Oil discussion

I recently changed the engine oil in my 2008 Peugeot 207 1.4 diesel, and purchased the oil from a local motor factor. After giving him the registration number, he said the correct oil for the car was 5W30. After the oil change, the engine seems a little noisier.

After looking online and asking for the correct oil, it came up with before-2009 5W40 engine oil. My local Peugeot dealer also told me that it should be 5W30.

In the past I had been using 10W40 semisynthetic, simply because in the Haynes manual it lists 10W40, 5W40 or 5W30.

At a time when we are being told that using the correct engine oil is very important, I find this quite confusing. I have also read that fully-synthetic oil is far better for the turbo. I also have an old Land Rover Freelander with the BMW diesel engine and I have thought of changing from the 10W40 which it has had for years to a fully-synthetic. According to the information I have to hand, the oil for your Peugeot should be a 5W40 which conforms to ACEA A3/B4; API SM CF standards. Checking the details on the Castrol website, this recommends using Magnatec 5W30 C2 oil.

According to my listings, the 5W30 oil is only for the later engine used since 2009. Of course, the viscosity is only one part of the oil’s construction and the ACEA and API standards are more important to conform to when choosing the oil to use.

It is possible that Peugeot have revised their recommendations for the oil in your vehicle. Provided the oil you have been supplied conforms to the ACEA and API ratings above, it should not be a problem.

The listing I have for your Freelander with the BMW engine is for a semisynthetic 10W40 oil conforming to ACEA A3/B4; API SL CF standards.