QuiGonJohn Report post Posted June 26, 2012 I have a 2006 Winnebago Aspect on the Ford E-450 cutaway chassis with the V10 gas engine. The prior owner's last used 5W20 and this is what is on the cap on the engine. Should I just use this weight or would the fact I live in South Florida, (Ft Lauderdale area), make another weight choice more optimal? Also, where can I get specs on the amount of oil I will need and the oil filter. Although I have a lot of the manuals, I do not have the Chassis Owner's Manual. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted June 26, 2012 I would order an owners manual from any Ford dealer. It will give you the information you need. I suspect you will find that 5 W20 is the proper oil for all climates for the V10, but check in the manual. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Briarhopper Report post Posted June 26, 2012 Fords fleet web site should have the manual as a pdf, I think. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Briarhopper Report post Posted June 27, 2012 A few added thoughts. Oil weight is important in all engines. It is critical in some of the newer Ford engines as the oil system not only lubricates, but supplies pressure to timing mechanism gizmos. If you use the wrong oil or fail to change oil when needed, the ports can clog easier and bad things can happen. This may be the case in a lot of modern engines, but I am only familiar with Ford. BH Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
five Report post Posted June 28, 2012 The prior owner's last used 5W20 and this is what is on the cap on the engine. Thanks! If that is the OEM oil cap, you have answered your own question. If not, get the manual or call Ford. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
QuiGonJohn Report post Posted June 29, 2012 I was told by a mechanic that he felt 5W20 was too thin, didn't provide enough lubrication, especially in the hot climate here in South Florida. Just odd, as most of my life I have always heard people talk about using different weights of oils, depending on your climate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Briarhopper Report post Posted June 29, 2012 Different weights depending on climate has more to do with starting a cold engine and low temperture lubrication. Multi-weight motor oils pretty much take care of that issue unless you are talking extremes and that is when we plug in our block heaters if we have them. Looking at 5W-20, the 5W is a rating of viscosity at low temperature (cold engine) and the 20 is a rating of viscosity at high temperature (hot engine). The 20 is the weight of oil that provides proper lubrication in the hot engine which is 200 degrees F +/- and not affected that much by whether the air temp is 97 (here in the heartland today) or a little warmer (maybe) in the Sunshine State. The hottest the engine will be is on a steep sustained climb somewhere north of Florida. The manual may spec a synthetic or synthetic blend. One note on getting a Chassis manual is the chassis for a 2006 coach coudl be a 2005 or even 2004 in some cases. Just my thoughts. BH Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulcarson Report post Posted June 29, 2012 I have a 2006 Winnebago Aspect on the Ford E-450 cutaway chassis with the V10 gas engine. The prior owner's last used 5W20 and this is what is on the cap on the engine. Should I just use this weight or would the fact I live in South Florida, (Ft Lauderdale area), make another weight choice more optimal? Also, where can I get specs on the amount of oil I will need and the oil filter. Although I have a lot of the manuals, I do not have the Chassis Owner's Manual. Thanks! I have a 2008 Winnebago Outlook on a 2007 E-450 Super Duty chassis and I use 5W20 synthetic motor oil. My engine is also the V-10. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted June 29, 2012 Sadly, a lot of "old time" mechanics are recommending the WRONG oil. What worked on engines in the older engines is NOT correct for today's modern engines with much closer tolerances. Listen to what Ford/Ford owners manual says, NOT what Bubba says. Short story: When I worked for the Infiniti Division of Nissan Corp, they introduced one of the first high HP close-tolerance engines. 121 CID making 140 HP-- common today, but VERY uncommon 18 years ago. If a customer complained about rough idle, we authorized the dealer to change oil (on our nickel) to the CORRECT/RECOMMENDED OIL: 5W20. BTW, this was in south FL. The correct (much thinner oil) corrected 99% of the rough idle issues. Because it was a 7,000 RPM engine operating in south FL, some used 30 and even 40 weight oil-- really messed things up. Brett Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bm02tj Report post Posted July 1, 2012 Ford uses a low tension piston ring and if you use a heavier oil the oil will bypass the rings and cause oil use. As I understand most mfgs did this for less drag and better mileage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted August 7, 2012 I use Mobil -1 0-20 in my new Honda and I bet it would work great in your V-10. You can go to Mobil1 website for oil and filter recomendations. I am in Fort Worth and it has ben over 110 at times hear and I have no fear of my oil breaking down. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoondockSaint Report post Posted August 16, 2012 Most of the time 5w-20 weight oil is used to pass emissions mandated by the EPA, where a 10w-30 weight oil would provide better lubrication but would make the vehicle fail the emissions mandates. Don't believe me? Look up the USDM Mazda rx8 powered by the rotary engine that, from the factory, used 5w-20 and needs rebuilt every 30,000 miles due to failed bearings and seals. I run 10w-30 in everything during summer and 5w-20 in the winter to provide better cold start protection and less oil pressure surge. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 Most of the time 5w-20 weight oil is used to pass emissions mandated by the EPA, where a 10w-30 weight oil would provide better lubrication but would make the vehicle fail the emissions mandates. Don't believe me? Look up the USDM Mazda rx8 powered by the rotary engine that, from the factory, used 5w-20 and needs rebuilt every 30,000 miles due to failed bearings and seals. I run 10w-30 in everything during summer and 5w-20 in the winter to provide better cold start protection and less oil pressure surge. The Mazda rotary engine may be a poor example of correct viscosity oil for the remaining (99.9%) of vehicle engines that are piston not rotary engines. Tolerances on today's engines are far finer than in years past. So the correct oil for a 20 years old engine will likely NOT be correct for today's engines. STRONG recommendation: use the viscosity recommended by the engineers who designed your engine, not my opinion or anyone elses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoondockSaint Report post Posted August 17, 2012 The Mazda rotary engine may be a poor example of correct viscosity oil for the remaining (99.9%) of vehicle engines that are piston not rotary engines. Tolerances on today's engines are far finer than in years past. So the correct oil for a 20 years old engine will likely NOT be correct for today's engines. STRONG recommendation: use the viscosity recommended by the engineers who designed your engine, not my opinion or anyone elses. I'm not poking holes, but the rotary engine the RX8 used is less than 6 years old. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
QuiGonJohn Report post Posted October 9, 2012 When I changed the oil back in June, (when I started this thread), I went with the 10W30 they recommended at the Auto Parts Store. Since then I have put over 5800 miles on the RV, with a trip to the Grand Canyon and back, as well as a shorter in state trip prior to the Grand Canyon trip. So I just changed the oil again, and this time I went with the Ford recommended 5W20. After reading all the good input here I figure I don't want to take a chance of messing anything up in the long term. Although I did not notice any difference in the way it ran, or using an excessive amount of oil. But as Brett recommends, I will follow the recommendations of the Ford engineers, going forward. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
possee Report post Posted May 29, 2018 How many quarts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted May 30, 2018 4 hours ago, possee said: How many quarts Welcome to the forum. Without knowing the year. The general rule is 2 valve take 6 quarts and the 3 valve take 7. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
