4100 using oil - how much is too much and why?

coloradotrout · Sep 26, 2005

I have a 4100, 1088 hours. I don't know how the 1st 1078 hours were used. I'm taking better notes now, but at 1078 the oil was at the lower end of add/full. After 10 hours it was below add. I put in 34 oz to get it to the full (top of add-full) point. I plan to watch closely now, and get a better feel for consumption. The engine starts right up.. a second or less on the swtich, so I'm thinking compression is good. I notice some black/blue smoke at startup and under load (ramming into a pile of dirt, etc). It's a little "smellier" than perhaps a diesel should run, but there are no clouds of smoke (other than those start of heavy load times). I have heard that if a tractor is not broken in well -- not put under a good load to start -- it can be prone to use oil. In one case I heard that "break-in" oil was added later and the tractor was put under a heavy load for 10s of hours and the oil usage went way down. Thoughts? I'd just like to rule out any major engine problems. It seems to run fine, not rough, plenty of power.. Thanks,

thebigc · Sep 26, 2005

Did I read right? You added 34oz. to get it to the full mark? My 4100 only takes 45oz. total! Hmm...

Anyhow, mine always gives a puff of smoke upon start-up and I get some black smoke when I work her hard. Nothing to worry about.

Donny

coloradotrout · Sep 26, 2005

manual says 2.3 qt capacity.. or about 74 oz.

On the dipstick, there is the bottom of the hatched area and the top of the hatched area. I'm saying I went from below the hatched area to even with the top of the hatched area. It took 34 oz - just over 1 qt. That hatched area must be 20oz or better -- pretty big reservoir between full and add.

coloradotrout · Sep 26, 2005

I should drain/fill ~ I used SAE 5-30W gasoline engine oil to fill it up. I've not run it yet, so maybe I start from scratch now. I thought the small amount to get to "full" would be trivial, but obviously 34oz of 74oz total is not trivial. Any suggestions on oil?

roccon31 · Sep 26, 2005

i suggest losing the 5w30 gas engine oil. it was never designed to be run in a diesel. use a good quality 15w40 diesel engine oil. i bet it doesnt use nearly any for the next 200 hours!

a small story, if you care to read it...
i drive a dump truck with a large cat engine in it. it is supposed to get the oil changed every 7,000-10,000 miles. depending on the season (summer), the truck wont use a single drop of oil for 8500 miles, but once it goes past that, it uses a gallon per week. why you ask? because the oil gets dirty and starts to break down with the heat. then it starts to go past the rings and burn during combustion. a quick oil change, and all is back to normal, for another 8500 miles.

just thought i would share my experience with you, in case you could take something from it for future reference. good luck with your tractor!!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

coloradotrout · Sep 27, 2005

thanks for the info.. an update on my 4100

I never ran the engine (except a few minutes to warm it up) with the gas engine oil. I went to JD today, got an oil filter and some Plus 50 15w40 oil. I warmed 'er up, drained and changed. It took exactly 64oz of oil to fill to the top of the hatched full/add line. The manual says 2.3 quarts. I don't know where the 0.3 quarts would go if I added any more. Apparently about 0.3 quarts must be resident in the engine.

While I was at it, I also changed the fuel filter. From the looks of the old one, it may have never been changed. Maybe this weekend I'll change the hydro oil and filter also. That would pretty much cover all the maintenance items, except coolant and air filter.

I hope that oil change alone solves my oil usage issue, but I'm doubtful. There is a hint of blue smoke while she's running ~ more at the higher rpms. It's not terrible, but that is probably where I'm loosing 0.5 quart in about 10 hours. That's my initial guess. Now that I've filled to the top, I'll monitor the usage very closely. 0.5 quart every 10 hours seems excessive ~ ok, bad. 200 hours is the recommended change interval. At that rate, I'd burn 10 quarts! No need to change it then!

What in the world could be causing the engine to burn that much? It fires right up, so I think that means good compression. Could it be something simple? Are there some tests I could perform to narrow the causes? Again, I've heard that an improper break-in (too much idling, not enough load) can be a cause. Should I run the engine at full rpm and try to keep a steady heavy load?

Thanks very much, and again the engine has 1088 hours.