Hey Guys, we've had some low temps the last several days with it being down to zero this morning. Wind chills have been 5-15 below 0 for three days straight and this morning when my son wanted to go to the grocery store, the Saturn wouldn't start. It spun over slower than usual and wouldn't hit a lick. I tried a shot of starting fluid and it still wouldn't hit. So, I let him take my Grand Caravan (started right up!) and when he got home, I put the booster cables on the Saturn from the Grand, gave it a shot of starting fluid and held the gas pedal to the floor. Cranked it and it hit, cranked it and it hit and cranked it a third time and she fired up. Could it be just the fact that I haven't started it for about five days and have 20W-50 weight motor oil in it? The battery shows 12.6 volts and it did crank, just wouldn't fire off. Any suggestions as to anything else that could have caused this?

 

It was telling you its too fricking cold to go anywhere so stay home! it was smart! :P

 

Nahh, the sun was out, no wind and roads are clear. Great day to get out. You're gonna freeze your butt off in Ocala!

 

Ruby,
Yuh, that is too heavy for the temperature of zero. That would normally be used for beginning temperatures in the area of 20 degrees through some where around 100 degrees which is where I live.
There where you are during the winter a 10W30 is probably a better weight. and then back to it when spring comes.

If I did it right there should be a temperature vs oil viscosity chart attached here that confirms what I just said.

Well sorta confirms it anyway.

 

Yeah, I agree Unc. BUT it rarely gets to zero here in the winter anymore. Today it's 50 degrees, so I'm going to leave it alone. If I see another cold snap coming, I'm just going to put a heat lamp under the car instead of changing the oil. I've only got about 1500 miles on the last oil change and I'm a cheap bastard. I feel that 5,000 mile oil changes are a waste of money, but I do them anyway.

 

It was in the 40s part of the time I was up there over xmad....it was nice. Just threw on a hoodie and a pair of jeans.

 

When you were up where, Mandee? In Ocala?

 

No the north pole!!!!! Yes in ocala lol

 

When are you moving, Mandee? They usually have a spring festival sometime in March or April. It's in the downtown area. You should check with the Chamber of Commerce. They'll be happy to help your with all kinds of information.

 

The trouble with getting older is you start thinking back as if it was yesterday. And my yesterdays are 2 generations ago.. When I lived where I had to deal with Winter and snow I'd run straight 20 weight in the winter and 30 weight in the summer.
The road salt would eat up the car so things would start falling off of it about 5 years old and I would have about 100,000 miles on it and consuming oil about a quart per 1000 and at that point I would junk the car and buy a new one if something expensive happened. I am sure some where along the line I started using 10W30 year around because that pretty much was the standard at the time.
Fast forward was a move to the SW where winter never happened and at 1000,000 miles the average car would not be using oil. So cold must have tore things up pretty much trying to get them started.
But, in charge of a small fleet at the time and the recommendations for 5W20 such as the early Saturn and many others at the time the fleet drivers complained of running hot on their cars. I had started running 20W50 for the same reason as the odd 100 degree day happened an I no longer had problems with my street racer at the time and forced the fleet drivers to start using 20W50 and their complaints stopped. Move from there to Arizona where 1/3 of the year it is over 100 degrees and I only see freezing on odd occasions and then only at sunrise. For example today at 6 am when I am writing it is 39 degrees with a high of 70 predicted. And yes I wuss about the cold when it is 50.
If I did not live where I live and had to experience snow I probably would use a good 10W30 or 40 year around. I own 5 cars that run, my Town and country purchase new with almost 100,000 miles and needs and oil change now. The Saturn bought in 96 and runs quite well with no oil usage, and 3 AMC cars one with 75,000 original, one with 100,000, 50,000 on a rebuild due to blowing it up and one with 50,000 on a rebuild due to restoring it. They all run well with no oil consumption and no cooling problems. I am a believer in using oil compatible with the temperature we live in and here I run them all on 20W50 dinosaur except the Chrysler and it uses Mobil 1 15W50.
When the Saturn was new, dealer emphasis was on the light weight oil to get better mpg. Which is true if you can actually measure it but that was the promotional buzz words at the time. And still is. The dealer though that the car was bought from recommended the 10W30. He was having engine failures with the factory recommended 5W20 as it says on the oil cap on the engine but if the factory was able to determine that something other was being used they would not honor the warranty. But on those cars that were using 10W30, they were not loosing engines.
Todays engines will run well long enough on light weight oil to get through the warranty periods. But the internet is full of complaints on engines using oil and failing that had spent the better part of their lives on light weight oil and were purchased as used cars.
I am not a believer in using 5W20 or 0W30 in anything unless I lived in Alaska, northern Canada or Siberia. And I don't!