JimRB
Veteran Member
Note that operating temperature will never occur when the tractor is idling. Operating temperature is when the oil is hot, not lukewarm. Just starting the tractor and watching the water temp move means there is a great chance you caused a lot of condensation inside the engine. I have some diesel engines that will not budge the water temp or nearly not budge the water temp at idle in the winter. In the winter I have to actually drive my diesel car to get it to get warm water and drive it a good bit to get the oil hot. The Cummins Ram gets warm water sooner than the VW. If a person is starting a diesel once a month and letting it idle thinking that they are doing good, I would suggest that they are doing more harm that good. My tractor sits until I need it. Sometimes that could be a few months, sometimes a few weeks. On the other hand I only mow a few times a year and that it about the only time the tractor is working. Moving manure piles a few times a year does not work the tractor. Work defined as the oil getting hot enough to drive/dry off crankcase condensation.
By the way I run synthetic oils in all my engines. I like the idea that the oil will flow faster when cold and it does not slow down the starter as much as pumping thick dino oil. On the other hand vehicles that get used a lot and rack up thousands of hours a year seem to do just fine with regular oil but they do not have as many cold starts as my vehicles.
By the way I run synthetic oils in all my engines. I like the idea that the oil will flow faster when cold and it does not slow down the starter as much as pumping thick dino oil. On the other hand vehicles that get used a lot and rack up thousands of hours a year seem to do just fine with regular oil but they do not have as many cold starts as my vehicles.
