Oil selection

[Camy13588]

So I was given some brand new 10w30… only problem is it’s diesel 1030 and not your regular 1030. Anyone see any issue in using it in my 8N? I’ll never use it on any diesel engine so I figure might as well throw it in the ferd. Google doesn’t recommend but really in looking at comparison it doesn’t seem that bad. Especially on a 75 year old engine, I’m sure end play and clearances and overall “tightness” of bottom and top ends were not quite like as thorough as they are today.

 

[Ken L]

I've been running diesel oil in all my gas tractors for many years including my 8N. Won't hurt it one bit. Put it in and run it.

 

[Eman85]

Been using what's classified as diesel oil in gas engines for years with no problem, especially in a tractor. Diesel oil tends to have more detergents, not a bad thing. If you look at the rating on the bottle where the energy star is many so called diesel oils carry a gas engine rating now.

 

[Colin King]

So I was given some brand new 10w30… only problem is it’s diesel 1030 and not your regular 1030. Anyone see any issue in using it in my 8N? I’ll never use it on any diesel engine so I figure might as well throw it in the ferd. Google doesn’t recommend but really in looking at comparison it doesn’t seem that bad. Especially on a 75 year old engine, I’m sure end play and clearances and overall “tightness” of bottom and top ends were not quite like as thorough as they are today.

There are more knowledgeable oil guys on the board than I am, but it is my understanding that one of the benefits of a diesel engine oil is the type of zinc added. This zinc additive is in particular formulated to provide high lubricity at lower RPMs, which are common with diesel engines. Our tractors are also low RPM engines, so in theory this works in our favor. I've been running diesel rated 15w-40 in my 8N for 20 years and I work the snot out of her.

 

[old]

So I was given some brand new 10w30… only problem is it’s diesel 1030 and not your regular 1030. Anyone see any issue in using it in my 8N? I’ll never use it on any diesel engine so I figure might as well throw it in the ferd. Google doesn’t recommend but really in looking at comparison it doesn’t seem that bad. Especially on a 75 year old engine, I’m sure end play and clearances and overall “tightness” of bottom and top ends were not quite like as thorough as they are today.

Most believe the diesel rated oil is better then any gas rated oil so use it and you should be happy with how it does it's job

 

[jwal10]

I always ran Delo 400 10-30 Diesel oil in my 2000 motor home with 454 engine for the zinc....James

 

[Dave G9N]

The tractor doesn't have anything that the slight difference between gas and diesel engine oils can hurt. Running diesel oil in your modern spark ignition automobile engine could do something bad to the emission controls or catalytic converter. Before it mattered, the better gas engine oils were also rated for light duty diesels.

Diesel oil is better where it is needed, but it would be hard to measure the difference in a lightly stressed antique engine that was designed to tolerate the terrible oil available in 1939. Oils have done nothing but improve over the years and have only recently diverged in subtle ways. Old Ford flat heads are short on subtle. I use diesel oil anyway. It can't hurt. It might help, but probably not much.

 

[John P.]

I was running Shell Rotella 10w-30 diesel oil in my 8N with no problems at all.

 

[GChief]

I was running Shell Rotella 10w-30 diesel oil in my 8N with no problems at all.

I have been running the Synthetic in everything for about 20ish years.

 

[Tall T]

So I was given some brand new 10w30… only problem is it’s diesel 1030 and not your regular 1030. Anyone see any issue in using it in my 8N? I’ll never use it on any diesel engine so I figure might as well throw it in the ferd. Google doesn’t recommend but really in looking at comparison it doesn’t seem that bad. Especially on a 75 year old engine, I’m sure end play and clearances and overall “tightness” of bottom and top ends were not quite like as thorough as they are today.

I use 15W40 Amsoil synthetic Diesel oil in my 1951 Chev and my Jubilee.
Another additive that oils designated "diesel" have is more base chemical to neutralize sulfuric acid that forms after the Sulfur in diesel fuel becomes SO2 during combustion. S02 is hungry for oxygen and so it becomes SO3 (sulfur Trioxide). Then all the S03 needs is condensation (H20) within an engine to become an acid, H2S04. (S03 + H20=H2S04)
So just like baking Soda (NaOh) neutralizes battery post acid, the base chemical in diesel oil neutralizes acid formed because of Sulfur in the fuel.

The 40 part of 15W40, is the oils viscosity at 210 F, standardized oil operating temp.
So 15W40 gives you a slightly heavier oil than10W30
But they both give you a faster flow at startup than a monograde. one being !0W ant the other cold measure being 15W

The W does not mean "weight"
It stands for the measure of a multigrade's flow at 0 degrees. They chose the letter W because of "Winter."
So with 15W40. the W has nothing to do with the 40, only to do with the 15.

 

[Lynn Patrick]

Thanks for that explanation. I've been wondering the same thing about using diesel, so I appreciate the explanation instead of just "I've been using it with ne problems" (But thanks for those who said that too! They made me feel better as I have been using it in my 7 antiques!)

 

[Non-farmer]

I personally like the slippery kind

 

[Tall T]

Thanks for that explanation. I've been wondering the same thing about using diesel, so I appreciate the explanation instead of just "I've been using it with ne problems" (But thanks for those who said that too! They made me feel better as I have been using it in my 7 antiques!)

Glad you could use my condensed explanation.
I kind of fell into using 15W40 because I started with Gulf "Hydro treated" conventional 15W40 oil that was great but then got into selling Amsoil. The only 15W40 Amsoil had in the late 70's was called "Marine diesel 15W40" so I started using it in the same 1951 engine I'm using today. But now Amsoil has a couple of 15W40 "diesel"oils that aren't designated "Marine. The '51 sat dormant out in the weather for 20 years until I re-restored it in 2017 and i was blown away how shiny clean the rocker shaft assembly was after sitting for so long.I did drive the oil pump with a drill down the dist shaft hole a couple of times, over the years while watching the oil press needle climb.

T

 

[DN-N-TN]

I've got four gas tractors and one diesel, and I use 15w-40 Super Tech in all of them----it's cheaper than the name brands and has the same specs. I was told many years ago , by an engineer for a major brand that it was made by them, but marketed in a different jug. We use synthetic oil in our car and trucks.