Our Wal-Mart carries the MC 5w-20 in a 5 quart container, but no single quarts, unless they were out of them when I went. Since the V6 engine calls for 5 1/2 quarts with filter change. I had to resort to buying a quart of MC 5w-30 to make up that extra half quart. Both these oils are synthetic blend. I paid $9.52 for the 5 quart jug and $2.07 for the single quart. Their price for the MC FL-820S filter is only $3.28
How important is that half quart of oil that Ford says the engine needs??
Makes it a pain to have to buy the extra quart of oil...

 

Use the reading on your dipstick, is it between the marks? Is it that much of a pain to buy that extra quart? Look at it this way, at your next oil change you will just have to buy the 5 qt. jug because you will still have a 1/2 qt left from last time. Greenpeace will love you.

 

You could stop by the local parts store and pay about $2.30 for the extra quart. Go by the dipstick and not the manual. My V6 Escape took what the manual stated but the I4 manual says 4.5 quarts but I've never got much more than 4 quarts in a fill. My local Walmarts carry MC only in quarts but at $1.78. No FL-820s (V6) or FL-910 (2.3 I4) but I order my Wix filters online for a decent price.

 

My v6 escape takes 6 qt.

 

I been changing oil in cars for 43 years, never went by the dipstick, always went by what the manual said how much the engine should hold....I always changed the oil filter when doing an oil change also...after filling engine with recommended amount of oil, I always ran engine FIRST for a few minutes to let oil circulate through new filter, THEN read the dipstick...always right on target...I think the key is to try and make sure you get all the oil out of the engine, I always drain my oil with the engine hot, gotta be careful you don't get burned fingers though when taking the drain plug off, wear gloves..this way the oil is basically as thin as it is going to get and will drain easily and fast...

 

Why not buy another 5-quart jug and use a half a quart from it? Next time use the remaining 4 1/2 quarts and a quart from another 5 qt jug. And so on. That way you are using the oldest oil first. After 10 oil changes you start all over.

Just a thought.

 

You really think a half quart of 5w-30 will make a difference when blended with 5 quarts of 5w-20??? 9% of the oil in the engine will be 5w-30, so with this blend I would have 5w-21.8 oil in the vehicle, pretty darn close to 5w-20

 

A good idea, but to me just buying an extra quart of 5w-30 is a little easier, that 16 ounces of the heavier oil is not going to affect anything..Probably next time around they will have the 5w-20 in quarts and maybe not in the 5 gallon jugs, who knows, when going to Wal-Mart to buy oil it is always hit and miss, lol...it's like whatever they have at the time...next go around they might not have any MC oil at all, then I have to buy Pennzoil 5w-20 which they always seem to have, our Wal-Mart does not stock the Pennzoil 5w-20 synthetic blend only the regular oil..

 

I thought that was the case anyway. Did Motorcraft and Wally World kiss and make up?

I get the 5w-20 at Autozone when they have it. Stop in every now and then and if they have a case I pick one up. Have to go to WM to see if they have any now that the insanity that is Christmas shopping over with.

 

Yes. I believe it was in November.

 

I've used 5w30 in our 02 Tribute for 70,000 miles. I'd guess that the majority of that was WalMart brand oil. The cap said 5w20 but in the book it said either would work. We traded that in on the 24th and now have an 06 Tribute. I will use the Motocraft 5w20 in that one. Be carefull changing the oil on a hot Tribute/Escape V6. That cat by the oil filter is HOT!

 

'' our Wal-Mart does not stock the Pennzoil 5w-20 synthetic blend only the regular oil..''


if by regular oil you mean the pennzoil in the yellow bottle, then that is a synthetic blend but it is not labled as so. all the oils that meet the ford 930a spec are at minimum a synthetic blend. pennzoil does not market the yellow bottle as a syntheic blend because they have the more expensive synthetic blend which has a little more GP II/II+ basestock. its all a big marketing game.


but you will notice the bottle says made with "PUREBASE" that is SOPUS talk for synthetic blend, but the average person would have no clue. chevron does the same thing but they call theirs "ISOSYN" . shell stole the process from chevron. it is a process of hydrocracking oil.

 

I just vistied Pennzoil's website and they do not mention that the yellow bottle 5w-20 is a synthetic blend, but I do remember on the yellow bottle in the store of the 5w-20 it did say "Formulated for late model Ford and Honda vehicles", so if Ford specifies a synthetic oil blend, without a doubt it must be a blend. I think Wal-Mart wanted $2.27 a quart for the yellow bottle 5w-20.
Now Pennzoil also markets what they call SUV, Truck and Minivan Motor Oils
Enhanced Protection
Synthetic Blend.
I seen this at Wal-Mart also, but only in the 5w-30 viscosity, but they do make it in 5w-20. The price was per quart was higher than the yellow bottle.

 

yes it is all marketing. pennzoil does not have to mention its a syntheic blend (damn good one too) becuase it will take away from there high price vanity oils. making these semi synthetic base stockes used to be very expensive. the price to mass produce the stuff costs about .14 a gallon for them to make the base. the additives are still the most expensive they cost about .20 a gallon.

 

http://www.pennzoil.com/products/tec...atasheets.html


it meets the ford specs and has some other nice features. pennzoil also has a pretty good warranty. they give you a 250k engine warranty when you use their product. but there is limitations.