Break in oil quandry

[RickB]

I stopped by my Deere dealer tonight to pick up some break in oil... all they had was Break In Plus 10w30. In I asked about it's use in a diesel engine all the parts guys stratched there heads and said "I wouldn't put that in a diesel... that's for gasoline engines". Even the service tech hadn't heard of a break in oil for diesels. They did some digging around on the Deere site and found some info stating that all diesels... even Tier 4 engines... came with a factory fill of Break In Plus 10w30. This does not sound right to me, so I didn't get any. If that's all that Deere has, I will source another brand.

How many gasoline engines has Deere produced in the last 30 years that would create a demand for a break-in oil suitable for gas engines only while ignoring the entire diesel engine market? I think your local dealership personnel are uninformed and not smart enough to admit it.

 

[AKfish]

Deere doesn't pay licensing fees to the API so none of their engine oils are API rated.
API service classifications are 'S' for Spark ignition and 'C' for Compression ignition.

Do you suppose that Deere doesn't want to submit their oils for testing... hence no API specs? Of course, any competitor could just "deconstruct" their oils to learn what additives are added.

API must be very, very expensive... why else would one of the largest companies in the world avoid having their oils tested and rated??

AKfish

 

[RickB]

Do you suppose that Deere doesn't want to submit their oils for testing... hence no API specs? Of course, any competitor could just "deconstruct" their oils to learn what additives are added.

API must be very, very expensive... why else would one of the largest companies in the world avoid having their oils tested and rated??

AKfish

Nothing prevents anyone with the means from 'deconstructing' Deere oil now.
I suppose they figure the Deere logo on front is more valuable than the API logo on the back.
Here's the API licensee directory search:
API EOLCS