Is the trend now to go with lighter viscosity oils in equipment.

[Cat_Driver]

As part of my sales agreement buying a Takeuchi Excavator I had them change all fluids and filters.
As normal I checked the oil and it just seemed way way too thin.
I've had types of diesel for many decades and a variety of oils and usually, when I check the oil it's black and thick when you rub it between your fingers.

Even though it was changed and I only put a few hours on it I couldn't stand what I was seeing so I put in my usual 15/40 and the engine is much quieter and I have to say much smoother at high RPM's.

Are any of you using lower viscosity oil or staying with the 15/40.

The 15/40 weight has served me well in all the types of diesel just wondering am I missing something?

 

[RalphVa]

I've been using 5w30 diesel rated oils for 11 years now ever since we got our VW TDI. That's what it calls for.

TDI is gone now but using 5w30 in the Isuzu generator and JD tractor, mostly leftover Castrol bought from VW with VW $.

In future, I plan to get 0w30 M1 ESP online (can't get other than Pep Boys a long ways away) when tractor and generator need changing again.

The 15wxx oil will starve your top end for lubrication because the oil pump won't pick it up as quickly, particularly when cold. Could be several seconds when cold.

Ralph

 

[Roadworthy]

Check the owner's manual for recommendations. My Kubota tractor pretty much 10W-30 is fine for any temperature. I can use 15W-40 above 14 degrees F. I'm not likely to use it below 14 degrees so I can get away with either. Newer engines seem to be made to tighter tolerances and hence use lower viscosity oils. I used to use 30 weight in the car but newer cars went to 10W-30. My current car wants 5W-20 and my girl's car says it's happy with 0W-20. I'm guessing that's really oil, not water.

 

[Tinhack]

I would never condition a purchase based on service by the seller. They "might" use the absolute cheapest products available to get the sale. Did they change the filters too? Factory approved filters? I would, however, ask for a discount based on the cost of "factory spec" service or have the products delivered with the sale (Not installed/opened).

Oil is based on the engine clearances and range of operational temperatures. Used what the factory specifies for your temperature region.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I would never condition a purchase based on service by the seller. They "might" use the absolute cheapest products available to get the sale. Did they change the filters too? Factory approved filters? I would, however, ask for a discount based on the cost of "factory spec" service or have the products delivered with the sale (Not installed/opened).

Oil is based on the engine clearances and range of operational temperatures. Used what the factory specifies for your temperature region.

I anticipated that in advance. The way I looked at it even if they use cheap oil I'd run it a few hourds ( which I did) and then change it to what I like. I figured their fluid would be used ad a flush.

I've done that with some of my vehicles. I'd do an doild change with clean cheap oil I have laying around, even mixed bottles, do the oil change ewith filter run it for a day or so then do it all over again nwith good filters and good oil.

Whatever they used it was almost like hydraulic fluid it was so thin.

 

[Mat4644]

Changed from 15w-40 to synthetic 10w-30 in all my tractors. Safer for winter starts and robust enough for summer.

 

[oosik]

My Kubota M6040 is 2009. I've consistently used Kubota UDT 15w-40. However, the next engine oil change will be with Rotella T4. It's 15w-40 and available at the local NAPA store. Don't have to drive all the way into the dealer in Spokane. Dealer says I do not need full synthetic such as Super UDT ll or Rotella T6.

Now my new Taco Wagon( 2018 Ram Power Wagon) uses full synthetic 0w-40. The dealer uses Kendal super synthetic in the Taco Wagon.

My 2017 BMW R1200 GSA motorcycle uses full synthetic. Made specifically for BMW - $16.95 per quart. But a whole lot of that is branding & fancy jugs.

 

[Mat4644]

The days of thick oil and adding super thick STP goo and Motor Honey are gone. I wonder how many engines they distroyed in cold weather starts.

 

[RalphVa]

I've even gone to 0w20 in our 2005 Tacoma that rarely gets driven. Change the oil/filter every 5 years or so. Says to use 5w30 on the cap and in the manual. 0w20 oils weren't out much then.

0w20 in all water cooled gas engines, 5w30 in air cooled lawnmower engines. 5w30 in the 2 diesels, expecting to go to 0w30.

When I had a VW cabrio, it had one hydraulic lifter that drained of oil when the engine was shut down overnight. The only oil at that time that stopped the hydraulic lifter pounding on startup was 0w30. Should have gone to even 0w20. Even with 5w30, there was some pounding. The slightly higher VI of the 0w30 oil kept the oil viscosity a tad lower at startup to allow the oil pump to start pumping it immediately.

Ralph

 

[DEWFPO]

I'm using 0W30 diesel rated oil in my Bobcat with the Kubota turbo-4 engine but I use it in the winter often. All of my gas engines have 0W40 in them. We see -20 to +100 temp ranges. 15W40 is a great HD old school oil that works well in many conditions, especially in those where the engine isn't turned on or off very often, like generators, long haul trucks or older equipment with sloppier tolerances. In a mobile environment that sees large changes in ambient temps over the life of the oil there are better options now.

This video just came out today and this guy seems to really know his stuff.

Will Thinner Oils Damage Your Engine? - YouTube

DEWFPO

 

[Quickster2]

Search for the video with Motorweek's Pat Goss. Folks that use thicker oil than what is recommended he calls morons. Good video based on facts of modern engines. Use what is recommended in the owners manual assuming you are utilizing the piece of equipment for its intended puirpose (not racing, etc. ).

 

[TractorGuy]

Still running 15W40 in all my diesels. My location allows for that year round and I often operate in high temperatures.

My experience with using lighter weight oil in my vehicles has been positive. I wouldn't have any reservations about using something lighter in my diesels if my stuff wasn't so old or if it had lighter oil from new. I have read that lighter weight oil flows faster and is needed for engines having tighter tolerances.

I have a 99 Ford Mustang and a 2003 F150 that both have the 4.6, 2 valve V8 engines. The Mustang called for 5W30 and the truck called for 5W20. Not sure if it's related but around 80K the Mustang developed some timing chain rattle on start up. After a while I changed it to the 5W20 I was putting in the truck and the problem lessened. The tensioners in these engines have a ratchet that is supposed to prevent them from retracting too far as the guides and chains wear. I think the tensioner on the Mustang finally caught a new tooth because the start up rattle went away and hasn't returned. I have a new timing set on the shelf in case it does.

This car is seldom used but gets a fair amount of track days put on it. It has 118K on the clock now and I imagine 30K are track miles beating the piss out of it. It was always autocrossed but most of the track miles were put on after I changed to the lighter oil. Autocross may be harder on an engine since it is more repetitive first and second gear high revs and deceleration.

The truck which has always had 5W20 oil is at 188K miles and has never made a sound out of place. It has towed the Mustang on a trailer all over the southeast.

 

[Texasmark]

Most of it is EPA driven to meet MPG requirements....clean air. However my current and it's predecessor both insisted you used the oil recommended as the oil pump was designed for that viscosity. Been a known fact that low viscosity oil lubricates better for initial startup so when I go to get Mobil 1 for my truck I move over to the 0-30 rather than the 5-30.

Other thing is tolerances are running "tenths" of a "thousands" rather than thousands....tighter tolerances mean smaller spaces, meaning smaller molecules to get where they belong. With oil pumps matched to the viscosity designed to keep a molecule of lube between moving metallic parts or so, what do you have to loose......spoken from a life long heavy oil guy....except since 2007.

Added brain pfart: Bought a new 2009 Ram Hemi. Had the 4-8-4 cylinder deactivation. OEM oil recommended was 5W-20....that's in a 350+ hp truck engine.....owners manual stated that if you used heavier oil than recommended the deactivation mechanism wouldn't work properly. Ok I let them have it their way.....wasn't sorry.

 

[RickB]

My Kubota M6040 is 2009. I've consistently used Kubota UDT 15w-40. However, the next engine oil change will be with Rotella T4. It's 15w-40 and available at the local NAPA store. Don't have to drive all the way into the dealer in Spokane. Dealer says I do not need full synthetic such as Super UDT ll or Rotella T6.

Now my new Taco Wagon( 2018 Ram Power Wagon) uses full synthetic 0w-40. The dealer uses Kendal super synthetic in the Taco Wagon.

My 2017 BMW R1200 GSA motorcycle uses full synthetic. Made specifically for BMW - $16.95 per quart. But a whole lot of that is branding & fancy jugs.

UDT and Super UDT are hydraulic oils. Hopefully you aren稚 using them in the engine.

 

[WilliamBos]

Been running T6 5W40 since the first oil change.

 

[Grumpycat]

In 1989 I had access to a coworker's SAE Journal. Lots of interesting reading but one paper stuck out heralding the future of 20 weight oils. It wasn't "the government is making us do this" although greater efficiency was desired. What happened was an advance in the understanding of how oil works in plain bearings. Previously it was assumed one must push the oil between the two surfaces and have viscosity and/or oil volume to keep the surfaces apart. Other factors were found to be significant. An engineer from Ford and another from GM co-wrote the paper. Found a lot more is happening in the bearing, that they could make a bearing carry the same load with lighter oil.

They didn't just put lighter oil in the same old bearings. So if your engine says to use 0W-20 then it really is designed to use 0W-20.

That Ford was involved leaves me curious how my state-of-the-art 2.7EB still uses 5W-30 but my very traditional old school Subaru 2.5i uses 0W-20. Then again when the paper was published 10W-40 was the definitive oil.

In short oil viscosity selection is not just "the EPA made us do it." Higher viscosity grades are no assurance of greater protection.

 

[DEWFPO]

Yesterday I was looking through a 2020 Dodge Challenger Owner's Manual at the oil specifications. The 3.6L V6 (305HP) and the 5.7L V8 (375HP) spec 5W20. The 6.2L V8 (supercharged 700+ HP in 3 configurations) and the 6.4L V8 (475HP) normally aspirated higher performance engines spec 0W40 oil.

At one point, Dodge put out a TSB that the 5W20 oil MUST BE USED so the multi-displacement system (MDS) cylinder deactivation system will work properly on those engines that are equipped with it. Yet the 6.4L is spec'd for 0W40 and it has the MDS version of the engine when it is connected to the automatic transmission. The weight of the oil affected the timing of when the engine would transition to/from 4 cyl. to 8 cyl. mode.

But, the 6.4L engine is essentially a bored out version of the 5.7L (with a few other modifications to make more power) and the difference in oil spec is interesting. 5W20 - 0W40.

DEWFPO

 

[MechanicalGuy]

Be careful with the use of lighter oils. They do not protect as well and they are used for fuel mileage in cars. Not a good reason for switching in your heavy equipment. Cars are trying to meet cafe requirements.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

Yesterday I was looking through a 2020 Dodge Challenger Owner's Manual at the oil specifications. The 3.6L V6 (305HP) and the 5.7L V8 (375HP) spec 5W20. The 6.2L V8 (supercharged 700+ HP in 3 configurations) and the 6.4L V8 (475HP) normally aspirated higher performance engines spec 0W40 oil.

At one point, Dodge put out a TSB that the 5W20 oil MUST BE USED so the multi-displacement system (MDS) cylinder deactivation system will work properly on those engines that are equipped with it. Yet the 6.4L is spec'd for 0W40 and it has the MDS version of the engine when it is connected to the automatic transmission. The weight of the oil affected the timing of when the engine would transition to/from 4 cyl. to 8 cyl. mode.

But, the 6.4L engine is essentially a bored out version of the 5.7L (with a few other modifications to make more power) and the difference in oil spec is interesting. 5W20 - 0W40.

DEWFPO

Are you sure the 6.4 has mds? I was under the impression that mds was only 5.7 l

 

[Industrial Toys]

I still run Deere 15w40 plus in all my stuff. The thinner oils does make me wonder why. But then, (apparently for the environment), many diesels don't come with and some don't even offer a block heater. Are the two related? Give me a block heater and my thick old oil.