Wally World no longer carries 5W-30? 5W-20 declared the "new norm"??

[JoshT]

Well it does get down to -20 (F) in the winter just about every other year (I forget el nino or la nina)... and -31 (F) once every 10 years... and of course 100 (F) the whole months of July and August, with an occasional 105-108 (F).... So you telling me Walmart is dictating my oil choices for me based on climate?

When did I say that? When did I say anything about your stores at all?

I was talking about what OP is seeing in Florida.

(shell rotella 15W 40 )

I use that in the T6 for my F-250. I need to pick up some to do a change on it. I've found the quarts at TSC before, but for this it doesn't matter. IIRC it uses just under 4 gallons per oil change.

 

[Bill]

A lot of you don't understand motor oil.

The first thing to note is any reputable brand sells better oil now than you could get when the truck was made, unless you have a current generation Ranger.

The oil type is largely based on your climate, with a few exceptions, and not so much now as in the past. Ford still recommends 5w30 in the Cologne V6 engines due to the way the oil pump works. They may not be able to maintain adequate oil pressure with 5w20. For the rest of them, it doesn't really matter if you run 5w20 or 5w30. There is a slight advantage to 5w30 in very hot weather if you do things like driving your truck like you stole it over mountain passes in hot weather like I do. If you live in hot summer area of the country you can even run 10w30 without any problems because that 10w factor isn't going to matter unless it is cold enough to matter. And many people live in areas where 0w-something really doesn't matter because it doesn't get cold enough to matter. But, the slight advantage is lubricating overhead cams at startup...maybe. I say maybe because the oils now have additives to maintain a film on surfaces so there is lubrication available for that second or two after you start the engine.

The bottom line is running oils in the normal 0w-20 through 5w-30 (or even 10w-30 in hot areas) weight ranges probably doesn't matter for most applications. It doesn't matter if you run Kirkland, Castrol, Valvoline, or Mobil 1 because all those oils sold now are much better than the oils that were out when older vehicles were sold. For those of us who are cheap, like me, we can buy some store brand synthetic oil with the knowledge that the oil is better than anything manufactured 15 years ago. So, wait until Costco has the next sale on motor oil and spend $36 on two bottles of synthetic oil rather than $30 for some branded oil and buy a hot dog and a slice of pizza at the food court with the money you saved.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

FL-1A, FL-200, FL-300, FL-400, FL-910(S) have 3/4"-16 threads. FL-500(S) and FL-820(S) have M22 x 1.5 mm threads.

For example, the 4.0 SOHC in Rangers has the 22 mm threads and takes the FL-820S. And no, I'm not going to try 5W-20 in place of 5W-30 in mine, no matter how much Ford says it's back-compatible.

 

[Bill]

FL-1A, FL-200, FL-300, FL-400, FL-910(S) have 3/4"-16 threads. FL-500(S) and FL-820(S) have M22 x 1.5 mm threads.

For example, the 4.0 SOHC in Rangers has the 22 mm threads and takes the FL-820S. And no, I'm not going to try 5W-20 in place of 5W-30 in mine, no matter how much Ford says it's back-compatible.

Ford states 5w-20 is not to be used in the 4.0. It isn't a lubrication issue. It's that the oil pump doesn't work well with lower viscosity oil.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Ford states 5w-20 is not to be used in the 4.0. It isn't a lubrication issue. It's that the oil pump doesn't work well with lower viscosity oil.

if the pump isn't working well, that sounds like it will cause a lubrication issue

AJ

 

[Shran]

I haven't needed to buy any oil recently as I had a lot stockpiled but in any case I haven't had trouble finding what I needed. Walmart has always come through. If not, there are the parts stores, and several farm supply places nearby.

I quit buying Motorcraft filters when they went full ripoff mode. Supertech filters seem to have really good feedback, Wix too.

I did buy a case of FL400 knockoffs, Champ branded, by accident and am using them up here and there on RBVs. They fit everywhere a FL1A does but are just narrower. Main thing is that since they are smaller, they will hold less oil, so it changes your overall fill amount slightly - about half a quart.

 

[rubydist]

In this part of the world, inventory of oils at Wally World has been very spotty and unpredictable for the past 4 years at least. And oil filters have gotten to be like gold, both in scarcity and price.

Good news is Costco still carries M1 5W30 so I grab some there from time to time.

 

[racsan]

Who carries pumpkin spice?

 

[broncc]

I get my synth 5W30 from Autozone. Ask for it in bulk. Its a 6 gallon box with a spout. I think it worked out to less than $5/qt last time I restocked. # SZND536G

 

[Bill]

I get my synth 5W30 from Autozone. Ask for it in bulk. Its a 6 gallon box with a spout. I think it worked out to less than $5/qt last time I restocked. # SZND536G

At the current price ($135) it's $5.63. I think that's a little high for a repackaged label considering Walmart has Motorcraft for $5 a quart. But, that is Autozone pricing. I think STP's motor oils are made by Amalie.

https://www.amalie.com/product/elixir-full-synthetic/

Costco (Kirkland) motor oil is made by Highline-Warren. This company makes oil for a lot of brands. The market their brand under Mag1 https://mag1.com

Results Detail

engineoil.api.org

 

[pentode]

In this part of the world, inventory of oils at Wally World has been very spotty and unpredictable for the past 4 years at least. And oil filters have gotten to be like gold, both in scarcity and price.

Good news is Costco still carries M1 5W30 so I grab some there from time to time.

Up here north of the border, inventories of everything at Walmart has been spotty since 2020, motor oil, birdseed, frozen pizza, coffee, cat food, you name it. Empty shelves sometimes for weeks. I'm starting to wonder if things will ever go back to normal. Last time I went there for oil they had no Supertech 5W20 synthetic but they did have Supertech 5W20 High Mileage. I don't normally use the high mileage oils but I guess at 239k, once couldn't hurt.

 

[broncc]

I think that's a little high for a repackaged label

Oh I spaced the commercial account price is lower (thanks dad!) Yeah may be a bad deal otherwise...

 

[Bill]

Up here north of the border, inventories of everything at Walmart has been spotty since 2020, motor oil, birdseed, frozen pizza, coffee, cat food, you name it. Empty shelves sometimes for weeks. I'm starting to wonder if things will ever go back to normal. Last time I went there for oil they had no Supertech 5W20 synthetic but they did have Supertech 5W20 High Mileage. I don't normally use the high mileage oils but I guess at 239k, once couldn't hurt.

Over here Walmart has been shrinking the DIY auto maintenance section. Motor and grease oil used to take up both sides of an aisle. Then there was about one and half aisles ofcoolant, various brands of snake oil to add to your oil change, stuff to put in your gas tank, spray lubricants, etc. A half of an aisle of things to put your oil oil in, hand cleaners, rags. Then the aisle over had interior cleaners, detailing stuff, cloths, and so on. I think the auto section took up five aisles. Now it is down to two or three. Are they not selling the auto stuff? Are they trying to encourage people to buy online? What is going on?

Also, about half the Targets here got rid of auto things entirely and the True Value an Ace hardware stores only have a few basic items now too.

 

[97RangerXLT]

saw it in a motor oil display at Autozone today. lots of them, did not pay attention to the price, but it was up by the registers...

AJ

 

[rubydist]

Up here north of the border, inventories of everything at Walmart has been spotty since 2020, motor oil, birdseed, frozen pizza, coffee, cat food, you name it. Empty shelves sometimes for weeks. I'm starting to wonder if things will ever go back to normal. Last time I went there for oil they had no Supertech 5W20 synthetic but they did have Supertech 5W20 High Mileage. I don't normally use the high mileage oils but I guess at 239k, once couldn't hurt.

The high mileage stuff just has a little added seal sweller so it should leak a little less, so its a good idea for most any vehicle over 75k miles imho.