I started to do some searching on the web and save myself some embarrasment but i figured I'd just ask and suck it up to save time...

The other day I'm changing my oil in my garage and realized I bought the wrong "recoomended" oil - only after I put it all in. Can anyone tell me if this is a big deal?

I put 1 qt of 5W30 (recommended) and then 4 qts of 5W20...I dunno how I bought the wrong oil i think maybe they stocked the shelf wrong or something and I didnt even look as I grabbed them...i know kinda ignorant of me...

Anyway is this even a big deal? I'm not even sure what the numbers mean ( i kno it has somethin to do with the temperature outside - the lower numbers are better for cold weather rite?)

 

It has to do with the thickness of the oil. In colder temps they say to use thinner oil. A 30 weight oil is a good all around oil weight. I don't think using a 20 weight will hurt anything.

 

You will be fine....

 

I think I can help you here. First of all, if you want to understand the numbers on the oil, read this:

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

Basically what it comes down to is the temperature range in a sense. The lower number tells you how the oil holds up under cold conditions, and the higher number tells you how the oil holds up in hot conditions. It's not quite like that, but for now, that should be enough. Since you put in 20 weight, it will be a pretty light oil, but wont' be doing too well at high temps. Don't drive the car really hard, or go on long trips through the desert. Keep the engine temp down. If the weather is getting cold where you are now, you can probably live with the oil as is. But read the article anyway, it's pretty helpful.

 

You're probably fine but why worry? Drain the sucker again and spend another $20 or so on new oil for peace of mind.

 

yeah...you could do that.

The oil filter will be fine, you just need the new oil.

But then again, you shouldn't have any problems with that mixture.

Hooman

 

You will be fine just get the right stuff in the car asap; its the thicker stuff that can cause the bad problems.

 

It's not good to mix grades, or to put the wrong 'weight' of oil in the engine, but your "oops' in this case shouldn't cause any issues.......it's a little lighter/thinner than 5W30, so make sure you keep an eye on the level until your next change.

You did the right thing by asking........

C.

 

You should be fine but like someone said, worst case, just do it over. If you don't drive the car hard like me, you'll be fine.

On a side note, it's still debated if weights should be mixed. There were some shops that recommended modded Supras to run a 10-30 / 15-50 mix. I usually just ran one or another but some people did mix.

 

better safe then sorry?

 

well with all the mixed emotions I've gotten on this thread it feels like, I think on account of me being the lazy guy that I am, I probably will just leave it, maybe change it at 3000 miles instead of the 3750 and just not drive too hard. Doesnt sound like what I've done is THAT big of a deal, not one enough to make a huge impact on my engine life or anything. . .

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

Well, you really are not "mixing" viscosity. You drained all the other oil and replaced it with a new "lighter" oil. 5W20 is a great winter oil since it is thinner. 10W40 is a great summer oil because it is thicker. Usually you only put 5W in a new engine (less than 25,000 miles). I use 5W30 in my 03 6MT and 10W40 in my old 96 Explorer with 128,000 miles.