Oil for Ford Ranger/Mazda BT50 diesels

Phil, the handbook says 5-30 for winter and 10-30 summer so I would have thought that the one to use at this time of the year would be the 10-30. Problem is that this rating is hard to buy retail and Victory Ford's workshop manager told me that they were using 15-40. I've got his name noted down and will be getting a second opinion from another Ford dealer. Meantime I've got to do the oil change and will be having words with them if this is incorrect, when it goes in for a 10k service. I think that the
composition of the oil is the critical issue and the viscosity may be secondary. Is a 40w oil all that heavy, I don't know.

To ask another Ford dealer will not clarify the issue.
Manufacturers do their research, so the handbook will be right 100% of the time.

The viscosity is very important. The first number (5,10 or 15) matters the most. Thats the viscosity when cold - 15 being thicker than 5.

Thicker does not mean better. The 15W40 takes longer at startup to lubricate the motor (that is when wear occurs). Especially so with a modern motor - they make the oil channels smaller, so a thinner oil gets around quicker. The other downside is that fuel consumption will increase. I'd be using a 5W30 in your vehicle.

Phil G, can you clarify why you'd use 5-30 (which I presume is the winter rating) rather than the 10-30 summer now that it's getting hotter and the trips I do are hot running (freeway) I take your point that it helps to move round a cold engine initially but after this..........
I'd rather use the recommended oil. The trouble is that apart from Penrite HPR5 or HPR10 it seems hard to find much else esp in 20l. What do you think of Penrite?

Wigger,
Some of the company websites have some info that helps understand this stuff.
The following is dragged off the Valvoline tech-talk
site:
" What does the term “SAE 10W/30” mean? 10W/30 is the indication of the viscosity of the oil and SAE stands for Society of Automotive Engineers. The SAE measures viscosity and is given the job of expressing that measurement in numbers. That means that a 10W/30 oil is what is termed as a multigrade, being a 10W grade when the engine is cold (ie. At start up) allowing the “thin” oil to circulate rapidly and then provide the protection of a 30 grade when the engine heats up to its normal operating temperature giving a good protection film to the moving parts. The letter “W” means winter and coming after the lowest number in the multigrade indicates the lowest viscosity of the oil when its cold."

So if Mazda/Ford recommend 5W30 in "winter" and 10W30 in "Summer". If you use a 10W oil in winter, the oil will be a bit slower getting around at startup. If you use a 5W30 in summer, you'll do no harm, it won't matter. Your motor warms up to the same temp whether its summer or winter - the thermostat largely determines that.

"What do I think of Penrite"
They are a company that sells oil, like all the others. I think that theres a lot of marketing in oils, and some crazy claims.

If choosing an oil, I look at the viscosity and API specs, so they match the manufacturers recommendation, look for the word "diesel" on the container and then shop around for a good deal.

I've been using 15W40 Gulf Western and Fuchs out of the 20litre drums for mine, but its not a fancy diesel.

Tks Phil for all of that, I didn't realise that using a 5-30 as opposed to a 10-30 even in summer was OK hence the earlier question Went out this morning and found an appropriate Castrol 10-30 oil, so I can stay away from the 15-40 stuff, which is taking most of the shelf space at sales outlets. Not a lot of choice in the 10-30 area in contrast.

Not quite with you - "Havoline". Do you mean Valvoline or am I missing something.. Where do you get this stuff?

Not quite with you - "Havoline". Do you mean Valvoline or am I missing something.. Where do you get this stuff?

Not quite with you - "Havoline". Do you mean Valvoline or am I missing something.. Where do you get this stuff?

Not quite with you - "Havoline". Do you mean Valvoline or am I missing something.. Where do you get this stuff?

sorry about that. Cat jumped on keyboard.

3.40 23/10
Was down at Woolies and I saw this Havoline on the shelf.. Never noticed this product before probably because I've been focussed on buying Castrol RX for the Transporter I had.

Tks F Mc V about advice not to use 15-40. As you can see from reply to Phil I found some 10-30 finally and am using that

just thinking about it its 10w30 not 40 cheers Paul

just thinking about it its 10w30 not 40 cheers Paul

TD100, you do not have a modern diesel, sorry :) Almost any oil will do in yours. Same goes for the E2500, etc that you have used 15 year old spec oil with success. That's no surprise, you have used the recommended oil for them. Then you also have change the oil every 5000ks.

But you will need to change sometime soon IF you encounter a modern diesel. They need a synthetic low ash oil, especially those with a DPF. The viscosity is mostly 5W 30, and the oil is expensive, but changes vary from a very minimum of 10,000k out as far as 35,000k.

Gerhardp1,i beg to differ,the 1HDFTE is a modern 24 valve engine so requiring 10w30 but the dealer uses a 15w40(i think it was valvoline?)the 3.0 T/D hiluxes at work are the latest model and the service centre uses shell helix in them since new(not diesel helix either)and they have clocked up around the 100k mark now and all is good with them.i think if it worries you that much for your own piece of mind use what is recommended to you in the handbook.cheers Paul

TD100, I sort of agree with Gerhard but take it as a complement (I also have a 1HD-FTE).

It originated in 1990 with the release of the 1HD-T - a 12valve direct injection factory TD.
In 1995, a 24valve, version was produced (1HD-FT)
In 2000, an intercooled, EFI version was dropped into the 100series. (1HD-FTE)

The 15W40 oil has gone into 99% of these engines. I haven't seen a 10W30 sticker before, so maybe that is a recent addition??

TD100, you are misleading yourself if you believe the 1HDFTE is a modern diesel. It is an old technology unit which has been updated, but it is not common rail, 2000psi with piezo injectors, and successfully running a catalytic converter and a DPF. The Toyota v8 single and twin turbo engines are not there either.

In fact, no Japanese diesel is new technology, that is one area where the Japanese are way behind.

Several manufacturers have updated their engines to try and catch up with the Euros, but are not in the race really. The NS Pajero auto version, for an example, specifies the use of a low ash 5w-30 oil, and uses a catalytic converter and a DPF to meet emission standards. Have a read on the AU pajero forum, to find out how successful their effort is.....

Gerhardp 1,
Tks , you have been great in stirring up everyone to contribute. Since you are a bit of a diesel guru, can you tell me someting about this engine that F and M share, called a MZR CD. You said that there is no new tech Japanese diesel so what about this one and where it originated.
So far it has been great with big torque and reduced gear changing. Have been climbing over the Tomewin border gate at 600' both ways every day, which is a steep winding climb and it's been using 7.24l per 100kms (39 mpg for the oldies) Amazing. I swore I would never buy a Ford but this may be their first decent diesel engine.

Wigger, I do not class myself as a diesel guru, perhaps a Google guru.

What I know about diesels of old is they smell, rattle, and go slowly up hills, but they will do that for a long, long time. They will cost quite a lot to maintain, requiring frequent oil changes of 10 litres and producing extremely filthy oil after 5,000ks. Isuzu is probably one of the best old diesel producers in the world.

What I know about new technology diesels is what I find on the web. I was considering buying a Pajero NS diesel auto, so I searched Exploroz, followed a link to the Pajero club forum and looked up the threads about the NS Pajero. That thread is full of info about the problems the auto models are having with their DPF, and the oil that is required to be used - the same oil you need. The problem is the DPF system doesn't "afterburn" properly so the self cleaning doesn't work, frequently needing a tow truck to the service centre for a forced "burn". This is often followed by a repeat of the same problem. Mitsubishi so far, has no solution. So I'm not buying one, the other part of the issue is their engine is a DID, converted to CR, and not using piezo injectors. This makes the engine very noisy compared to yours.

I stand by my assertion that the Japanese aren't up to scratch on modern diesels. I'm not saying they won't rectify this, but they will be doing what they did with other stuff - take a proven Euro design and vary it. No reason why their engineers won't finish up producing engines that are class leading, as they have done with petrols.

Your engine (from what I can find) is a 3.0 litre version of the MZ-CD engine which was jointly developed by Ford/PSA in Europe. The base engine seems to be the MZ-CD which comes in many sizes, but the "R" part seems to be a Mazda enhancement. A quote from Wiki "The MZR family features a special long intake manifold for added torque, S-VT continuous variable valve timing, and a stainless steel 4:1 exhaust header."

These enhancements create more power and torque, and better economy than the donor MZ-CD which is found in such things as the Focus. No doubt Ford will obtain the rights to use the enhanced versions in more of their models than just the Ranger version of the BT-50, since they are a substantial shereholder in Mazda.

There is quite a lot of collaberation going on between manufacturers wishing to "catch up" on the diesel lag, most notably Toyota Isuzu

Cheers

gerhardp,
That was good stuff, but one small point- this engine does not have a DPF which sounds as if it could be a good thing from the owners point of view.
Next, can you explain in mecho/scientific terms why a CDR engine is quieter than a DID. I had a 5 cyl 2.5l volkswagen motor which was plain DID(I think) and yet I swear it sounded no noisier(certainly on startup) than the 2.5 MZR CD. The latter can sound a bit growly when taking off esp cold.
What's the issue with the Mitsubishi engine not having piezzo injectors. Can you give a discourse on this.

Hehe. Geez, man, are we there yet?? My brain is starting to hurt from all this research I'm having to do. :)

From what I gather from this Site Link the piezo injector can control the amount of fuel injected far more precisely than previous methods - read DID. More precise and much more frequent actuation means smaller movements of the moving parts so less mechanical noise and better timing of the spray(s) thus creating more power and less combustion noise.

Presumably Mitsubishi hasn't used it because it costs more? Your VW 2.5 was probably quieter because it is a Euro diesel not Japanese, plus it has 25% more injector cycles per engine revolution, meaning each injector has to spray less fuel each time. Your VW cabin was also probably better insulated for noise ?

Having recently driven the new Kia Sorento diesel 2.5, which is a Euro developed engine, I can say it was VERY clattery on cold startup, but quietened down a lot after a few minutes idling. After that it was impressively quiet, very grunty and nice to drive

Gerhardp, Tks that was very informative. Read the piezzo article but all this hi tech stuff is probably going to cost a lot of money in servicing and replacement costs. Scary....Now have a quick cup of coffee before I hit you with the next batch of questions.