Change the oil in the fall or in the spring?

[DieselPower]

An afoul lot of talk about acid in the oil. If your using even a marginal quality oil and change it within manufacturers recommended time frame you should not have any problems with acid. The TBN (total base number) of the oil which represents the ability of the oil to neutralize acid should not be depleted that far. My main concern is accumulation of condensation in the oil. If you use your tractor with any frequency in the spring/summer/fall there should be no condensation because it heats up often enough to evaporate it out of the system. The main time you will get condensation will be over the winter months when the temperature can make some drastic swings and most tractors see less use. Personally I would recommend changing in the spring.

 

[Matt_Jr]

I change mine at both times. Am I spending too much on the cheap insurance?

 

[BigD23]

I change the oil/filter in the fall...Most useage has been in the prior months and it's time to get rid of the contaminents.

Don

 

[coffeeman]

Every spring I say to myself, " This fall I'm gonna change oils and do general check up." Funny though; "This fall" never comes. Then it's spring again and tractor is not fresh and ready to go. Therefore, I change close to hourly times suggested by book. I do run machine a couple times in winter and keep battery full with charger every few weeks.

Cheers

 

[john_bud]

In the fall. The ground is too wet and muddy in the spring

 

[Doc_Bob]

In the fall. The ground is too wet and muddy in the spring

Now that makes sense!
Bob

 

[SteveInMD]

The Fall.

 

[brandoro]

I don't drive my car during the winter so change it in the fall before its last run of the year so it hibernates with fresh oil circulated through the system. I do the same for anything that I don't expect to run during the winter.
Last few years the tractor has been getting enough hours that I just change it when the hours come up, whenever that is. Otherwise I would change it in the spring since I use it all year 'round but more in the summer.
I think the only wrong answer is not changing the oil and filter. They should be changed either once per year if not many hours or by the hours recommended for higher hours of operation.

 

[djradz]

Fall - Get the contaminants out of the crankcase before winter.