Tractor oil

At work we mostly deal with space applications, but we do some testing and research of motor oils on the side. We have a Shell four ball tester that measures the extreme pressure additives of oils (ie cam lobs) and try and keep track of the newest trends in oils.

For a Ford N motor I would run a single grade mineral oil - say 30wt. If you are plowing snow and start a real cold motor I would run a multgrade. A good 14w-40, 10w-30 will do. Remember that 10w-40 has the highest amount of VI improvers of any oil - long plastic chains that break-up under load and form sludge.

Keep the oil/filter changed and your favorate good mineral grade oil will be fine. For older motors I like Valvoline Maxlife. This oil has more moly then others. The moly is the last protection barrier again metal parts coming into contact. So, if you have a clattering motor, it will keep the tractor in the field longer.

If you don't keep the oil changed or want the best you can run, use synthetic oils. These oils are in a class above any mineral grade oil. On the Shell four ball tester, Mobil 1 10w30 synthetic oil has a better wear scar after being run 10,000 miles then new (0 miles) mineral oils. Synthetics are flat good! I only run these in my cars. But, remember they run clean and have a cleansing effect inside a motor. If you have an old motor it may cause more leaking due to the oil removing the sludge from around your seals which may let more oil by. They have modifiers to swell the seals the same as mineral oils, so it is the cleansing action that causes more leakage.

Additives - snake oils. We have never tested any that worked - NONE! Don't waste your money. Most additives a zinc compounds and all motor oils already contain as much of this as needed. Any more and it causes deposits on valves and sludge formation. Teflon in motor oils is a joke.

Enough yaking for now. Hope to paint the belly of the 2N tonight - YEEE HAAA!! Can't wait to start her up!

Just my .002 cents, please add your real life experience - worth more than all the research in the world.
Phil

• llamas's excellent hydraulic oil article

"Remember that 10w-40 has the highest amount of VI improvers of any oil - long plastic chains that break-up under load and form sludge."

Does this mean that under constant load (like a farm tractor)an engine that runs 10W40 is more likely to have sludge buildup after XXXX hours than an engine that runs 10W30 or straight 30W (all else being equal)? Is there any better brands or is this a common issue with 10W40's across the board (exception being the synthetics which I run in all of my vehicles along with K&N filters)?

Thanks for your info!

Tractor motors should not be hard on oil due to the low RPM they run, but they do run in dusty conditions. When the 2N is running, I will do some tests to see for sure. Maybe some of you guys can give some insight on how long it takes for your oil to start turning dark. Using the rule of thumb that a car averages 40 MPH, then that is equivalent to 75 hours of run time in 3000 miles. So, how does the oil in your tractor look after 75 hours? What oil change interval did Ford specify for the N tractors?

I'm running Mystik 15W40 Heavy duty diesel oil.

Good stuff so far.

Brian