Hey guys

Gonna change the oil in my f350 dump truck, should i use the 5w40 recommended for heavy duty use? tow a bobcat a few times a month as well as a dump trailer, and obviously use it as a dump truck often, but i still think the truck has an easy life as far as dump trucks go. i don't work it too hard but if i should use the heavy oil then i will.


thanks

 

That is what I run and based upon what you do with it I think so as well.

 

Tom, since 5w40 syn is the same price as 10w30, even if you're not using your truck hard, why not? Rotella T6 is $22 a gallon at Walmart.

 

is it ok that i'm in the northeast where it gets cold? sorry, i really don't know much about this stuff

 

Read the owners manual. It will indicate the viscosity of the oil you should use according to the temps.

I think you will be fine myself.

Also did your truck come with the engine block heater?

 

Absolutely! With the cold weight being 5 instead of 10 it actually flows better at low temps and protects better at high temps being 40 instead of 30...

 

yeah it has the engine block heater, as if it needs it the glow plugs are amazingly fast. the only reason i use it is for instant heat

 

Either oil will do fine for your use. Most dealers don't have the owner fill out a questionnaire before they do an oil change, they just put the factory recommended 10w30 in.

I'd use 10w30 if I were you and switch to 5w40 for the winter.

 

Actually, 5/40 would be the better weight year round.

 

But a little more expensive and for little gain during the summer time. The big issue is cold starting during the winter, and that's where having a thinner synthetic oil would really pay off. Lots of talk about thicker oils for high ambient temperatures, but I agave yet to see a bad UOA with factory specified oil.

 

10/30 is less than 22 a gallon? I guess I never priced it...

 

The beauty of that 5w/40 synthetic. It is especially valuable to all you northerners in my opinion. It's like super slick water at 70° and up. Your cold weather performance is only a big deal when you first start it, right?

I think the T6 would be a great choice and it's cheaper than the Motorcraft.

Unless there's been a change, I remember the Motorcraft being almost $10 more/gal than the shell.

 

That's what I was thinking but couldn't argue price with mod Tom as I've never considered 10/30 so never priced it...

 

Just wait for it, tom won't let it go for long, lol....

 

Yeah, I haven't looked in a year or so but I believe it can be had for around $15-16/gal for T5 synthetic blend. That's about $15 less for an oil change.

Who...me?