2002 QC, 4.7, 4x4, auto. Owners manual says 4.7L recommended oil viscosity is 5w30 for optimum performance. In the past on other vehicles, I usually ran the 10w30 in the warmer months. I know I can run it in the Dak, but given some of the things I've read about oil sludge problems on some Dodges, does any one now if there is any reason I shouldn't go 10w30 in the summer months. Thanks.

 

I can't think of any reasons ... In fact isn't 10w30 what's recomended for the 5.2 ? ... In the manual there's usualy a temp. chart showing 2 different viscosities and at what temps. you can opt. to run them. I really doubt it'd hurt anything.

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Any reason you'd rather run 10w30?

IIRC Hondas run 0w20 or some crazy stuff. The LA motors (and their magnum counterparts) are old tech, and yeah, 10w30 is recommended.

 

Not really. Partially out of habit. I'd always kind of ran whatever viscosity was typical for the temperature ranges. 5w30 is normally used in cold climates and 10w30 in the warmer. This summer it will get up there in temp so thought I'd check peoples opinions.

 

I don't know about 5w or 10w depending on the season. I live in one of the coldest places in the world and the coldest place in the USA and I run 10w30 synthetic year round with no problems. I think biggest thing is brand. Buy a cheap brand, get cheap performance. Besides, I could have swore the weight of the oil was dependent of the work load of the vehicle mainly. Only towards the weather partially.

 

The first number is the cold sheer strength, basically it'll flow easier into tighter places while cold if it's got a lower number. There's really no reason to put a higher weight oil in unless the manufacturer requires heavier (read: tolerances are loose) or if you've got leaks you don't want to fix but aren't as bad with thicker oil. That's why I was running 20w-50 in my old subaru for a while, kept it from burning as much.