Oil change, which one?

[olopezm]

Hi guys,

today while picking the isolator bolts and gaskets for my aunt's windstar I decided to get 5 qts. of engine oil for mine and a new oil filter. I asked the guy how much for each quart and he asked me first how many miles were on the vehicle, 89200 miles I said and then he answered I should get 15w40 oil based on the mileage.

I know the manual and engine bay state 5w30 oil should be used; a later TSB states to use 5w20 for windstars.

So which one should I go with? The guy at the dealer (15w40) or the TSB (5w20)? I must say that weather is not that extreme where I live, hottest temps are around 100F and coldest close to 32F.

Also has anyone used AutoZone brand oil in the orange colored jugs? It states to be made in the USA but I don't know how good it is, never tried it before as the store just started stocking it.

Thanks in advance,

Oscar.

[wiswind]

I would use the 5W-20 or 5W-30.
A good off the shelf oil would be Mobil 1.
Do NOT use the heavier oil, it will not help anything.
89K miles is NOTHING.
I was using 5W-20 in my '96 3.8L with over 229K miles on it and not using any significant amount of oil.
At least not enough to need to add any in a 5K mile oil change interval.

[olopezm]

Thanks wiswind,

I will make sure to go with 5w20/30.

Any comments on the Autozone brand? I saw Mobil 1 full synthetic but I have to drive across of town and autozone is on the way home . I'm lazy, I know.

Thanks,

Oscar.

[wiswind]

Don't they sell Mobil 1 at the Autozones down there?, they do up here.
I don't know anything about their house brand oil, and even if it is the same in different countries....In other words, AutoZone has someone bottle the oil for them, and I don't know if they source it from the same location for stores in different countries.
It may be the same in both countries, and it may not......I don't know.
The Mobil 1 should be the same.....in both countries.
I can look the oil up on the Autozone website for the USA and see what they carry in the local store...and what they can order for pickup at my local store.
There is a separate site for AutoZone in Mexico.....and it has a store locater, however it is in spanish, so I could not figure out what I could look up (it is laid out differently than the US site).
The AutoZone brand oil in the orange container looks like it sells for less than the Valvoline conventional (non-synthetic) oil.
The Mobil 1 is at least double the price of the AutoZone brand, but there are a lot of choices that are priced in between, the Mobil Clean 5000 (also conventional oil) is priced very close to the AutoZone brand and is even cheaper than the Valvoline conventional.
These price comparisons are on the USA site, priced in my area.
Prices may compare differently in Mexico.
I recommend you visit the AutoZone Mexico website and see if you can comparison shop, like you can on the USA site.
Easier than standing in the store and trying to compare.
Up here, they have LOTS of oil choices...but, again, I don't know if that is true in another country.

[olopezm]

Thanks, I appreciate it wiswind.

Yeah, I've checked the AutoZone mexican website before but they have only a store locator, no merchandise for us so I can't compare. It looks like the company is making some changes so they might update the site.

Today I went to the closest store and they have started stocking Mobil 1; previously they would only offer thicker/heavier (15w40,20w50) oils in Castrol and Quaker State brands, something must have changed and I'm glad they are now stocking it as it was a pain having to look for correct weight oil.

I will get the filter from the dealer and Mobil 5w20 non-synthetic oil from the store (still have to get new shock absorbers on both front and rear) which is about 5 dlls a quart.

Oscar.

[jayjp200]

I tried last year on my 98 windstar using 15W30 oil. After a week one morning on a colder day my engine froze and would not even crank (10 deg C). I had to connect the heater cord for an hour and got it started.
I am back to 5W30 ever since.
Jay

[olopezm]

Thanks for your comment Jay,

I'm glad we don't have such low temperatures around here; I will definitely get the 5w30 oil, there are just a few things that need to get done first.

Oscar.