TO-30 Oil Change

[KJB34269]

Just picked up a TO-30 that is badly in need of an oil change. I'm excited that the TO-30 has an external oil filter as opposed to the filter in the oil pan on my TE-20. I have read a lot about using 15w40 diesel engine oil from people who are a lot more knowledgeable than I am. I'm thinking I'm going to go with that unless someone talks me out of it. Thanks for any input you might have.

 

[DanielW]

I use 15-40 diesel oil in all old tractors, whether they be gas or diesel. It's the perfect multi-grade for equipment that would have been originally spec'd with straight 30-wt back in the day. It always flamdoozles me when some folks on here (for some reason the N owners are particularly bad) get really hot/bothered about finding straight 30-weight because that's what their 70 year-old manual tells them to use. The only reason those old manuals didn't call up multi-weight is because it didn't exist at the time. The straight 30-weight that would have been spec'd back in the day was just the best straight viscosity 'happy medium' that was available back then. If those old Ford/Fergie/whoever engineers were alive today, they'd recommend multi-weight. And almost certainly recommend 15w40.

Plus, the 'diesel' oils typically have some lubricant additives (used to be zinc, but I think that's changed) that help with the higher-pressure cam and tappet wear that old engines have.

 

[KJB34269]

I use 15-40 diesel oil in all old tractors, whether they be gas or diesel. It's the perfect multi-grade for equipment that would have been originally spec'd with straight 30-wt back in the day. It always flamdoozles me when some folks on here (for some reason the N owners are particularly bad) get really hot/bothered about finding straight 30-weight because that's what their 70 year-old manual tells them to use. The only reason those old manuals didn't call up multi-weight is because it didn't exist at the time. The straight 30-weight that would have been spec'd back in the day was just the best straight viscosity 'happy medium' that was available back then. If those old Ford/Fergie/whoever engineers were alive today, they'd recommend multi-weight. And almost certainly recommend 15w40.

Plus, the 'diesel' oils typically have some lubricant additives (used to be zinc, but I think that's changed) that help with the higher-pressure cam and tappet wear that old engines have.

Thank you for your reply. Another knowledgeable guy I follow on the Farmall forum swears by 15-40 diesel too. I will go with it.

 

[TheOldHokie]

Thank you for your reply. Another knowledgeable guy I follow on the Farmall forum swears by 15-40 diesel too. I will go with it.

Pick your favorite brand - Valvoline, Shell, Delo, etc

 

[fOXTOOTH]

Two questions: Hokie, did you mean to post pix of 15W40 oil? Speaking of oil, is it ok to mix synthetic with conventional oils?

 

[TheOldHokie]

Two questions: Hokie, did you mean to post pix of 15W40 oil? Speaking of oil, is it ok to mix synthetic with conventional oils?

I meant to post the picture of 5W40 because I think its a better choice.

It is "OK" to.mix synthetic and conventional but you will definitly degrade the performance of the synthetic.

Any time you mix different oils, conventionsl or synthetic, you alter the formulation and the performance is changed.

TOH

 

[DanielW]

Some folks still get all hot & bothered about synthetic & conventional mixing. And even more folks get hot/bothered about the detergents in modern oils. I never worry about it, and I still prefer diesel oils in all old gassers. Diesel oils do generally have more detergents, because diesel is a sootier combustion and the higher compression ratio usually means more blowby can be pushed into the case. But nothing worth worrying about in this day/age. Back when detergent oils first came out, there was definitely some concern mixing or changing between a detergent and non-detergent oil. And also some concern how much detergent the oils had. It was especially concerning with air-cooled engines like the old VW's and some Deutz's with oil coolers, because switching to a detergent oil (especially one with a lot of detergent) could cause it to foam up, dislodge the gunk in the pan, block the oil cooler passages, and overheat.

But unless your tractor has been living under a rock for the past 50 years, has never had any engine work done, and every previous owner has always gone to the (extensive) trouble of sourcing non-detergent oils for the past few decades, chances are that the case was cleaned at some point and/or detergent oils have been used in it. So there shouldn't be any problem using a more modern oil with detergents (they'll help your engine run cleaner too). And these old tractors weren't machined to the same tolerances as modern engines, nor were they as clean burning as modern gassers, so the blowby/soot entrainment into the case of a 70 year old gasser engine is probably about the same as that of a modern diesel, so in my opinion the diesel oils with their detergents are a good thing. Plus (and most significantly): Diesel oils generally still have ZDDP additives (or equivalent) while gas oils don't. While this ZDDP is bad for the emission systems, cats, & sensors or modern gasser systems, we don't have to worry about any of that emissions & sensor crapulence on these old tractors. Some folks disagree, but the general consensus is that the ZDDP (or equivalent) is ideal for these old flat-tappet gas engines with higher point and contact pressures on the cams & tappets.

Ultimately, any oil you put in one of these old girls will probably be far better than any oil that was available 70 years ago., regardless of whether it's detergent, diesel, multi-weight, or not. I prefer diesel oils for the ZDDP on these old cam/valve systems, and for the added detergents for these old engines that had more blowby into the case. I also prefer a multi-weight, with the higher viscosity number being 40 for these old engines not machined to modern, tight tolerances. But ultimately, as long as you keep good, clean oil in them and change it regularly, you're probably not going to notice any difference in your lifetime. Especially for the work anyone's doing with a TO30 these days. Not many folks are working them like they were back in the day: No one's belting them up to a 28" thresher and running them 10 hours with the exhaust manifold glowing red. Or at least, most folks don't. I do still beat the holy heck out of my old gassers. And I get along dandy with diesel oils. Especially one of my Fordson's, my Allis 180, and W6 - all get the holy heck worked out of them on the sawmill, and it's not uncommon for me to shut down at night a few times to see the exhaust glowing a dull red. But I still use diesel oils in them, and these old girls are running just dandy for me.

 

[KJB34269]

Getting back to my oil change. It's done and all is well. What surprised me is how tight I had to make the oil filter housing to stop it from leaking. Going back to my old car days, hand tight plus a little was the way to go with a spin on oil filter if you wanted it to come off next time. So I didn't tighten the TO-30 filter housing too much but quickly learned it wasn't tight enough when I fired it up.

 

[fOXTOOTH]

thanx for the replies. I have a few vehicles to service the oil and often wondered, like in my Ford trucks, especially the F150 drinks oil, doesnt leak it and every once inawhile I'll have to top it off but forget which oil I put in last. Same with the Fergie, the oil is clean but needs topped off. I'm pretty sure I used SAE30 but...

Getting back to my oil change. It's done and all is well. What surprised me is how tight I had to make the oil filter housing to stop it from leaking. Going back to my old car days, hand tight plus a little was the way to go with a spin on oil filter if you wanted it to come off next time. So I didn't tighten the TO-30 filter housing too much but quickly learned it wasn't tight enough when I fired it up.

Sorry didnt mean to hyjack your thread. I know what you mean about the oil filter housing, leaks alot

 

[KJB34269]

thanx for the replies. I have a few vehicles to service the oil and often wondered, like in my Ford trucks, especially the F150 drinks oil, doesnt leak it and every once inawhile I'll have to top it off but forget which oil I put in last. Same with the Fergie, the oil is clean but needs topped off. I'm pretty sure I used SAE30 but...

Sorry didnt mean to hyjack your thread. I know what you mean about the oil filter housing, leaks alot

No sweat Foxtooth. Lots of good information comes forward when threads take a different direction.

 

[fusion1]

When you say badly in need , how bad ??

 

[KJB34269]

When you say badly in need , how bad ??

The guy I bought it from said he had no idea when the last time the oil was changed and the tractor had been in his family since new. Looking at the oil on the dipstick it was easy to see it had been a long time.