Everyone swears by 5w30 for everything, but 0w40 saved my 2014 Silverado with 180k miles

I see guys just grab 5w30 for every older engine like it's the only oil made. On my Silverado with 180k, switching to 0w40 dropped the noise at startup cold and stopped a slight lifter tick after about 500 miles. I run it year round here in northern Minnesota, even got a used oil analysis after 4k miles that came back clean. People are scared of thicker oil because of the manual, but manuals don't account for wear after 10 years. Has anyone else run a heavier weight in a high miles truck and actually seen a difference on a UOA?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseyw121mo ago

Read something from a guy on BITOG who ran 0w40 in his 04 Suburban with 220k and the UOA showed half the iron wear the 5w30 did after the switch. I mean, it makes sense to me that a looser engine wants a thicker film to keep parts from grinding on each other. The manual is a starting point but it doesn't know your engine has 180k miles of wear on it. People get too hung up on what the book says instead of reading the actual data from their own truck. If the startup noise dropped and the tick went away that's proof enough, the UOA just backs it up.

theawest1mo ago

My buddy did the same in his 140k F-150 and the oil analysis came back better than the 5w30 ever did. Guess the old girl just likes a thicker drink at this point.