Case 300/older tractor engine oil

[Bandman]

Hey everyone,

So many people seem to have an opinion about what oil to run in these old tractors. I wanted to throw a question out there to see what comes back. I have a 1956 311, which is basically several tractors/combines engine. It has a screw-on oil filter. I will be using it this winter to blade snow, and it gets down to zero or below here in NE - though it"s on 12V, and also use it for cruises/plowing in the summer heat. The million dollar question: "What weight or brand of oil should I use and when?"

 

[JGarner]

If it were me I would be using 5W-20. Kinematic viscosity of straight 5W and lubricity and dynamic viscosity of 20W. 10W30 or 10W-40 in summer.

Assuming your bearings are in good shape and oil pressure holds up, other may disagree and its a personal thing. These tractors we built before multi vis oils were available so the books will not mention them obviously..

Jim

 

[Mike in Mn.]

Some people will argue oils all day long, there"s as many different opinions as there are oils. Here in Minn. it can hit 95 or hotter in the summer and drop to -25 in the winter or colder. Here"s what I use, in my gas tractors that I use year around I use 10-40. If I use them just in the summer I use 15-40 diesel oil, it seems to have more body to it, but gets really stiff in the winter. I have an 830 comfort king diesel that I use year around, I use to use 15-40 in the summer and 10-30 in the winter so I could get it started. I was wasting a lot of oil changing it over all the time. So about five years ago I switched it to Amsoil synthetic 15-40 and run that year around. I turns over easy in the winter with the synthetic and runs good. I run the synthetic 300 hours and the petroleum oil 100 hours. The engines in my tractors are all in pretty good shape. I would not go too thin, pushing snow works the engine very hard, put a tank heater on it and plug it in when cold.