i just put 20w 50 oil in my ford explorer should i leave it at that or change it i live in chicago?

Question

it has 127,000 miles on it

Answer 1

WOW this is the fourth time just in the past hour somebody asking the same question. I am almost typing this without thinking.

You should ALWAYS go with the recommended oil weight - especially the second number. It doesn't matter if you live in warm climate or cooler climate your car is always running at 212F once warmed up.

50 weight oil in summer DOES NOT work like 30 weight oil in the winter. 50 weight oil is 50 weight in the summer AND WINTER once the engine warms up. The same goes for 30 weight oil. The weight of oil are all rated at 212F operating temperature. Once your car is warmed up, it is the same inside the engine in the summer and winter.

The second number is the operating viscosity. So 10w50 or 20w50 are both 50 when the engine is warmed up. But if the car manufacturer recommended 30 or 40 weight then go with that ALWAYS. If they want you to change during the winter they would have recommended that.

Believe me, car manufacturers (and dealers) would live to blame you for the engine damage if you didn't jump through one more hoop. But the truth is that a car will need the same weight in winter and in the summer. PERIOD.
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NOW for the first number: the 5w, 10w or 20w is the WINTER (W) number rated at 0C or 32F (same thing). So it is always better to get the lower SECOND number no matter what. But you can get away with slight higher number IF your car NEVER lives in colder climate (10w in summer months is thinner than 5w in winter -get it???)

But the easiest thing is to just stick with the manufacturer's recommendation. Don't think you can out engineer the guys at the factory.

OLDER cars DO NOT need heavier oil. If you are burning oil, it will burn oil no matter how little bit heavier it is. But thicker oil will be harder to pump for your engine and they will not flow to all the tighter tolerance of modern cars.

Good Luck.

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Answer 2

Leave it for the summer, but you will get slightly lower gas mileage. Change it out in October to 5-30 for the winter though, or whatever your manual states.

Answer 3

I would say it's fine for now but in the winter months I's switch to a 10W-30. The 20w50 may not work as well in the frigid temperatures. Consult your owners manual if you have one for correct type of oil to use.

Answer 4

Ya got nice clean oil and it's summer. To be honest, with as many miles as you have on your Explorer, I would plan on changing it to 100% synthetic oil, which is not really like regular oil and you can't mix them. Advantages: you will get many more miles in before the next oil change and if your engine is smoking oil out the tail pipe, it won't be with 100% synthetic.

Answer 5

20 50 is more commonly used on high milaged vehicles, because it's thicker. It is also more frequently used in the summer, but when winter hits you should go go back to 10 30 in Chicago as I do in NY. Good luck!!!!!!!!

Answer 6

I use 20/50 in everything. the new cars it may be a bit heavy , but al long as it has a few thousand miles on it ,it should be fine.
The manufactures are trying everything to get better fuel milage and the thinner oils do help because they use less energy to pump and flows more freely.