Oil Change intervals?

[DarkBlack]

My Massey Ferguson manual states 150 run hours. There’s no mention of chronological days. I wait for 150 run hours on the indicator

 

[big bubba]

sound advice from your manual. as a caveat to change intervals based on tractor hrs., keep in mind that older mechanical hr meters are based on 540 pto rpm per hr, & that actual running time in hrs could be more esp when the engine is run at rpm that equates lower than 540 pto rpm.
didn't state that in a clear way, but you get the idea esp if you've run mechanical tach meters.

 

[Oaktree]

I always do a oil analysis with Blackstone simply because it will alert me of any impending issues that may arise down the road.

Depends on what kind equipment you're talking about. For cars, pickups, CUTs, etc. the analysis is likely to cost as much as an oil change.

 

[big bubba]

Depends on what kind equipment you're talking about. For cars, pickups, CUTs, etc. the analysis is likely to cost as much as an oil change.

good point, but all it would take is a few analysis reports to give a general pattern of one's specific use. frequent analysis would not be necessary

as a footnote, never done an analysis. i've stuck to my own personal regimen of interval changes on my '92 original truck engine w/320k still working hard. but my personal track record of oil interval change has nothing to do with other's oil change recommendation

another interesting question in this equation is the engine size. 4cyl vs 6 or 8. by virtue of the sump capacity, would the interval recommendation be different or the same on those different engine sizes?

 

[Quickster2]

My Kioti recommends 150 hour intervals. Mine has been changed every 75 since new as that about averages the yearly usage. I always go into winter with fresh oil & filter. Each to their own.

Correction: My Kioti states oil change at 100 hours and filter every 150. Never understood the staggered interval. Regardless, oil & filter get changed every 75 hours.

 

[nickmags]

I was perusing the "today's posts", saw this thread and thought: Here we go!!

I was not disappointed.

"Oil is cheap - I change it before every use!!" (Slight exaggeration)

"I go 10 years between changes!!" (again - slight exaggeration)

and everything in between.

Haha - I go by the book. My 5240 says every 200 hours - that's what I do.

My cars have oil interval notifications and that's what I go by. When the vehicle/engineers that designed the vehicle tell me to do maintenance, that's when I do it. So far so good.

Tractor is ~15 years old and going strong.

Cars have anywhere from 75,000-170,000 miles on them and they are going strong.

Oil is cheap, but it's not free.

I agree. When I posted the question, I knew there would be a lot of anecdotal input. It was a moment of weakness, sorry. Consider it a rhetorical question if you will. I had pretty much decided to change the oil and filter as soon as it warmed up. Positively hate laying on snow wet ground to get both drain plugs. Roughly 250 hours rather than the 400 called for in the owner's manual. That is almost 20 months of tractor use. I feel it's a good compromise meeting service requirements and my inner concerns and worries.
While oil and filter are not cheap, ($75.00 ++) I can not afford to replace an engine, or tractor because I skimped on an oil change.

Now, to add my own anecdotal info to the mix: My brother-in-law had a chevy S-10, bought it new at the dealer. Managed to put a grand total of 63,000 on it, and NEVER changed the oil. Motor died a horrible death on the highway and had to be towed home. When I questioned him about the black sludge on the dipstick, his reply was he "added oil when it was low." Dropped the pan, oil was so thick I used it as tar to fix holes in a tin barn roof!!

 

[Long Valley]

My L4701 just went over 200 hrs. Did the initial 50 hr. oil and filter change. I used premium oil and Kubota filter. The owner's manual says to change oil every 400 hrs. It has been 15 months since the original 50 hr. oil change. Oil still looks okay, darker, but not coal black from soot. Note to those engineer/techno types - Not going to send it out to get it analyzed, cheaper and easier to just change it. My question to folks is, at current usage rate it will be 3+ years on an oil change. Seems like a long time, maybe too long. Tractor sits a lot lately, due to ongoing health issues. (Getting old sucks!) Just wondering what others are doing in similar situations. I'm leaning towards changing it sooner rather than later. Don't figure it would hurt anything. Oil and filter are not cheap, but when compared to cost of tractor or engine re-build, dirt cheap!!

I change the oil annually, as its cheap insurance.

 

[Gem99ultra]

My L4701 just went over 200 hrs. Did the initial 50 hr. oil and filter change. I used premium oil and Kubota filter. The owner's manual says to change oil every 400 hrs. It has been 15 months since the original 50 hr. oil change. Oil still looks okay, darker, but not coal black from soot. Note to those engineer/techno types - Not going to send it out to get it analyzed, cheaper and easier to just change it. My question to folks is, at current usage rate it will be 3+ years on an oil change. Seems like a long time, maybe too long. Tractor sits a lot lately, due to ongoing health issues. (Getting old sucks!) Just wondering what others are doing in similar situations. I'm leaning towards changing it sooner rather than later. Don't figure it would hurt anything. Oil and filter are not cheap, but when compared to cost of tractor or engine re-build, dirt cheap!!

If your owner's manual specified "every 200 hours" I would not interject "or every x-number" of months. Hours is tallied by usage, not age.

 

[WinterDeere]

If your owner's manual specified "every 200 hours" I would not interject "or every x-number" of months. Hours is tallied by usage, not age.

Thinking back through all the machines I've owned in my life, quite a long list, I can't think of a single one that didn't specify something like "200 hours or annually, whichever comes first". For examples, the Yanmar diesel in my Deere 3033R specifies "200 hours or annually", and the Kawasaki V-twin in my Deere 757 Z-Trak mower specifies "100 hours or annually". How many engine or equipment manufacturers actually specify hours only, with no maximum time interval?

 

[DarkBlack]

My massy Ferguson lists hours only