Pros/Cons - Synthetic Motor Oil

DRFoster · Oct 3, 2001

I have a Kubota B2710 I use mainly for snow removal at my house in the mountains of northern Utah. The tractor has a front mounted snow blade and a rear mounted snowblower. The upcoming winter will be my 2nd with the tractor.

Last winter, I had several times when it got really cold (below 0) that the tractor was very tough to start. I recently had it to my dealer for its 50 hour service and I had them use Mobil 1 Devlac motor oil (its a fully synthetic 5W40 intended for diesels.) I switched to the sythetic because of its cold weather properties. I also had them install a block heater at the same time.

Anybody else use sythetic oil in their tractor? Any reason not to other than cost? (A gallon of Mobil 1 Delvac sells for upwards of $25.)

Bird · Oct 3, 2001

<font color=blue>Any reason not to other than cost?</font color=blue>

No. And I don't know that I really want to get into this again./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif I thought we beat this topic to death a year or two ago. The synthetic is at least as good as (and some say a lot better than) regular oil anytime, and is especially good for extreme cold starting, and the higher cost may be the only reason we're not all using it.

Bird

Anonymous Poster · Oct 4, 2001

Good Morning, I have been using Delvac 1 in my 4310 for about 3 years. Although the 100 hour oi change interval would make using the Delvac expensive under high use conditions, most of us use them only occasionally I think, maybe 100 hours per year. With that in mind I think it is maybe worth the cost. HEre in N. Ga. the cost is about 20.00 doller per gallon. As Bird mentioned, it is at least as good as regular oil and for your cold weather application it is certainly worth the cost in my mind. I think I can see oil pressure come up quicker using the synthetic although our lowest temp is usually only about 20 degrees. Good luck, you're using good oil.
Happy and safe tractoring
Greg H

RichNJ · Oct 4, 2001

After many years of being a car mechanic I can say that synthetic oil is better than conventional oil. Engines that use synthetic oil wear less than engines that use conventional oil. It's that simple.
I use synthetic oil in engine and trans/HST on my Kubota. For high speed bearings w/grease fittings I use synthetic grease. Grease joints on the FEL or slow speed wheel bearings get regular grease.
Synthetic oil is cheaper than an engine rebuild.

JATO_RaT · Oct 5, 2001

Greg, more then anything else, the stand out advantage of synthetics are their cold weather abilities and heat enduring characteristics. I don't really consider the wear characteristics nearly as much as the temperature ability which in the end may be a big part of the wear characteristics. I think very few folks on this board with our general homeowner use need worry a whole lot about engine rebuilds because we choose to use a conventional oil. A good quality petroleum oil will provide most all of us with a lifetime of use provided we follow the maintenance recommended by the manufactuer. Rat...

DRFoster · Oct 6, 2001

I didn't mean to start another "raging" synthetic vs. dino debate

. I know from my past experience with a Dodge Cummins (98 12v) that the owners manual specifically states not to use a fully synthetic motor oil. The Dodge Cummins does allow for a 50/50 blend of synthetic/dino oil after 10K miles.

My original question was will I hurt anything using the synthetic? I didn't see anything in the owners manual saying not to.

Because the primary use of my tractor is snow removal and my past experience with difficult starts in cold weather, switching to a synthetic oil seemed to be a good step in fixing my cold weather problems (so was the installation of a block heater.)

Anonymous Poster · Oct 9, 2001

DRFoster, The debate will always rage. I cant guarantee that one is better than the other, just like the dino oil user cant guarantee that his oil is just as good and that the cost of synthetic is not worth their value. We each must decide at what price we have piece of mind. For me, I bought my one time tractor. It will have to last me many years. I realize many old tractros are around that have only had mimimal service and have lasted 20 years. That is fine except I keep detailed service records if I have to sell my unit will have good resale due to those facts. I like most just have my self to please. We all talk about these issues but as far as i know , no hard feelings have occurred. Just people talking about the issues. No problems here
Greg H

wdn · Oct 11, 2001

I just bought a BX2200 and asked the salesman about synthetic oil. He said they had a Kubota engine rebuilt at just 1,000 hours (i.e. unheard of low hours for a Kubota) and that it was using synthetic oil. Just an anecdote but I am going to keep 10W30 or Rotella oil in mine.

By the way I use synthetic in my Ford truck so I'm not a cheapskate or anti-synthetic.

Bill

wdn · Oct 11, 2001

By the way do you keep your tractor outside or in a shed, or else is in an attached garage? I considered the engine block heater but decided to go without it.

Also the diesel fuel itself could gel at 0F do you use a conditioner and/or #1 diesel in the winter?

Bill

DRFoster · Oct 12, 2001

I use a fuel conditioner AND a 50/50 mix of #1/#2 Diesel. I went with the block heater "just in case". I don't plan to use it unless the thing won't start. Then I'll plug it in, wait a few hours and try again. I'm hoping the lighter weight (5W40) synthetic Mobil 1 Delvac I'm using will make a difference starting around 0F. I know it does in my truck (also a Diesel.) I used the same oil in it an last winter and I noticied a BIG difference between the original oil that came in the truck and the synthetic in the way it started cold.

I'm pretty much relagated to taking my chances with the synthetic in my tractor. Since my entire reason for getting the tractor is snow removal, anything I can do to keep it starting easier I'll do.

Although I have a 2nd garage (my wife calls it my toy box) big enough (35'x45') to park the tractor in, I don't. The reason is the amount of snow that sticks to it while plowing. I don't want all that moisture in my garage as it melts off. The garage isn't permanently heated, but I do work out there in the winter quite often and use a propane space heater to warm it up. The garage is fully insulated and warms up nicely to where I can turn the heater off after 15 minutes or so and have a fairly comfortable place to work.