Thinking of switching to 5w-30 oil on 22 Gladiator Mojave 3.6L, will it do better for motor?

[Rhino35]

I live in Arizona and in summer, temp goes up to about 115, but in winter, temp goes up to about 65 and low's to about 35. Do you think overall, changing the oil viscosity from 0W-20 to 5w-30 make it better for the engine, or worst. And why?

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[Wildtoad]

I think a lot depends on how you drive, where you drive, how hard on the engine you are. I use mine as a daily drive here in central SC, high humidity and hot or moderately cold with an occasional really cold snap in the winter. So I have no reason to use other than the recommended oil as they are far smarter (about oil) than I.

if history repeats, this could be a long thread.

 

[Dweisman429]

You are going to get alot of opinons here...but this is mine....

I just did my 1st oil change and it is 5w30 full synthetic and not looking back.

With that said, I change oil at 5k. It is probably early but it's a very easy interval to remember and keep on top of.

In the 2014 JKU that this JT replaced, it called for 5w20. And I did run 5w20 for the first 75k or so...until it started getting more valvetrain tick. Switched over to 5w30 at that time and the tick went away. She got totalled out at about 155k and it was still running good with no noise.

I also changed the wife's Acadia that called for 0w20 to 5w30 after the 2nd oil change.

This super light oil is OK for making fuel mileage in a test lab, but I really feel that it is too light for normal driving.

And if you are going to tow or do any offroad stuff, I definitely would think very hard about going to a higher viscosity oil.

Remember...they really only care that your engine makes it out of the warranty period. After that it's more profit for repairs.

 

[whysoserious]

 

[Mr._Bill]

I live in Arizona and in summer, temp goes up to about 115, but in winter, temp goes up to about 65 and low's to about 35. Do you think overall, changing the oil viscosity from 0W-20 to 5w-30 make it better for the engine, or worst. And why?

The 'official' answer is that it is bad for the engine to use anything other than what is listed in the owners manual. It also provides them the opportunity to deny warranty coverage for any engine issues.

I put almost 60k miles on my Overland in the desert running 0W20 Synthetic with no issues. The engine was always quiet with no startup noises. I have 6k miles on my High Altitude with no issues or engine noises, so far. Since the setup is working fine, I don't feel a need to experiment or second-guess the engineers.

 

[Desirayray]

These are tight tolerance engines. The thinner oil flows faster through these tight clearances removing more heat. I am in AZ too and will stay with 0w-20.

 

[whysoserious]

I live in Arizona and in summer, temp goes up to about 115, but in winter, temp goes up to about 65 and low's to about 35. Do you think overall, changing the oil viscosity from 0W-20 to 5w-30 make it better for the engine, or worst. And why?

Here's some food for thought...

 

[jac04]

In the 2014 JKU that this JT replaced, it called for 5w20. And I did run 5w20 for the first 75k or so...until it started getting more valvetrain tick. Switched over to 5w30 at that time and the tick went away.

The JK is a different animal. The Owners Manual actually specifies 5W-30 as an acceptable alternate to 5W-20 for the engine oil.

For the JT, there is only one engine oil specified in the Owners Manual.

 

[willys 41]

I live in Arizona and in summer, temp goes up to about 115, but in winter, temp goes up to about 65 and low's to about 35. Do you think overall, changing the oil viscosity from 0W-20 to 5w-30 make it better for the engine, or worst. And why?

I run 5w40 in both my 3.6

 

[Aaron67]

Same engine but different vehicle. My daughter had a charger with the 3.6 with 65000 miles on it. She had oil changed at a quick lube type chain and they used the 5w-30 instead of the 0w-20 because they didn't sell the correct weight. Her car started the having the lifter/valve rattle by the time she got home about 2 miles. Just my limited experience.

 

[wally1955]

I am one that is not an engineer, but I am a believer in using the recommended viscosity and one that meets Mopars specifications. The big thing is to buy a high end product. I personally use Royal Purple 0W20 full synthetic and WIX premium filters. Many years and miles of experience with this combo.

 

[tysongladiator]

Whatever the manual says is best. Don't make it complicated.

 

[dajudge]

When I got my 2022 I couldn't believe how noisy the top end was. It sounded like an old diesel. Switched to 5-30 and it is MUCH better. Your mileage may very.

 

[TheRealStreetcommander]

I've run M1 0w40 Euro or Rotella T6 5w40 Diesel oil in my 3.6 from new. This drives many forum members bats__t crazy when I mention this. There are some threads that have documented this approach over the years, including some UOA.

I have not noticed any MPG changes from oil weight and my JT gets on the higher side of the typically real-world MPGs reported on this forum. Recently I changed from MT's to HT's and picked up a solid 2MPG while losing a hellacious amount of tire noise.

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