After harvest, many bulk oil and local machinery dealers start taking orders for next year’s supply of oil.
Whether this is to shift inventory into the current year for taxation, to buy at lower prices than we have seen recently, or to ensure the 2010 spring season supply, it can be a good farm strategy.
What kind of oil should you buy? Why shouldn’t you just buy the cheapest oil available?
On your oil container there should be a classification that explains what kind of an engine the oil was meant to lubricate.
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In my experience, it was S/A-S/F for gas engines up to a certain serial number. The old engines started with S/A and as changes were made to the engine, it could require a certain oil additive to make it suitable for the new engines.
With the additive, companies had to change the oil classification. It would likely not be a better oil, but it would be better for that engine.
However, I have never heard of an engine failing because you used a higher classification for an older engine.
The usual practice is to stock only the oils with higher classifications. The exact same classification system is used for diesel engines and the letters used were C/D-C/F.
Using the wrong oil with diesel engines could cause higher oil consumption from the start and a continuous increase in use as engine hours increased. Buildup of carbon under the rings was possible.
However, not many farmers would easily notice faster wear on the crank bearings.
For that reason, it might pay to have oil analyzed regularly.
Local dealers usually have access to places that can explain extra wear on different parts of the engine by analyzing the oil.
In my day, the most common oil was 10w30.
That number means it will act as a 10 in cold weather and a 30 in hot weather or with a hot engine. Put simply, it is No. 10 oil with additives to make it behave like a No. 30 in the heat of the engine.
That is why when the oil gets old, the additives break down and oil becomes a 10 and that’s too thin for the temperature and the engine starts to burn oil.
The transmission oil should be changed as per operators manual. Tractors with wet brakes need a special oil. I have seen tractors that had the wrong oil in them and the brakes were all chewed up.
Transmission oil for wet conditions has to have an additive that allows the brakes to grab and still have lubrication.
That particular tractor also has a hydraulic pump that has fine valves and when the oil gets cold, as would be the case in our winters, it would not flow through the pump. So the customers were putting in a thinner oil.
An oil company found out what was happening with its oil and told its customers that if they used that thinner oil in their tractors, they should expect a lot more wear on the gears.
So if you ever use thinner oil, don’t leave it in the unit in the summer. Relatively good oil is cheap. Steel and repair shop time isn’t.
There are additives to stop oil burning in an engine. When I was in school, the university tested one of these products. The product, as compared to oil, carried twice the load, twice as long.
Sounds good, but it broke down under a lot less heat. The result was that it built up carbon under the rings and sealed everything up. That stopped the oil burning, but gummed up the system in the process. It’s not a long-term solution and likely nothing you would want near a newer motor.
Another additive that coats everything with Teflon makes the gears run smoother, exactly as the manufacturers say. There may be applications where this works fine.
In my opinion, if it coats discs that depend on their clearance between one another and you have removed the clearance, what’s going to happen to the discs? It could be wear.
Generally, the equipment manufacturers want as few failures in their products as possible. The oil companies want to cause as few problems with their customers’ machinery as possible. So when considering products you might add to your oil, keep that in mind.
As well, check the owners’ manuals and with dealers about any additive restrictions that could breach the warranty.
Henry Guenter is a former service manager for Massey Ferguson. Contact: insidemachines@producer.com.
