Ford Repair: Engine Oil, ford escape xls, 5w30

Question
In my owner's manual (I have a 2001 Ford Escape XLS 4door- v6 3.0L) it says to use 5w-20 motor oil but I used 5w-30. Is that all that bad? Also what brand of motor oil should I use? There are so many out there and I was wondering what the best quality one is? I used Valvoline for the past 5 years but I see Mobil has some oil out there too. What would your suggestion be? For what its worth, my vehicle has 82,000 miles on it. Thanks!!

Answer
Pete-

  The change in oil shouldn't be a problem.  It's not much of a change, so that lessens the chance of a problem even more.  As for brands, I generally recommend Mobil 1 synthetic.  It seems to be the highest quality of all generally available and moderately priced oils.  Sure, there are better oils like Royal Purple or Amsoil, but they can be hard to find and considerably expensive.  You might also consider going with a slightly heavier oil at your next oil change.  5W30 is pretty thin oil.  Car makers generally use very think oil to squeeze the very last drop out of fuel economy, but it makes very little difference and doesn't protect your engine as well as...say...a 10W30.  Hope this helps.

Steve