Great engine oil debate

[joepa]

With spring maintenance coming soon I figured I'd get some opinion and thoughts on what you all are using. I've always ran Rotella products in my diesels, mainly T4 15-40. Reading thru chat forums and watching YouTube videos I see many still say a straight 30w is the way to go for summer usage. What do you guys prefer?

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I'd say it depends on what you expect to do with the machine. None of my machines are/were used excessively. I run 30# oil in everything from my lawn mower to 8N that I mowed pasture with to the 77 I pulled. They were all gas engines and I never had a problem related to oil. I use 5 w 20 Mobil I in all the cars and trucks and no lube related trouble there either, ever. gm

 

[NY 986]

Honestly, I run JD 50 plus 15W40 in all my ag equipment other than the Oliver 88 and Farmall M. This includes my JD 4010 diesel and IH 986. No problems. Having said all that starting with an owner's manual is the best way to go. Then if the book does not match your targeted oil then ask questions of people who would be experts such as those in the business of selling lubricants or mechanics. What tractors or equipment do you intend to use the 15W40 in?

 

[JohnRowehl]

Here is an interesting article if you have ever heard anything about zinc in oil for old engines.

https://www.sccoa.com/forums/threads/what-oil-brands-offer-the-best-protection-good-read.136304/

 

[JohnRowehl]

Here is an interesting article if you have ever heard anything about zinc in oil for old engines.

https://www.sccoa.com/forums/threads/what-oil-brands-offer-the-best-protection-good-read.136304/

 

[scootergmc]

I use whatever 15w-40 is cheapest when I need it.

 

[joepa]

Old olivers and IH's. I've ran a few various makes of 15-40 in them in the past before swapping to Rotella, mainly because that is what I was running in my CAT at the time then became habit. Holds good oil pressure and doesn't seem to cause any issues. I heard about the older engines and zinc but wasn't sure.

 

[super99]

Are you working any of them hard? The oils recommended in the manual probably isn't even made anymore. Just use whatever type of oil you are comfortable with, straight weight or multi viscosity, it won't care one way or another as long as it has oil. I like to add Lucas oil treatment to mine, just because.

 

[Don-Wi]

We preferred to run Mobil Delvac in our tractors. My 1855 would burn more oil running Rotella than it would with most other oils. After that we avoided it.

Mobil delvac usually has a really good rebate of $25 back per bucket, up to 2 buckets every 6 months. Look for that, and it'll bring the price to be cheaper than the store brand oil.

Donovan from Wisconsin

 

[J.Wondergem]

I also run the Mobile Delvac in the diesels. Run Mobile 1 in the gas tractors.

 

[gary66]

as engines advance they need more specific lubricants. The beauty of older engines is they don't care who they dance with as long as they fit a broad... range lol. newer engines have very specific needs due to their higher degrees of engineering. For example Chrysler has a 6 cylinder engine that requires the oil changed every 3000 miles, it can't stand dirty oil due to the ports being pin hole size. You don't keep that oil clean it will fail. Enjoy the older Oliver engines and their gaping maw ports, it's one of the few things they have over more efficient engines.

As for myself I found several cases of old quaker state oil in a crawl space, asked the owner if I could have it and he was happy I could use it, perfect oil for old engines. It's golden color is such a joy to see going in the engine. As for all my newer engines, nothing but the best synthetics, Amsoil is tops for me with WIX filters.

 

[rustred]

makes no sense to use 30wt,unless it is a gasoline engine . deisel engines take 15-40. not tooo much i believe on u tube, they dont know themselves and just post anything.

 

[bhc41051]

I believe this is what you use when you're serious about your oil.
Schaeffer Oil

 

[JohnRowehl]

(quoted from post at 14:40:13 03/21/21)
Here is an interesting article if you have ever heard anything about zinc in oil for old engines.

https://www.sccoa.com/forums/threads/what-oil-brands-offer-the-best-protection-good-read.136304/

Here is the blog of the guy that wrote the article above. Has test results from a list of 241 engine oil products (have to scroll down a lot; text is continuous). But read his introduction first and then look to see where your favorite oil shows up in his ranking.

As Ripley said; Believe It.....Or Not

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/

 

[Bison2010]

Heres my two cents worth. I use 0/ 40 Full synthetic oil In everything from the lawnmower to the D6R cat anyway I went to John Deere and said can I use zero 40 in my tractor and he said yes now instead of changing every 250 hours you can change at 500. If you do the math its not costing you much more

 

[derwen1959]

I am in uk and I have old sawbench with petter ph1 Diesel engine it is hand crank start and it swings a lot easier with straight HD30 than 15/40 , also it runs better if
the level is kept just above min on dipstick rather than on
max