Oil change, added two quarts of the wrong viscosity oil, can I use 5W-20, or do I need to drain it and use 5W-30?

THOLMES

MEMBER
1998 FORD RANGER
2.5L
4 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
277,000 MILES

Hey,

Stupid question but I'm getting mixed answers when I do research online.

I am doing my oil change and just realized I picked up SAE 5W-20 instead of SAE 5W-30. I had already put 2 quarts in the engine before I noticed that I picked up the wrong one. Can I use 5W-20, or do I need to drain it and use 5W-30 instead?

5 Replies

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
12,993 POSTS

Top it off with 5W30 and call it a day. Won't hurt anything.

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Thursday, August 17th, 2023 AT 11:21 AM

THOLMES

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10 POSTS

Thank you!

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Thursday, August 17th, 2023 AT 11:43 AM

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
12,993 POSTS

No problem. With that mix you would have about a 5W26 so not really a big thing. Although you will get told by others that you have to drain it and refill it. If you ever saw some of the blends, I've run in my own vehicles it might scare you. They will also tell you not to run brand XXXXX because it's garbage, and again, I've run pretty much everything from top-of-the-line racing oils to recycled oil bought at the local convenience store without ever having a real oil related failure.

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Thursday, August 17th, 2023 AT 12:00 PM

THOLMES

MEMBER
10 POSTS

Yeah, I grabbed some Motorcraft. So, I was really supposed to do the 5w30. I don't even know how I picked up the wrong one. My truck normally runs hot and didn't on this mix. I don't really know what to make of it.

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Friday, August 18th, 2023 AT 10:13 AM

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
12,993 POSTS

Interesting that it runs cooler. About the only reason I could say for that is maybe the slightly "thinner" oil pumps easier, but I don't think there is enough of a difference for that to really do anything. Could be that some sediment in the radiator moved when you were changing the oil but that would be a real odd item.