Necessity of an oil change

[bp fick]

Not to mention that one leaves 1/2 pint or more of contaminated oil in the filthy, half plugged up old filter. Frankly, one might be better off changing just the filter.
I vote with the head scratching crowd that asks, "You have 20K for a tractor, but have consternation about a complete oil change that costs, what, $25 if you do it yourself, or less?" 'Tis a mystery, I tell ya.

 

[woodlandfarms]

While this new economy has my panties in a twist, I am trying not to be penny wise on this. It is a bit of being economical and also being environmental. I find it interesting that someone (oil / auto companies?) has been suggesting oil changes for cars at 3K miles, but all of sudden studies are coming out that 5K , 8K, 10K is just fine. With this new revelation, I thought that maybe the need for a yearly change on an unused oil was excessive. So I did not understand why oil, sitting in sealed container (my tractor oil pan) would need to be changed out. Acids are the culprit, then. Even with limited hour on the oil. Seems like a fair reason.

Oh, one thing is that I found, for me, that running mobile 1 cooled my tractor by about 6 degrees or so. I have a Deutz, which is cooled by the engine oil.

 

[bp fick]

Forgive/ignore me if I am off base here, but you posted your question here because you desired consolation/absolution for leaving your oil in your tractor for a year or two. OK, many of us old timers recall the day when infrequently used machines were left a shed for a decade without much service.

This isn't THAT much different than my little Briggs roto-tiller, or 22" Briggs push mower. These only get used a couple times a year. There are many machines, from gas powered blowers, pumps, generators, snow blowers, outboard motors, string trimmers, etc that get limited use and are stored for long, long periods of time. I got all these things.

Maintenance on engines, whether diesel, 4 cycle, or 2 stroke is in the hands of the owner. Such infrequent use, followed by long periods of storage and idleness is hard on the oil and also on the fuel that is sitting idle. In most cases, it is breaking down, going acidic, varnishing and is exposed to extreme temperature and humidity swings, including condensation.

On the road vehicles get driven with such regularity that life is simply different for them. Going 5K miles in between oil changes is not harmful and would still result in at least 2 oil changes per year.

What "I" do is this. Infrequently used/long left idle machines get an oil change at least annually. Period. No if, ands, or butts. And, they always have fuel stabilizers in their tank. That's the way, hopefully, I get years of reliable, quality service from them. I need them to work when I do use them. I can not afford to replace them and cannot afford to neglect them.

To each his own.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Ohh.. Jeezz... No... I want to make sure everyone understands that I am not picking a fight.. Sorry BP, but no, I was not looking for consolation for what I have done or was planning on doing. I was looking for advice and insight, before I made my own decision.

I was simply looking to see if new oils had changed the game plan for change frequencies in a sedentary engine. I had always understood the hours/ months but it was with old blends. Now with the new synthetics, I was wondering if that schedule had changed.

See, Corvettes went from 2500 miles in oil changes to 8000 miles in oil changes almost overnight when they changed to Synthetics. Click and Clack have state that it was an oil company racket and that regular oils had around 3 to 5K miles available on the lifespan. But none of these forums ever discussed non op vehicles and the impact time has on synthetic oils. I assumed that being synthetic, acidity would not come into play until much later in the oils life. I was hoping someone could speak to that.

I am indeed sorry that anyone might interpret what I was going for as more than insight. I have been very impressed with the depth of knowledge in the oil forum.

 

[bp fick]

It's all good.

IMHO, and for what it's worth, the improvements in oils and YES, they have improved greatly from grandpa's day, 10X over. The lubricants had to improve, because the engines were also growing much larger and more sophisticated.

That said, MOST of the improvements lend themselves to use, as in frequent or constant or extreme use. Yup, Grandpa should have changed the oil in his old car every 1000 miles and likely did!

Engines in infrequent use, storage, sitting, being idle, however, has not changed that much, in my experience. The issues of being used, thus, putting acids, particulates and pollutants in the oil, and then left to sit, remain much the same. The old annual change adage still applies. Synthetics won't help all that much for this issue, if at all.

Take it for what it's worth and again, good to hear from you.

 

[tatra805]

NOT throwing a stick in the doghouse

just jumping on the non-op vehicles statement.

Still today conservation oils are used for engines, drivetrains etc for long term storage as normal oils wont do the job.

For the rest, it was said before, investment vs oilcost. Another thing mightbe life cycle of the machine. My lawnmowers just get extra oil once or twice a year, i never drain the oil as the chance that i hit a stump or rock that bends up the cranckshaft is just a million times bigger than the eventual case an engine will die from bad oil.

On the other side i feel very cautious when the hour-meter is a couple of hours over service on my tractor.

I think the OP needs more implements, or alternatively should be punished for under-usage of his tractor. Common, i'm sure you can find a job around your place, or that old neighbour which can use a hand, or just drive to work with it. They need love and attention you know.

 

[dmccarty]

I have been running Shell 5w40 in the tractor and F350 for years. Last December I changed over to JD 0w40. The new JD oil has increased my MPG in the truck from a high of 20.5ish to 21.7. My MPG is better when it gets hotter in the summer. The best MPG for the Shell oil is usually in mid to late summer. The JD oil has been giving its maximum MPG much earlier in the year and so far has not dropped.

I do UOA on the truck and tractor. My last UOA on the truck said to got to 12,000 miles. The truck manual says I should change at 5,000 miles. My engine is wearing very nicely. Very little wear.

I was a very very very bad boy regarding the oil changes for the tractor. I thought it had been two years between changes.....

It was three. Its a wonder the tractor engine has not seized up from the abuse! The TBN in the Shell oil starts at either 10 or 12 out of the jug. The TBN with three years and 171 hours on the oil was still at 8.6. There was less wear on the engine on the last UOA than on any other sample. No fuel, water or antifreeze in the oil. There was some insolubles but they lower than in the past.

The summary from the lab tests on oil that had been in use for three years said that the engine was doing fine, the TBN was still "strong" and I could run the oil longer if I wanted too. I did not want too, did not intend to but I did.

Based on the UOAs done on my tractor and truck over the years I have been throwing away perfectly good oil even with my longer oil change times. I am more concerned with the filter still being effective than the oil being used up.

The worst thing I have found in the UOA over the years if fuel in the oil from excessive idling. This happened in the truck once when I was having to drive a certain route that would keep me in stop and go traffic for 30 minutes or so. Thankfully I don't have to do that drive anymore.

On the tractor I had some fuel in the oil. I just pushed up my RPMs when doing FEL work. I do very little tractor operation with the PTO so the engine only gets used at PTO speeds a few times a year. Running the RPMs at 1800-2000 vs 1500ish has kept the fuel out of of the oil.

In both cases the fuel in the oil was not excessive and wear not an issue.

One of the reasons I run a synthetic is in case I forget to change the oil on time. Hmm. Has the ever happened? Regular oil might work just as well but I have not tried it and done the UOA so I cannot compare.

Later,
Dan

 

[woodlandfarms]

I think the OP needs more implements, or alternatively should be punished for under-usage of his tractor. Common, i'm sure you can find a job around your place, or that old neighbour which can use a hand, or just drive to work with it. They need love and attention you know.

I only wish.... I am stuck in LA until work improves or I say the heck with it, and start a new career. I watch the security cameras when friends stay at the house, and see them putting around the property on the tractor.. i start to cry. I have tons to do, and tons of ideas of other things to do... but... gotta stay where my best chance of employment is at....

 

[Baucom]

I don't believe you ever said if you were using regular Mobil 1 or if you were using Mobil 1 TDT diesel engine oil. If you're using regular M1 then I'd go ahead and change it and put in diesel engine oil (not necessarily synthetic though if it will continue to sit unused). If you're using M1 TDT, then IMO you're OK waiting 6 more months and if you don't use it any more hrs in the next 6 months than you did in the past 12, then just change it either @ the 2 yr mark or when you start using the tractor regularly again, whichever comes first. Good DEO has a high TBN right out of the bottle, so it should be good to neutralize acids in the oil for an extra 6-12 months if it's not being used.

 

[RWEST]

I think I'd worry more about a meteoroid strike than an oil related problem!! Oil has no idea how old it is...