Please be gentle - oil question

[CharlieS]

I know everyone hates oil questions, but I need some advice.

I went to change my oil tonight and realized that the oil containers on the shelf that I thought were full of fresh 0w-20 LC oil were filled with used oil that I need to recycle.

I had several 5 gallon containers of full synthetic 0w-40 sitting there though... I used to run it in my sportscars. It is full synthetic Mobil 1 european car formula.

I filled the 200 up with it and am hoping it isn't a big deal. I haven't even started it since adding the oil...

What do the gurus say: Is it a big deal?

Should I do an oil change asap to put 0w-20 back in?

Sorry if this is a stupid question. I generally just go by the owners manual, and am not knowledgeable about viscosity differences.

 

[bloc]

The viscosity will be totally fine especially going into the warmer months. As it is most 0-40s are on the thinner end of the 40-wt spectrum, acting more like a thick 30-wt. Even if it was real 40-wt I wouldn't hesitate to run it.

You may even find that it quiets down your valvetrain a bit.

With your cold winters I'd try to get back to 0-20 or 5-30 by then though.

 

[Sandroad]

Not an oil guru, but I was thinking of going with that viscosity too this summer.

 

[CharlieS]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the insight. Good to know it is okay. I feel a lot better now. Thanks for tolerating the oil question.

 

[MikeVpdx503]

Who doesn’t love a good oil thread, right? Apologies for the hijack, but as a follow up question, no issues with running Euro formula in the Cruiser?

 

[40Man]

Who doesn’t love a good oil thread, right? Apologies for the hijack, but as a follow up question, no issues with running Euro formula in the Cruiser?

The biggest problem is your Cruiser gets an identity crisis and starts thinking it's a Land Rover. This leads to constant oil seepage, electronics issues, airbag malfunctions, sunroof leaks, etc.

 

[CharlieS]

I went out to the garage this morning, and the LC has a beret on and is having tea with my son's Discovery. WTH? lol

 

[tominboise]

According to the engineering guy on youtube, it's generally OK to go heavier on the high temperature viscosity, or lighter on the low temp viscosity, but not the other way around. You should be OK.

 

[Fisher23]

That 0w-40 euro is what went in my merc benz diesel. (Jeep).

 

[bloc]

Who doesn’t love a good oil thread, right? Apologies for the hijack, but as a follow up question, no issues with running Euro formula in the Cruiser?

My 2013 manual lists ILSAC GF-5 as the lone specification requirement.. and it is not on the bottle of 0-40 euro I have in my garage or the Mobil 1 product guides (in case it was added recently.)

Whether this is relevant is pretty complicated to really figure out.

There is a lot of overlap in the standards, then other cases where something could meet the standard, but they don't bother paying for the testing. Or, an oil has properties that help it protect in some ways but some chemical that allows that pushes it over the limit of a new standard. One example is GF-5 bringing in limits on phosphorous volatility to protect the catalytic converter over the life of a vehicle, and if you look at M1's product sheet all the GF-5 oils have less phosphorous than the non GF-5s. Thing is, phosphorous is an anti-wear additive. Many other things changed with GF-5, by the way, such as a requirement that it maintain fuel efficiency over the life of an oil change.

I checked the oil requirement for a 2008 200, which was sold before GF-5 came out in 2010. "ILSAC multi-grade." Then I did the same for 2011.. also ILSAC multi-grade. As far as I can tell 2013 is when GF-5 requirement started for the 200... but that's also when the catalyst part number changed. Which -could- imply they are designed for the lower phosphorous of GF-5 oils, which Euro 0-40 doesn't hit.. though again, we don't know if it could. They simply may not have chosen to test it to that standard since no euro cars require it.. they generally require oils with better base stocks and minimum specifications than GF-5 does. Lots of other things changed in 2013 on the landcruiser, so it's hard to say this is the root cause of the CC part number change. But we just don't know.

So if we want to go by the letter of the law, or the owner's manual in this case, Charlie should dump the oil because it doesn't hit the standard, and we don't know exactly why it doesn't. IF the issue is something like phosphorous, one OCI shouldn't automatically kill the cats, as it was an incremental change designed to protect the emissions systems over the life of a vehicle. But this is only one potential issue.. there may be others. My opinion hasn't changed from earlier.. knowing how good Euro 0-40 is, and my basic knowledge of how these oils protect emissions systems, I'd have no problem running it in my cruiser, especially for only one oil change. But, if Charlie feels better changing it knowing it's his vehicle with the oil in it that doesn't hit the spec for an unknown reason, I wouldn't hold it against him at all.

Clear as mud, right? I hate mud.

I'm sure some of you know I'm just scratching the surface of the world of competing oil specs.. ACEA, API, ILSAC. The rabbit hole would have confused Stephen Hawking.

 

[CharlieS]

 

[Tecnos]

stars for the win.

 

[linuxgod]

If it's good enough for a Porsche it's good enough for my Toyota

 

[tacoduck]

Your lc was built for 20 years of duty or 250k miles… in a 3rd world country. I doubt there are lots of motor oil options in the African bush or the deserts of the Middle East. These trucks are super robust and the 5.7 is really easy on oil. M1 makes great products, so sleep easy… and I do love an oil thread.

 

[DRRichey]

lol oil change

 

[CharlieS]

Your lc was built for 20 years of duty or 250k miles… in a 3rd world country. I doubt there are lots of motor oil options in the African bush or the deserts of the Middle East. These trucks are super robust and the 5.7 is really easy on oil. M1 makes great products, so sleep easy… and I do love an oil thread.

Yup, I had that thought as well. I could easily swap out the oil with little drama, so I thought I'd ask the smart peeps on 'mud.

 

[bloc]

Yup, I had that thought as well. I could easily swap out the oil with little drama, so I thought I'd ask the smart peeps on 'mud.

I think that disqualifies me..

 

[32cls6speedmt]

any anecdotal observations, using the ow-40?

i have switched to 5w-30 for the last three oil changes and seems a lot quieter. My current oil is valvoline 5w-30 ep. The engine hums like a singer sewing machine.

 

[CharlieS]

Sorry, I haven't even started it since I put it in. I'm sure it'll be fine.

 

[Jmivorm]

Yea, i dont know if my engine cares, but I like my engine better on 5w30 instead of the zero stuff. Its quieter at idle and overall sounds much better.