 2 demo right now. My PS3 name is delorean6683
What year were your Volvo's? Engine technology has changed in the years.
I had a 1981 Delorean with a 2.8PRV engine (V6 Volvo Engine) and I ran 20W50 in the summer cause it was recommended for summer driving due to how the engine was built. You dont see cars running this grade any more.
New engines have very tight clearances now days and need the 5W and not a 15W or 20W in the engines.
Back in the day cars were built for 10W40. Ever put 5W30 in one of them? I put 5W30 in my 1977 Thunderbird and it drank it for breakfast and blew oil out the tail pipe in clouds..... Why...... The 5W30 was to thin for the engine and burned right out. Ended up doing an oil change on the car the next day.
Engine manufactures spent millions building and designing our car engines and know what oil grade is bast for them over years of testing, what makes you smarter than them?
You said that 15W40 worked well, you didnt say it worked excellent. I bet on the cold mornings engine wear was happening during start up with the thicker oil since the oil pump was never designed to pump that thick oil cold!
I only used it during the late spring/summer, not in the winter or the fall. And I have never experience any noises of sort. Thanks!
You had a DeLorean? Cool. Was is hard tuning the flux capacitor? What happened when you got up to 88mph?
__________________ Working on cars can either be one of the most frustrating things you ever do in your life, or it can be the most frustrating thing you ever do in your life.
I have used 10-40 in my 98 since the day I bought it new.
Now I use 20-50 in the summer, and 10-40 in the winter.
The bearings are wearing and I am getting low pressure at idle after it warms up.
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BroncoJoe19
2006 Alt Fuel Jeep (electric)
'98 windstar 3.8L
'99 Crown Vic 4.6L
'90 Full Size Bronco 5.0L
I'm not a professional mechanic, take my suggestions with a grain of salt, or a cup of coffee
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Records that came with the Windstar before I bought it showed 5W30 at oil changes and that is what I still do. 126k and still normal oil pressure on my Windstar. Same for my 1998 Explorer at 102k and when I sold my Mustang at 98k all had perfect oil pressure.
My Father was smarter than Ford. He ran 10W40 since brand new in his 1989 Ranger and she blew up just over 80k, the Engine rebuilder said it had massive bearing wear more like it had 180k on it. His Ranger called for 5W30 in the manual. My Father used Motorcraft Filters and name brand Oil and changed the oil every 3k on the dot!
This is why I say use what Ford says to use. You can go up after the "W" but never run anything besides the first number in your oil weight. So if you are supposed to run 5W30 you could run 5W40 in the summer but back to 5W30 in the Winter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BroncoJoe19
I have used 10-40 in my 98 since the day I bought it new.
Now I use 20-50 in the summer, and 10-40 in the winter.
The bearings are wearing and I am getting low pressure at idle after it warms up.
__________________
Mark V
Look for me on the PS3 network, I am usually playing Uncharted 2 demo right now. My PS3 name is delorean6683
LOL! When I hit 88mph I just get a bunch of smoke out the tail pipe. LOL!
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I only used it during the late spring/summer, not in the winter or the fall. And I have never experience any noises of sort. 
Thanks!
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