synthetic

He gave me a case of synthetic for my car, but told me I would have to change it about once a year because, unlike towboat engines which are never shut down except for maintenance, a car engine gets hot and cool repeatedly, which causes condensation in the crankcase (and the fuel tank) and the condensation will pollute the oil.

Tractors would be the same I think.

The most noticeable difference in using synthetic oil in a car is a sometimes dramatic increase in gas mileage. It's simply a better lubricant than regular oil - slipperier - and causes less friction (and less heat).

But I don't use it in my Model T or my 9N because of 2 things. One is that it finds ways out of the engine more readily, and leaves more spots on the floor, than regular oil. The other is that there are seals and gaskets in older engines that MAY not like synthetic oil.

For the Model T and the tractor, I subscribe to the idea that you can't find any oil on any store shelf today, at any price, that isn't far, far better oil than you could buy at any price when the engine was new.

The same with gasoline, by the way.

So, go to WallyWorld, or Big Lots, or wherever you can get it cheap, and buy what you want. Your only question should be viscosity, and that choice has more to do with the age of the engine and your operating temperature range than anything else.

Yes, Rotella T is good oil for a tractor. I use it because we buy it in 55 gallon drums with a pump on top, for use in our big generators.

By the way, keep your gas tank full to avoid condensation, too. It's far better to fill it when you finish for the day, than before you start out the next day. Of course you're more tired, but think of the condensation you'll be avoiding in the tank! You do, however, need to be a bit more careful not to spill it on the hot engine than you would if the engine were cold.

I agree with SouNdguy on this.

Vintage tractors are not modern automobiles and are not operated at temperature enough to evaporate the condensation that will contaminate your oil. This is a prime reason that you need to change your fluids routinely. Doing so with synthetic oils eliminates the advantages of the synthetic oils and adds significant unnecessary expense.

In addition, many/most (all ?) synthetic engine oils are low viscosity and/or multi-viscosity. I would not recommend such lubricants (synthetic or otherwise) for vintage Fords in most environments due to designed and/or rebuild engine clearences.

Dean

HTH,
Dan

Understanding the SAE Motor Oil Viscosity Standard

JMO,

TOH

i am not sure about the phosphorous thing but i know you NEED zinc in your oil to cushion the friction. castrol seems to be the best choice as far as i am concerned. the problem is it didn't list sae 30 though.

here you go: Link

For the operator that starts and runs the tractor for hours at a time, straight weight is the best.

Now all that said, I personally keep an eye out at Big Lot's, and when I see a good name brand oil (often a synthetic blend) at a good price, I buy a bunch.

I doubt you will gain much with the synthetic.. but you certaintly won't hurt anything.

Cold weather pour point will be probably your most noticed gain.

Sounds like you got loads of extra money if you are gonna change it 2x per year and use full synthetic...

Soundguy

Soundguy

SO! .... buy the cheapest straight weight oil you can find. Forget about brand loyalty (it's meaningless these days) and go worry about something more important! (Like how we're gonna pay off this ridiculous nat'l debt so our kids and grandkids don't have a standard-of-living like a third-world country because these idiots in-charge have squandered our economy on a war in IRAQ for God's sake!)

I'm not the one recomending synthetic oil??? I think you have me mistaken with somebody else???

Soundguy