10w-40 in a 1.8 Mondeo Zetec

Tican · 24 Jun 2008 at 21:52

Hi all,

My car has NO oil in it :eek:

(well very little ... below min), and I only have some 10w-40 in the shed, would this be ok to use for approx. 15 miles until I can change it? Not driving isn't really an option as I have to get to work in the morning - No buses nor shops open at that time in the morning

moss · 24 Jun 2008 at 21:54

I'm pretty sure you should be using at least 10w30 semi-synth in a Zetec.

Tican · 24 Jun 2008 at 21:57

5w-30 is book spec,

I think that this oil I have is synth (doesn't say semi-synth)

moss · 24 Jun 2008 at 21:59

DJ Binks said:
5w-30 is book spec,

Thats we what usually supply at work.

Peter Diffey · 24 Jun 2008 at 22:04

Im sure it will be fine for such a short time

ethos · 24 Jun 2008 at 22:07

You'll probably find that min to max is only about a litre of oil anyway (if that). So a litre from out of 5-6 won't do any harm.

Fill her up

MarkDavis · 24 Jun 2008 at 23:41

Peter Diffey said:
Im sure it will be fine for such a short time

Don't even think about it if you value your car.....

You run the risk of damaging your engine even if it is only slightly. I remember topping up with about 0.5l of 10W40 in my 323i. Afterwards, it sounded like a tractor. A complete oil change ensued very quickly afterwards as the engine did not sound healthy at all.

Having said that a Ford 1.8 is a lot more agricultural than a BMW straight six

neil-ste · 24 Jun 2008 at 23:45

I once filled my mondeo with old engine oil from my Integra, odd little bits of any grade of oil I had lying about in the garage including some diesel oil. It ran fine for about 15,000 miles after that when I scrapped it due to rot. I used to drive it hard every day and it never missed a beat and didn't use a drop after filling it up. I really didn't care about the car, but driving yours for 15 miles with different oil in probably won't do it much harm.

blueboy2001 · 25 Jun 2008 at 00:08

It'll be fine. 5w-30 is specified because thicker stuff can cause the valves to stick a little from cold, making them difficult to start when it's cold, and it improves the fuel economy very slightly. 10w-40 is OK, especially if it's just for a top up.

Scania · 25 Jun 2008 at 06:26

Any oil is better than no oil!

dalin80 · 25 Jun 2008 at 07:31

a few years ago we had our tanks filled with the wrong oil instead of 5/30 they put in normal 10/40, didnt have a single complaint from anyone from almost 100 litres of oil.

It wont do any damage at all, not as just a top up.

Off the top of my head ford list it as a alternative for a moderate climate.