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H question detergent oil

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carybreeef

New User
How do I tell what oil was used in my new to me 49H ? I asked the son and he said "I think dad used detergent oil" but that didn't give me a whole lot of confidence. Is there a good way to check, if not what should I use? Thanks. Cary
 
I have always used a straight 30W in my M. Non detergent. Some guys say the detergent oil will knock a bunch of gunk free and screw up the engine. but i am not sure of that. I get the 30W because that is the cheapest I can find.
 
If you are unsure of what was run your best bet is to use a non-detergent motor oil. Find a weight that works for your climate and enjoy your tractor. I run 10-40 synthetic in my farmall h. But it is setup for pulling and has had synthetic oil since the entire engine was redone and broken in. It all depends on how the seals, rings, and bearings are. Hope this helps. Good luck.
 
I was told that same thing by a tractor rebuilder - he said NO detergent - almost yelling at me! The tractor I bought has been used very lightly all these years and I want to keep it running as well as it is. Thanks
 
There are a lot of lingering old ideas about detergent and non-detergent oils.....
If your engine is clean inside, detergent oil will keep it clean(er). There is nothing in detergent oil that is going to smoke your bearings, melt your seals or ruin your engine. If I had a rebuilt engine, I would [u:27896f807a]never[/u:27896f807a] put in non-detergent oil. In fact, I don't use it anyway - in anything except the air filter base.
If you engine is sludged up inside, non-detergent oil will help it stay sludged and is much less apt to gradually break it free and get it out with an oil change.
Whatever you use, keep it clean and for those tractors that get only a few hours a year, change it at least every two years.
mike
 
It's pretty easy to tell how an engine's been treated, if you pull the valve cover(s)and there's a lot of sludge/ varnish in there, there's probably a bunch in the pan, too, and detergent oil could wash it loose to run through your bearings, etc. Anytime I have anything that's questionable, I'll change the oil & filter as soon as it picks up any color (gas of course)at least a few times if I go with detergent. If it's clean under the valve cover, should be pretty clean elsewhere, good sign that it's been maintained well. If you have a good filter doing it's job you might not see much color for a while, as the filter"s catching the crud as it should- but if the filter gets full, it'll bypass the crud back into the engine- not good
 
You never know what you will find in old tractor but EVERYONE I knew that ran any kind of engines for a living switched to detergent oil in the fiftys.
 
Why take chances? Pull the oilpan and clean it out, if it has lots of sludge pull the valve cover, clean the cover and the head. Filler up with 30wt detergent oil and run it keeping an eye on the oil color. I haven't used non detergent oil for 50 years except in a hydraulic system and never had a problem.
 
thanks for the good information. other than CNC machines and lathes and old cars I don't have exp with old engines. this helps alot - one question you said "change the oil & filter as soon as it picks up any color (gas of course)" what picks up color - the filter? and gas of course - do you mean gas engine? thanks alot. Cary
 
Wouldn't it be great if detergent oil actually did clean an engine? We would never have to worry about sludged up engines.
 
I tend to be blunt sometimes. Most, probably all sayings about non-detergent vs detergent oils are myths. Detergent oil has been used since the 50's. Most old engines with have sludge regardless of what oil has been used, mostly through neglect, unless they have had a fairly recent overhaul. Clean the pan, the valve cover, and the pushrod area behind the cover on the right side of the engine. Put detergent in it. If you don't want to do that, put detergent in it anyway. I really doubt if you are going to break anything loose. Detergent keeps the impurities in suspension, if changed regularly. it is not a cleaning agent, as in cleaning an engine.
 
(quoted from post at 19:25:20 08/13/09) I tend to be blunt sometimes. Most, probably all sayings about non-detergent vs detergent oils are myths. Detergent oil has been used since the 50's. Most old engines with have sludge regardless of what oil has been used, mostly through neglect, unless they have had a fairly recent overhaul. Clean the pan, the valve cover, and the pushrod area behind the cover on the right side of the engine. Put detergent in it. If you don't want to do that, put detergent in it anyway. I really doubt if you are going to break anything loose. Detergent keeps the impurities in suspension, if changed regularly. it is not a cleaning agent, as in cleaning an engine.
Click to expand...
That's right.
mike
 
(quoted from post at 17:38:27 08/13/09) You never know what you will find in old tractor but EVERYONE I knew that ran any kind of engines for a living switched to detergent oil in the fiftys.
Click to expand...
As the neighbor's maid used to say, "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!
mikw
 
Just quit worring and use whatever oil you would like multi grade or straight 30 or so. Too much hype on oil for a older tractor. Old rule any oil is better that no oil.
 
Cary,
There are as many different opinions on oil, spark plugs and inline filters as there are users on this site.
RedMist, CNKS, and GeneBender have given good advice.
I've used the cheapest 30wt. detergent oil I can find in my IH, Farmall, JD, Allis and Case tractors for 30 years and never had a top or bottom off any of them.
Good Luck,
Dell
 
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