Why the poo doesnt kubota get on board with 5w40 or synthetics?

[Hersheyfarm]

I understand kubota does not make(or have Valvoline make) a synthetic, being 5w40 is only achieved that way. My svl75 and u48-5 both call for 10w30 or 15w40(and a couple other goofy weights). 10w30 for winter…because they cant get to a lower winter weight and still achieve a heavy base without including synthetics. Its stupid. A 5w40 is a superior weight for all year.

so what’s going to happen is I’m going to end up changing oil twice a year when my hours would allow for a once a year change if there was a suitable viscosity I was happy with. The 10w30 will span their temp range for where I’m at but i have a hard time running a Diesel engine wide open for hours with a 30 weight.

 

[RjCorazza]

Why not just use 5w40 or even 0w40? If the OEM spec is 15w40 there is no reason that a 5w40 is not acceptable.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

Zero reason. I think i will. Just hate going against recommendations during warranty but kubotas stuff is dated. They have not upgraded oils. Its probably super costly since valvoline and kubota would have to come up with a blend.

 

[jyoutz]

Zero reason. I think i will. Just hate going against recommendations during warranty but kubotas stuff is dated. They have not upgraded oils. Its probably super costly since valvoline and kubota would have to come up with a blend.

I just use Valvoline extreme synthetic 5W-40 year round. My dealer says that he does the same for his personal tractor. As long as the oil meets the CJ-4 rating, you are meeting the requirements.

 

[5030]

Really, the only time light weight lube oils come into play is with VVT and your diesels don't have VVT like a car engine does.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

No, but 15f start ups are an issue?

 

[5030]

In a tractor or in a car?

 

[5030]

I run the same lube oil in everything. Tractors, cars, pickup truck, lawnmowers too. Not chainsaws because they are 2 stroke. Even the diesel fired standby genny gets the same oil. 15 ain't cold here. 15 below is.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

15f is a cold morning here. Not too many but enough of them. To me 1 is enough. But back in 2015 we went most of February at below. Like -22. Single digit days. Nope.

 

[Yander]

Just use a good 5w 40 engineered for diesel engines. I use T6 Rotella in everything gas or diesel, except cars. I use 5w 40 in the tractors year round for winter starting and 15w 40 in the mowers.

I had the dealer pickup my MILs Grasshopper 725d for some service work (Kubota diesel engine). I didn't feel like doing so I asked them to throw on a full service with oil change etc. I asked what oil they used and he said, in a very salesman like tone, oh we use the kubota synthetic blend that is designed for the heat that these engines generate.

I thought, but didn't say, well a full synthetic would do an even better job and that's what I would be using but not worried about it this one time. We don't use her mower too much anyways, it is slow and bulky. We just use it as a backup.

 

[Grumpycat]

Why do you think a synthetically manufactured motor oil will run a year when refined motor oils will not? Do you not realize there is no performance standard or requirement of a "synthetic" motor oil other than the method of manufacturer? No requirement of what is actually manufactured?

Not with SAE, API, JASO, ASTM, ILSAC, ACEA, no "standard" says "must be synthetically manufactured."

There are standards for "extended drain" but they do not say anything about "synthetic". You might not be able to find a motor oil which meets a particular standard which is not synthetically manufactured, but not all synthetically manufactured meet the extended drain specifications.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

Because synthetics is the only way to achieve a low winter weight with a heavy base, like 5w40. i believe the further the span on a multi viscosity dino oil the quality degrades, or you have to put too many additives in which degrades quality. A multi viscosity synthetic can span far and stay high quality, like 0w40.

engines run at full temp all year(in a normal ambient range area, not talking about the extremes) so there is no need to run a lighter oil in winter except the start up. At 15F sae 40 or 30 dino does not flow And you cant achieve a 5w or 0w without going synthetic.

so 5w40 is the absolute best hdeo viscosity for all year.

 

[RalphVa]

Why not just use 5w40 or even 0w40? If the OEM spec is 15w40 there is no reason that a 5w40 is not acceptable.

Agree. I use 0w30 M1 which is European diesel rated.

 

[Hilbilly]

I switched over to Rotella T6, 5W 40 last winter. The tractor was hard to start and didn't sound great when it did start but the temps were -37 C. My tractor is still under warranty, so I talked to the dealer before making the switch. He said it was fine and the warranty was still valid when using that oil. The tractor was much easier to start after that.

 

[Sportsman762]

I understand kubota does not make(or have Valvoline make) a synthetic, being 5w40 is only achieved that way. My svl75 and u48-5 both call for 10w30 or 15w40(and a couple other goofy weights). 10w30 for winter…because they cant get to a lower winter weight and still achieve a heavy base without including synthetics. Its stupid. A 5w40 is a superior weight for all year.

I am glad Kubota does not spec out synthetic. The cost of it is much much higher than traditional dino oil. When i lived up in mid Minnesota we would run equipment with 15W40 and start it at -15 F on a daily bases. This is air temp, not windchill. If it was below -20 we did our best to avoid running equipment. Took too long to start up. We would run a block heater for a few hours prior to start and put a battery charger on it for 10 to 15 minutes prior, then when we started. Had an old Ford backhoe that would start down to -5 with no assist, just turn the key and it would crank off. Not sure where you are in KY you are but your record low is unlikely to be less than -25. I question the need for a winter oil, unless you up in Alaska, or along the northern border. This is not my opinion, but most northern dairy farmers do not put in a winter oil even on machines they run daily. Dairy farms require absolute reliability from their equipment.

So why does Kubota not require it?
*Dino oil is still cheaper
*Customer demand lowest total cost of ownership (comparing wear reduction of synthetic vs dino oil vs cost of parts and down time)
*15W40 is plentiful and easy to get.

Also machines with 15W40 have lasted thousands of hours with dino oil (average rebuild on a tractor diesel is 5,000-9,000 hours), not sure if better oil will extend the mean time between rebuilds vs other design considerations. I am not arguing that synthetic oils are not superior. However I am not sure that the advantages are worth it when you consider total cost of ownership.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

This is not about requiring it, this is just about them not including it in the choices of viscosities.

Last year I had put 15/40 t6 in my kx040. It had the factory fill of 10w30 in it. This was in November. It immediately had an audible tick on cold start up that was not there before the change. The 15w pumped just a little harder in sub 32f temps. Of coarse the tick would go away right after warm up.

 

[mike69440]

I run the same lube oil in everything. Tractors, cars, pickup truck, lawnmowers too. Not chainsaws because they are 2 stroke. Even the diesel fired standby genny gets the same oil. 15 ain't cold here. 15 below is.

15 ain't cold here. 15 below is. Synthetic 5w40 is only Oil I use except cars and newer truck, I use 0-30W and 0-40W Mobil I in my 03 Cobra. 15-40w T4 in my old excavator, as it uses about 9 quarts, and I lay it up for the winter.

 

[5030]

5-40 T6 cranks a lot easier on a stone cold engine, least in my experience.

 

[big bubba]

glad to see T6 is available to many, but not here. going Mobil Delvac 5/40. but totally agree w/census, syn 5/40 is the way to go even though i'm located "down here" in AR

 

[Hersheyfarm]

Just scored 10.5 gal of t6 5w40 this morning. Still hit or miss Here.