Noob oil question

[tc24guy]

Ok, I am trying to learn from reading many of the other posts and its making me dizzy from trying to figure out the terms being used (even simple ones like "dino"). It would be nice if someone could link me to or make a list of special terms & meanings, both slang and techy. any help would be appreciated! and the reason I am asking is because I live between Cleveland and Akron Ohio, and have a NH TC24DA and I am trying to learn what the best oil is for my next oil change @150 hours.

where is a good place to purchase oil?

should I use other oil and hydrolic filter brands, or stick with NH?

what are the most important specification ratings to look at (besides viscosity)?

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[Bob_Skurka]

I think that I am somewhat unusual, but I buy my oil & filters at the dealer.

I probably could save a bit by going to AutoZone or a discount retailer, but my logic is pretty simple. If I put in the brand of oil the manufacturer recommends, and if I use their filters, then there is no way they can blame a 3rd party and end up screwing me just in case something goes wrong. ALSO, by showing up at the dealer even once in a while it keeps my name recognition up, so if I ever call with a question, they know me. If I call to buy an implement, they know I am a repeat customer and give me a great price. If I need help, they help me. Just a simple relationship. But it seems to work with both of the dealerships I work with on both brands of CUTs I use.

So while I might save about a dollar, maybe $2 on the price of oil each year by hitting a discounter, and while I might save the same amount on a filter or two, I know my dealer has saved me HUNDRED$ of $$$ on the snow blower I bought. And when I priced out a mid-mount mower last year, his INSTALLED price, including pick up an delivery back to me, was about $400 lower than the prices I got from distant dealers who would ship one to me.

Me, I'll pay the extra couple of bucks to support my dealer. I know he needs a profit. He knows I support him. He also knows he can't blame Shell or BP, or Fram, or WIX, or whoever if there is an oil related engine issue.

[TractorLegend]

It's funny you mention filters: I have an apprentice/ job shadow fellow working at my auto shop. For a class project we/ I / him thought it would be interesting to cut open oil filters to check out the differences. I remember in my starting years you could cut open a Fram and it had minimal, cheesy looking media.
He obtained several filters: AutoZones cheapest Autovalue? line , Fram, STP, Motocraft, factory Subaru. and a couple others.
Obviously I couldnt determine micron ratings, but we felt based on visual specs that there wasn't a nickels difference anymore between them. Even the cheap ones had some fashion of check valving type of sealing in the filter. The material they used on the Ford ones appeard to be silicone as opposed to black rubberish material but the filter still had this device.

[DKinWA]

I guess I'm unusual too. My dealer is about 3 hours away, but I still prefer to give them my business. They've gone above and beyond several times and even faxed pages of the shop manual so I could diagnose a problem I had. If I have them ship something before 2pm or so, it's always sitting by the door when I get home the next day. The little extra I pay is quite reasonable and I want to make sure they continue to stay in business. I just wish they had a store that was a bit closer. Now that I think about it, I'm going to write a letter to them suggesting they open a new store somewhere closer. It's worth a try and you never know what might happen.

[Soundguy]

I'm with Bob.. I buy my filters at the dealer.. and for just the same reasons. If I have a service question.. I don't feel 'bad' about calling up and asking the service managers a few questions.

Case and point. I was broke down and stranded in a pasture a few miles from my house a month or so ago. I had just done my yearly maint.. new oil, filters, etc.. everything.. all fuel fitlers.. bleed the water traps.. etc.

Did everything i knew to get it running.. and finally calle dthe service dept. With the pair of pliers and other couple odd tools i had on hand in the tool box.. that service manager told me exactly what to do to get the tractor home. I was covered in diesel and a bit dirty.. but I got the tractor back to the barn for a 'real fix' but that telephone support was as good as money.. as a rollback trailer would have had a hard time getting out in the middle of a field to pick up my big broke tractor.

Soundguy

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I remember in my starting years you could cut open a Fram and it had minimal, cheesy looking media.
)</font>

Get this..here's a 'good' comment for fram.

Lots of old tractors use some oil filters that are merely cans of floss/filter yarn for media.. not much else. Allice chalmers in particular. the fram C159 is a commonly used AC filter.

Well.. recently NAPA and WIX have re-engineered their crossover filter to some sort of paper media and rubber bladder. Consequently you put these new re-designed filters on an old tractor and you can drop 80% of yuor oil pressure. Just this week i talked to a fellow with a D14 that had to swap back to a fram filter to get oil pressure back on his gauge. The NAPA/WIX filter left him with barely any gauge movement.

New is not always better.

Soundguy

[jayhawkRoy]

For our Kioti, we will stick with the dealer for oil filters. For the TC 30 I help maintain, the dealer filter was within a $1 of the Wix filter.

Around here, the recommendation is 15W-40 year round, so I have stocked up with name brand 15W-40 and 5W-40 synthetic at Walmart and Advance Auto Parts clearance sales in May. I am good for a couple of years' worth of oil that way, but got it all for about half regular price.

[tc24guy]

Well, not the response I was expecting to get! But thanks. I would still like to know a little more about oil. but I have been going to my dealer also to, lets say "keep my face fresh" . I have no problem with that (and I do it at my bank also) but often dealer oil and filters are just bidded out to the lowest bid. the last filter change the black paint scrached off of the oilfilter and underneath was orange paint. Got me to thinking that the NH filter was just a repainted Fram with a NH sticker!?!

[tc24guy]

also i read somewhere that a better hydrolic oil will remove the whine from the transmition on my TC24DA.

is this true? and if so what kind of hydro oil is best for it?

[cp1969]

BobSturka, excellent post. I had never really given it any thought but what you say makes perfect sense. The couple of bucks saved by shopping elsewhere can be more than made up for in good will, if nothing else.

Thanks for the dope slap.