What can the wrong weight oil do to a engine?

i put 10w 40 in my tahoe and didnt see that it needed 5w 30. and now my engine knocks and I can smell oil buring..what did i do???What can the wrong weight oil do to a engine?
10w 40 oil did not cause your problem but you may want to check to see if you left the old oil filter sealing ring stuck to the engine when you installed the new oil filter.


Obviously you are loosing oil since you changed the oil due to the burning oil smell.


Do not run the vehicle until you look for leaks.


Is the oil level ok?What can the wrong weight oil do to a engine?
I put 5w-30 in my 89 civic one time and it started burning up after I drove across the country. After that I put thicker oil in it and never again had any problems. I actually put 20w-50 in it when it really called for 10w-30. Anyway, as I've since learned the proper viscosity oil is important to an engine in order to properly flow through the moving parts and in particular lubricate during start- up. So, I always use the proper viscosity now. That said, I've never had a problem due to the different weights of oil. A friend of mine overfilled his car and ran into serious knocking. He had destroyed his engine. I seriously doubt that the problems you've encountered are due to the thicker viscosity. It's probably just a coincidence and there is another cause, assuming you didn't overfill it.
Well you only want to put in 5w30 in your car if you live in a cold area. And 10w40 in a more warmer climate like southern california. It seems like your engine ended up overworking itself. And with the knocking it sounds like an expensive engine repair for you. You don't want to use oil to light in weight in warmer climates or else your engine is gonna end up with viscosity break down. Hope that answer your questions.
Depends on where you live. In hot weather. your engine could knock. Drain the 10w 40 and refill with 5w 30. Add a bottle of oil engine treatment. The smell of burning oil could just come from a spill or even drops of oil on the manifold or other hot part of the engine. Change the oil filter too. Do not overfill. The gaskets could give out on you.