What weight oil do you use in 2000 Saturn LS?

Answer 1

The oil viscosity that should be used is dependent on the condition of the engine.

If the engine has been properly maintained, the original manufacturer recommends SAE-5W15.

However, if the engine has experienced excessive wear such as might be caused by improper maintenance, or if the engine has a LOT of miles on it, you may be wise to use a higher viscosity, and that will depend on the condition of the bearings.

A simple way to determine what the engine should use:

If you change the oil and the oil pressure drops excessively when the engine is hot and at an idle, that's a hint to change to a higher viscosity. The oil pressure should not drop to less than half of what the gauge indicates when you're on the freeway. For example, If the gauge shows 60 PSI on the freeway, then the oil pressure shouldn't drop to less than 30 PSI at an idle, even when the engine is hot.

While some mechanics might tell you that you should replace the engine when the oil pressure drops to that point, I assure you, you can still get a lot more miles out of that vehicle once the bearings start to wear, just take care of it properly, and don't be too enamored by the manufacturers recommendations for oil viscosity, remember that those recommendations were made for a NEW engine, and your 2000 Saturn is 12 years old now.

Treat the vehicle with care and it should last a long time.

Just remember to change the timing belt (V6 engines only) every 100,000 miles, and change the oil on schedule, using a high quality oil (full synthetic if possible).