I have moved back to college this week and am living at an apartment a little way off campus. I drive to all of my cclasses at the airport, which is about a mile away. I would walk it but carrying flight gear there and back is just annoying. Since the drive is only about a mile, the car hardly even gets warm by the time I get there. I worry that this may cause a lot of damage since the engine and oil isn't getting up to temperature and being driven like this 2 or 3 times a day. After starting in the morning I try to let it idle for 3 or 4 minutes to get the oil flowing, but not sure if it's even practical.
I am using a maintenance dose of Auto-RX with Mobil 1 5W-30 synthetic oil. I want to know if you think this may cause problems in the long run with oil sludging up again. I figured it wouldn't be a problem since Auto-RX should be keeping it clean. But is there anything I should do to keep the engine in good condition with all these cold starts and short drives?
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2000 Mercury Grand Marquis LS [ pictures | videos ] Dual Flowmaster Delta 40s / J-Mod / PI Intake Manifold / Marauder Air Box / 80mm MAF CVPI Zip Tube / Ported & Polished Plenum / BBK 70mm / 93 Octane Tune / Steeda Underdrive Pulleys
It might be beneficial too take the car out on a long drive every weekend if you can, letting the car idle for 3 or 4 minutes is not going to get it that hot, what kind of vehicle is this.
It's a 2000 Grand Marquis with just over 80,000 miles. 4.6L V-8 SOHC. I will probably be driving it home once or twice a month, which is a 120 mile trip one way. I know the idling won't really get it more than a few degrees warmer, but figured it will allow a little oil to the top of the engine. My worry is driving it like this in winter. Should I use 0 weight oil? Like I said, much of it will be short trips during the week, but some weekends will be a long drive back home.
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2000 Mercury Grand Marquis LS [ pictures | videos ] Dual Flowmaster Delta 40s / J-Mod / PI Intake Manifold / Marauder Air Box / 80mm MAF CVPI Zip Tube / Ported & Polished Plenum / BBK 70mm / 93 Octane Tune / Steeda Underdrive Pulleys
Rich I agree with the advise Brent has given. You don't need to let your engine idle for more than a minute. I always start the engine, buckle my seat belt, then just take off. There is nothing to be gained by a long idle. You'll oil will get to every place it need to be in 30 seconds or less.
With your very short trips during the week you will be building up condenstation that needs to be burned off. I suggest you find time on the weekends to run the car at least 30 minutes.
If the engine is spec'd for 5W-20 I would use that over the 5W-30 you are using now. Going to a 0W-XX oil will give you a slight cold start edge in the winter months.
The car is originally spec'd for 5W-30 and the TSB says 5W-20. Until this last oil change I used 5W-20, but they only had the 5W-30 on the shelves so I opted for that. Today I drove it a bit through the city to go grab lunch, to the bank, and pick up groceries so hopefully that will burn off that condensation that you mentioned.
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2000 Mercury Grand Marquis LS [ pictures | videos ] Dual Flowmaster Delta 40s / J-Mod / PI Intake Manifold / Marauder Air Box / 80mm MAF CVPI Zip Tube / Ported & Polished Plenum / BBK 70mm / 93 Octane Tune / Steeda Underdrive Pulleys
A 2000 should have an electric cooling fan only, am I correct? That will help it heat up during winter compared to my 96 CVPI which has a mechanical fan, but I still think that a 10 mile drive every few days should be done to make sure the oil gets plenty warm.
All '98+ Panthers come with an electric cooling fan, and '97 was the last year for the mechanical fan AFAIK. The only reason for the switch to 5W-20 was for CAFE restrictions, so 5W-30 (or even 10W-30 depending on climate) would be just fine. 10W-30 was the default standard on the 4.6 when it made its debut in '91. Although you will not be achieving a significant difference by switching to a 0 weight oil, unless you live in an extremely cold and harsh climate.
