Can I use 5W-30 instead of 0W-30
 

Hi all,

The XC90 is serviced every 6-10k with fresh 0W-30to A5/B5 from Volvo.

The oil is always pretty black even with those intervals and once changed soon darkens again.

I have 8l of Castrol 5W-30 instead of 0W-30. The castrol is also A5/B5. It is my intention to put the castrol in for 2,500 miles and then dump and refil with the correct 0W-30. The only reason I wish to use the castrol is as I bought it very cheap a few years (5) ago and now no longer have the car. I thought it may make a good flushing oil.

Anyone have any comments?

Thanks.

I wouldn't, oil has a shelf life and 99% of the time you'd get away with it but you know Mr 1% is always lurking awaiting his day ruiner opportunity,,

In addition to this the 0 rather than 5 rating is to protect the engine when cold,

Look at it this way is £50 of oil worth risking Enginemageddon.

That is very good, and as you say, don’t want to ruin it for £50 worth of oil. I purchased it when Tesco were selling it off following their decision to stop selling oil. At the time it was £18 for 2l which was quite a lot (perhaps that’s why they didn’t sell much!!!).

However it was reduced to £9 for 2l which I thought was pretty decent.

Then they went to £4.50 for 2l so I bought a shed load. I used it on my second car for 4 years and then sold the vehicle with 8l left (which cost me £18.00 so not too much)!

Incidentally I did contact castrol regarding shelf life who advised that provided it was stored out of direct sunlight the oil was considered to last indefinitely and just required a good shake.

Assuming average mileage, you'll run off the 2,500 miles by autumn. On that basis, I would use the oil.

All I could add to that is do the shake n' sniff test first, does it look golden amber still, is it clear, is it viscous in the fingers and does it still smell like good oil, if it gets past that then maybe it's ok "I still wouldn't" you have to remember if it's been out in the garage and even sealed still it's been warmed up and frozen throughout the time you've stored it,

You have to factor in also who was it you spoke to at Castrol, a biologist or the kid who answers the phone when the trained staff are busy, compare it with the threads that the service desk has wrongly advised on on timing belts.

I wouldn't hesitate to use it....

The difference between 0W and 5W might be an issue with slow starting if you're in a winter in Canada or somewhere where it drops to minus a lot, and the early E3 D5's were specced with 5W. Oil only really degrades when heating and cooling cycles so I wouldn't think twice about using some that's been on the shelf for 5 years.

Yes that is true. I think I may even buy an oil filter and then simply start the car and go for a drive and ditch the oil and recharge. I would like to think that may clean through the gunge in there. If done on a hot day that should remove the cold start risks?

Perhaps use it quite genuinely as just a flushing oil?

You should see what happens in an engine then!

OP, crack on, she'll be right :)

TBH, I'd use it ... as has been said 0w - 5w ... in the UK I would doubt it makes he-haw difference, esp in sunny mild Southampton.

The age .. if its never been opened then it should be ok, but I'd have a sniff and rub some between my fingers ... if its not as expected ditch it. Castrol is a quality product unlike some others where age would worry me ... but even so it would still take a long time for me to get worried.

Just my opinions :regular_smile:

That's why garages use new oil, if oil doesn't have an age limit why do garages still insist on an annual service where the car has only done 3000 miles that year,

It's not still the days of 5L of FoMoCo multilube engine oils today are part of the engine build itself,

After all said it probably will be ok to use it but I'm not going to advise it knowing it could cause costly damage if the oil doesn't do it's job, and I'm like you normally if it meets the spec it's going in but having lost a turbo early on in a VW I suspect the oil I was using even through it was top quality and met the specs caused it to wear early, it's the only one I ever lost and also the only car of mine that called for a specific oil spec,

@ XC, if you do go ahead make sure you do shake it up like a rattle can of paint, I'd even suggest giving the bottle a waist high warm bath and shake it again, keep the bottle sealed obviously, tepid not hot so as long as you can keep a finger in the water without burning yourself that will do, otherwise you may deform or melt the bottle.