Oil & Fuel Fluid Questions for Central NY State

rScotty · Nov 7, 2019

RalphVa said:
I tried finding the source for those upper temperatures/oil. Do not make sense. The engine upper operating temperature is set by the thermostat, typically 180-190 F. Think the charts are for air cooled engines
...SNIP...
Ralph

I think those are air temperatures, not engine temps. At least that's what the chart says.
rScotty

RalphVa · Nov 8, 2019

bmaverick said:
Those charts are for liquid cooled engines. Look up the John Deere models on tractordata.com to verify for yourself.

I'm not a fan of SAE 30W straight. Thus, if you live in an area for temps hotter than 87F, the 15W40 on both charts is defined.

If you know your oils, you can do a syn 10W30 mixed with a zinc additive for engine protection. This would allow it to reach the hotter temps. The sny will not break down like dino.

No, the charts don't make sense when VW has been using 5w30 in its diesel engines for years and has NO engine failures due to lubrication.

Do not need 40w oil in diesels. A 0w30 synthetic would be the best for upstate NY. Anything else is a step down and would starve the upper end of the engine for lubrication in the winter at startups. You can get M1 0w30 ESP (exhaust system protection: for regen engines) online.

Ralph

RalphVa · Nov 8, 2019

rScotty said:
I think those are air temperatures, not engine temps. At least that's what the chart says.
rScotty

They only make sense if for air cooled engines. All water cooled engines operate at 185-190 F thermostat settings. 20w for gas engines and 30w for diesels is fine. Race car engines often use only 10w for protection at high rpm in a cold engine.

Ralph

LouNY · Nov 8, 2019

The charts are for liquid cooled 4 stroke diesel engines.
You can use all the 0W-30 oil you want to it will not go in my engines.
A 5W-30 or 40 or 5W-40 such as Amsoil sells or Rotella T6 in 5W-40.
The T6 5W-40 covers and exceeds most manufactures specs for high or low temperature.
My engines start in sub zero get warmed up and worked, the also get started in 90 degree temps get a bit of warm up and get worked.
I also cover the radiators in cold weather as not only does the coolant warm up better but so does the oil and hydraulic fluids that are circulating through their coolers.
Also a great many so called oil coolers are also oil heaters. Start working equipment with oil and fluid temperature gauges and watch how they trend.

RalphVa · Nov 8, 2019

From TDI Oil Specifications – Diesel News, Info and Guides "Thinner oil (especially when cold) can help provide lubrication during those first few critical seconds after a cold start. And today’s synthetics provide much better protection when hot than mineral-based oils did, even if their viscosity rating is lower. For example, 5W30 weight oil is considered fine for all driving conditions in PD and Common Rail TDIs, even in the desert in summer." (e.g. contrary to that oil temperature chart in many of your owner's manuals)

Our research people once did a cold start of a Chrysler I4 engine sitting in a cold room at -40 F/C. They tried various different oils and filmed the transparent overhead cam cover on that engine. All but 0wxx oils generated A LOT of fumes from the oil in the cam cover and didn't start flowing up there for several seconds. This was when they decided that 0wxx oils were needed and were only possible via Mobil 1 at that time. However, the company also made some chemical ester oils for airplane turbine engines that would work in the cold conditions of the upper atmosphere. For some reason, they did not go with developing these (Group V) oils for automotive/truck/tractor use. Later on, Amsoil and another one or two outfits came out with oils similar to these esters.

Targeting for 0wxx oils also presented other problems. One was Noack volatility. Use a lighter oil, and it is more volatile and will not pass the Noack test. A Group IV such as Mobil 1 would. So, we proceeded to license the Mobil 1 process for some of our oils. In the meantime, another process was developed that made an oil almost as good as Mobil 1. About the time a plant to make that oil started up, a merger took place that gave us Mobil 1. Since then, all sorts of things have happened. Group II oils that I was involved in making were becoming virtually obsolete for the automotive market. Some of those plants are actually being sold to other companies who are staying in the Group II business.

Ralph