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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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rotella 15-40 in an H

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RMO/MN

05-19-2007 21:02:40




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Hello,
I just put 15-40 Rotella in my 41 h. Now I'm getting a oil drip from my front crank seal. Is this stuff alot thinner then 30w and is there something that would be better to use




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RMO/MN

05-21-2007 08:09:35




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 Re: rotella 15-40 in an H in reply to RMO/MN, 05-19-2007 21:02:40  
I appreciate all the feed back its always very helpful and there is a ton of knowledge and experiance on this sight. I had the pan off for about a week while I went through the oil pump and when I filled it up it started dripping. I then started it up let it run a little while and now not a single drop. Thanks everyone,
Bob



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Bob Kerr

05-21-2007 07:27:18




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 Re: rotella 15-40 in an H in reply to RMO/MN, 05-19-2007 21:02:40  
I would suspect that if it wasn't leaking before using rotella, that the high detergent of that oil cleaned off the crank or even the seal of some old pariffin and caused the leak. if it did do that the seal if it was in good shape should squeeze it self back down to the crank, but I bet the seal is hard a a rock. I do know that Rotella is rated as a deisel oil and does have a very high ratio of detergent to keep deisel soot suspended so the filter can trap it and not have a ton of sludge build up in the pan. On the very old engines that did not have filters part of the maintenance was to drop the pan and clean it every so often say once or twice a year and they did not have detergent oil then so the crud would settle out overnight. when filters were added they needed the detergent to act as a suspension agent to let the filter trap the crud and not create sludge. if your H has never been rebuilt or has an older rebuild, I would stay away from the high detergent oils made for deisels. I would also change the front seal since I would suspect it is older and has "taken a set". If you rebuild the whole engine then the high detergent oils are fine, but not really nessesary on a gas engine.

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the Unforgiven

05-20-2007 20:01:01




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 Re: rotella 15-40 in an H in reply to RMO/MN, 05-19-2007 21:02:40  
I think it is trouble in an older engine. If it is just rebuilt, yeah, it is great stuff. I was going to put my whole fleet on it, had massive leak trouble in amost every one of the older engines right away. Maybe it was just coincidence, but the 560, SC, Duetz triple, Honda 90, 318 and slant six Dodges, and the 2hp Briggs in my mini-Model T started leaking a lot like right now.



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Bob M

05-20-2007 09:35:29




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 Re: rotella 15-40 in an H in reply to RMO/MN, 05-19-2007 21:02:40  
I agree with Hugh and the others - the leaking seal is not caused by the oil. And switching to 30w won't help. (Keep in mind that at operating temperature 15W-40 will be THICKER than straight 30.)

I'd keep using Rotella and replace that front seal.

And FWIW I use Rotella 15W40 in all my old tractors as well as my F250 diesel...



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Pale Rider

05-20-2007 07:47:16




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 Re: rotella 15-40 in an H in reply to RMO/MN, 05-19-2007 21:02:40  
It may or may not be an issue of oil viscosity that is a factor in your particular leak. But what I DO know is that oils heavily laden with detergents DO cause oil leaks. While I don't know about whether this would apply to Rotella or not as I have never used it, I can safely say that there ARE some types of oil WILL cause old seals and gaskets to leak. For leaking fun try putting in a quart or two or Marvel Mystery oil. It will clean out your engine very well indeed but at the same time it will remove dirt and residue that has built up around the seals and gaskets and they will begin to run like crazy.

I worked with a guy that had previously been a partner in a deisel repair shop that repaired alot of construction machinery as well. They used alot of Caterpillar oil in Caterpillar machinery to meet specs and warranty issues. His partner was convinced it was great oil and began using in it the shop service truck. In no time at all his truck which previously needed a quart every 2,500 miles began hemoraging oil like the Exxon Valdeez and he had to put in a quart every 600 miles. It was quite evident that the oil was coming out of every seal and gasket. The detergents just did too good a job for that old work truck. He ceased using it and eventually the oil he needed to add grew somewhat less. 1,000 miles between adding a quart at the time of telling the story but it never did get to the point where it had been.

Again, I don't know if Rotella is such a heavy detergent oil. I'd look into the specs and claims. But don't let people who don't know any better try and tell you that there are not oils that will make your engine leak.

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Steven@AZ

05-20-2007 06:29:52




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 Re: rotella 15-40 in an H in reply to RMO/MN, 05-19-2007 21:02:40  
Don't fault the oil - certain oils do NOT make seals start to leak!

Stick with a good diesel-rated oil. Rotella is an excellent choice.

Front seal is only a 1/2 day job, just replace it.



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Hugh MacKay

05-20-2007 02:55:20




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 Re: rotella 15-40 in an H in reply to RMO/MN, 05-19-2007 21:02:40  
RMO: I wouldn't fault the Rotella 15W-40, Shell still probably make it in a 30W version if feel compelled to try it. I'd stay with the top grade diesel motor oil personally. 35 years ago I had three grades of oil on the farm; one for diesel tractors, one for gas tractors and one cars and trucks. I found employees were in some cases using the wrong oil, and decided the best way to cure this was have one oil for all.

I was using Esso at the time thus went with their series 3 oil, same specs as Rotella. Initially I used 30W in summer and 20 for winter. This included every thing from a 455 Olds, Chevy pickups, skid loaders, gas Farmalls, diesel Farmalls and a 4 cycle lawn mower. Over the years since I've had exceptional results. I switched to 15W-40 about 10 years later. The lawn mower was around until last year, never had a diesel tractor need a rebuild under 10,000 hours, gas 4,000 hours.

When I first switched my Esso dealer told me this oil was only needed for severe service diesels like heavy construction equipment. I said,"I know what you mean, a bulldozer spends half it's day backing with no load, even pushing they seldon use full rated hp, while my 656 and 560 often spend all day under full load, at rated hp." Put it this way, I feel good oil has saved my big money over the years, but regularly scheduled oil and filter changes are just as important.

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jonnnny2006

05-19-2007 23:35:47




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 Re: rotella 15-40 in an H in reply to RMO/MN, 05-19-2007 21:02:40  
The first number is in how the oil will pour when it is in cold whether. the second number tells when the oil will begin to break down and fail at high temps. For example 5-30 will pour better then 15-30 in cold wheather but will offer the same heat protection as 15-30. Back in old days they used just strait 30 weight. Which in cold wheather would make the engine turn over hard as the oil would be thick. So they came out with a multi weight oil to try and get the best of both worlds. In my car i like to run synthetic 5-50. It is hard to belive that a oil can pour at the 5 weight when it is colds but also can protect up to the 50 weight rating. But that is what the rating is... I live in minnesota where it can be -20 in the winter and 3 months later it can be 80 out side. It is hard to find a oil that has a 5-50 rating and is expensive. I just use that in my cars. In my tractors i run 10-40 in the summer and befor winter i will run 5-30. If you had a seal that is going out and you put in thinner oil it only makes sence that when it is parked and left in one spot after it cools off that the thinner oil would leak faster. Warm the tractor up once and let it sit in one spot as it should leak more when warm. So it would make sence if you were running strait 30 weight before and dint notice a leak when parked it was because the strait 30 weight at the same temp will be thicker when cold and just like honey when it is cold will hardley come out of the bottle. you warm it up and it will run right out. It is normal for the old iron to leak oil here and there. I just put card board under the tractor as so i dont get it on the shop floor.

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georgeky

05-19-2007 21:13:37




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 Re: rotella 15-40 in an H in reply to RMO/MN, 05-19-2007 21:02:40  
The Rotella will be OK in there. I imagine you need a new front seal.



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