David Digney <dodgedakotaquadcab@yahoo.com> wrote:
: Book says 5w30 for the 4.7L
: Others telling me to use 10w30
: or the 5w40 truck Mobil 1
If the oil you are using is synthetic, it probably doesn't matter
very much either way, as its probably going to flow fairly well when
cold as compared to standard dino oil. IIRC, you are in Wisconsin,
which can get some pretty cold mornings. If you drive the truck in
the winter and must start it up in cold weather, I'd stick with the
book recommended 5w30, as that is going to be a bit thinner at
startup, meaning the oil will flow better when cold and start protecting
your engine sooner. I'd definitely shy away from anything like a 5w40
though; something with that much range is going to have a lot of
viscosity modifier in it, which leaves less room for the base stock
(and its the base that is providing the protection). For this reason,
many people (manufacturers, engine builders, etc. don't even recommend
10w40 anymore, let alone 5w40.)
As far as dino oil vs. synthetic goes, if the synthetic gives
you some peace of mind and you don't mind the additional expense,
then by all means go ahead and use it, but in reality, unless you
are operating the engine under extreme conditions, you're probably
not going to realize any benefits from the synthetic, especially
given the price difference. (Beyond slightly longer oil change
intervals, I suppose.) I switched to Mobil 1 in my '96 Dak around
10K because I drag raced it weekly, and wanted to give the motor as
much protection as possible. Even though I haven't raced it in a
while, I still use Mobil 1, just because that's all it has had for
the past 80,000+ miles. (Plus, I have gallons and gallons of the
stuff on my shelf to use up.) :-) My other vehicles though just
get the standard stuff. (With the exception of the '92 Ram, which
I put Mobil 1 in after the top end rebuild I did due to the hydrolock
in the mud pit; again, to provide as much protection as possible
because I didn't know for sure how much crap was left in the oil
system. I'll probably switch that back over to the dino oil pretty
soon though.)
Anyhoo, sorry for the rambling; I hope that helps. :-)
--
-Jon-
.-- Jon Steiger --- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com --.
| '70 Barracuda, '90 Dakota Convertible, '92 Ram 4x4, '96 Dakota |
| '96 Intruder, '96 Kolb FireFly, '99 Cherokee, '01 Ram 3500 |
`----------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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