Just as a word of caution /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif and a suggestion, you might want to just take a peek and double check your Cub Cadet owners manual on "minimum" API (Amercian Petroleum Institute) diesel oil rating required to ensure you are protecting the engine properly... The Mobil 1 0W-30W (as well as most gasoline engine oil, either conventional or synthetics) are commonly thought of as primarily gasoline engine oil, "not up-to-date diesel" oil. Most gasoline oils are only rated for diesel engines to the "CF" classifcation (introduced in 1994) that will be 11 years old tomorrow.
If you go to the Mobil 1 oil site, you can view the product specifications that indicate this rating classification for not only the 0W-30W but all of the Mobil 1 gasoline oils. Yes, they do say you can use in diesel engines, but see the classifcation limitation...
The reason is most of these oils, in addition to other unique additives and performance characteristics, have fairly low TBN numbers, generally in the 6 -8 range... Most diesel oils have TBN numbers of 10 - 14. This specification is used to determine how well the oil can hold the diesel "soot" or fuel contaminants in suspension. Diesel engines produce a higher amount of this "soot" and the thus why the oil gets black so quickly vs. gasoline engine oil....
If you want to go to a synthetic oil for low temperature pumpability etc., there are excellent "diesel" oil products such as Shell Rotella 5W40, Mobil 1 "Delvac" 5W40, Amsoil products etc... These are up-to-date diesel oils that are, for the most part all rated to at least the CH & CI-4 level.
All oil ratings are "backward" compatible, so you will protect older engines using the latest rated oil, just as in the SL, SJ, SH, etc gasoline engine ratings...
All this being said, if you are only going to use the tractor occasionally this winter, I would doubt that you would have much soot buildup....
Just like other products, you can measure the technology improvements in "Dog Years".... Oil technology due to increasing demands of engine improvements and fuel requirements changes rapidly.. Remember what the leading edge personal computer CPU speedand hard drive was in 1994? 120 Megahertz and a 40 Meg hard drive. and the original Pentium chip came out... Seems like ages ago now...
Even though my tractor is a 1993 model, I always use the latest rated diesel oil....
I have copied the diesel "C" ratings history below....
Diesel Engines
Category Status Service
CI-4 PLUS - Introduced in late 2003.....not sure of exact date.
CI-4 Introduced September 5, 2002. For high-speed, four-stroke engines designed to meet 2004 exhaust emission standards implemented in 2002. CI-4 oils are formulated to sustain engine durability where exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is used and are intended for use with diesel fuels ranging in sulfur content up to 0.5% weight. Can be used in place of CD, CE, CF-4, CG-4, and CH-4 oils.
CH-4 Current Introduced in 1998. For high-speed, four-stroke engines designed to meet 1998 exhaust emission standards. CH-4 oils are specifically compounded for use with diesel fuels ranging in sulfur content up to 0.5% weight. Can be used in place of CD, CE, CF-4, and CG-4 oils.
CG-4 Current Introduced in 1995. For severe duty, highspeed, four-stroke engines using fuel with less than 0.5% weight sulfur. CG-4 oils are required for engines meeting 1994 emission standards. Can be used in place of CD, CE, and CF-4 oils.
CF-4 Current Introduced in 1990. For high-speed, four-stroke, naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines. Can be used in place of CD and CE oils.
CF-2 Current Introduced in 1994. For severe duty, two-strokecycle engines. Can be used in place of CD-II oils.
CF Current Introduced in 1994. For off-road, indirect injected and other diesel engines including those using fuel with over 0.5% weight sulfur. Can be used in place of CD oils.
CE Obsolete Introduced in 1987. For high-speed, four-stroke, naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines. Can be used in place of CC and CD oils.
CD-II Obsolete Introduce
d in 1987. For two-stroke-cycle engines.
CD Obsolete Introduced in 1955. For certain naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines.
CC Obsolete For engines introduced in 1961.
CB Obsolete For moderate duty engines from 1949 to 1960.
CA Obsolete For light duty engines (1940's and 1950's).
Copyright 2002 - American Petroleum Institute.
All rights reserved. API, the API logo, the API Service Symbol (Donut), and the API Certification Mark (Starburst) are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the American Petroleum Institute in the United States and / or other countries. Printed in U.S.A.
If you go to the Mobil 1 oil site, you can view the product specifications that indicate this rating classification for not only the 0W-30W but all of the Mobil 1 gasoline oils. Yes, they do say you can use in diesel engines, but see the classifcation limitation...
The reason is most of these oils, in addition to other unique additives and performance characteristics, have fairly low TBN numbers, generally in the 6 -8 range... Most diesel oils have TBN numbers of 10 - 14. This specification is used to determine how well the oil can hold the diesel "soot" or fuel contaminants in suspension. Diesel engines produce a higher amount of this "soot" and the thus why the oil gets black so quickly vs. gasoline engine oil....
If you want to go to a synthetic oil for low temperature pumpability etc., there are excellent "diesel" oil products such as Shell Rotella 5W40, Mobil 1 "Delvac" 5W40, Amsoil products etc... These are up-to-date diesel oils that are, for the most part all rated to at least the CH & CI-4 level.
All oil ratings are "backward" compatible, so you will protect older engines using the latest rated oil, just as in the SL, SJ, SH, etc gasoline engine ratings...
All this being said, if you are only going to use the tractor occasionally this winter, I would doubt that you would have much soot buildup....
Just like other products, you can measure the technology improvements in "Dog Years".... Oil technology due to increasing demands of engine improvements and fuel requirements changes rapidly.. Remember what the leading edge personal computer CPU speedand hard drive was in 1994? 120 Megahertz and a 40 Meg hard drive. and the original Pentium chip came out... Seems like ages ago now...
Even though my tractor is a 1993 model, I always use the latest rated diesel oil....
I have copied the diesel "C" ratings history below....
Diesel Engines
Category Status Service
CI-4 PLUS - Introduced in late 2003.....not sure of exact date.
CI-4 Introduced September 5, 2002. For high-speed, four-stroke engines designed to meet 2004 exhaust emission standards implemented in 2002. CI-4 oils are formulated to sustain engine durability where exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is used and are intended for use with diesel fuels ranging in sulfur content up to 0.5% weight. Can be used in place of CD, CE, CF-4, CG-4, and CH-4 oils.
CH-4 Current Introduced in 1998. For high-speed, four-stroke engines designed to meet 1998 exhaust emission standards. CH-4 oils are specifically compounded for use with diesel fuels ranging in sulfur content up to 0.5% weight. Can be used in place of CD, CE, CF-4, and CG-4 oils.
CG-4 Current Introduced in 1995. For severe duty, highspeed, four-stroke engines using fuel with less than 0.5% weight sulfur. CG-4 oils are required for engines meeting 1994 emission standards. Can be used in place of CD, CE, and CF-4 oils.
CF-4 Current Introduced in 1990. For high-speed, four-stroke, naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines. Can be used in place of CD and CE oils.
CF-2 Current Introduced in 1994. For severe duty, two-strokecycle engines. Can be used in place of CD-II oils.
CF Current Introduced in 1994. For off-road, indirect injected and other diesel engines including those using fuel with over 0.5% weight sulfur. Can be used in place of CD oils.
CE Obsolete Introduced in 1987. For high-speed, four-stroke, naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines. Can be used in place of CC and CD oils.
CD-II Obsolete Introduce
d in 1987. For two-stroke-cycle engines.
CD Obsolete Introduced in 1955. For certain naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines.
CC Obsolete For engines introduced in 1961.
CB Obsolete For moderate duty engines from 1949 to 1960.
CA Obsolete For light duty engines (1940's and 1950's).
Copyright 2002 - American Petroleum Institute.
All rights reserved. API, the API logo, the API Service Symbol (Donut), and the API Certification Mark (Starburst) are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the American Petroleum Institute in the United States and / or other countries. Printed in U.S.A.
