Break in oil change

I got my 53 SH started today after a major engine overhaul. Thanks to all of you on this forum it started on about the 3rd crank. After a slight adjusting of the timing it runs perfect. I installed an hour meter so will track engine hours exactly. The question is how soon should I change the oil in this new motor.

change it now and again in another ten hours or so, then start your usual routine.

casey in SD

you could at 50 hrs. but technically you shouldnt have to. is it the same oil you plan on using for its life or is it a lighter oil for wear in? years ago people used to use #20 mineral oil for wear in.myself i like to change oil the first time sooner.every body has ideas but if everything was clean and the oil filter does its job no prob.to run to your reg oil change.

Per the machine shop that helped me with the motor I am using straight 30 weight detergent oil. I also followed his breakin regime. I have about 3 1/2 hours on it so far. The oil has just started to get some color to it.

I'm with rustred. Change it in 50-60 hours - AND FILTER, then again at the normally scheduled 120. Go on regular schedule per manual after that (120 hrs.).
No sense in giving them "desert wasps" too much of our poor ol' beat-up US dollars.
mike

What do expect to happen to the oil while you"re "breaking it in"?

There seems to be this notion that all sorts of weird schitt contaminates the oil when an engine is fresh. I"ve yet to see that documented by all these shade tree mechanics or even by the self proclaimed "racing" experts. No, they just ASSUME the oil needs to be changed and so.....this ridiculous rumor has been accepted as gospel for at least 70 years.

If folks fear some minute metal fines doing horrible damage....what the hell do you think the filter does?

Fire that tractor up, run it the same as you plan to when using it.....don"t baby it....run it! Change the oil like somebody else said....around 120 hours. I wouldn"t change it before 200 or 300 if it were mine and would go 500 hours thereafter.

The vast majority of motor oil sold in this country is never used to its potential...it"s wasted by folks fearing some gremlin hides in the oil pan of their machines.

Before you call my hand and demand documentation to support these claims....it"s called empirical evidence...meaning "what you see, is what you get or what it is". After operating all sorts of motorized machinery for 40+ years, I have yet to see an engine failure caused by the engine oil. I DID NOT SAY the lack of oil....but by the oil itself. Engine oil contaminated by coolant and/or fuel is the sign of a mechanical problem and of course directly affects the oil"s ability to lubricate....you should know, I"m not talking about a crankcase full of water or fuel! But motor oil....by itself, will run a LONG, LONG time between changes and not affect the life of the engine.

I bought a new JD tractor 5 years ago and changed the oil at 200 hours. I have decided to never change it again. Why....because nobody else has the balls to perform the experiment. I"m 52 and I will never wear this engine out. I"ll top the oil off as needed...but I am not going to change it. I am willing to bet the cost of an overhaul, that the oil pan will never be off this engine due to worn mains and rods. Stay tuned...we"ll see what happens during the next 20-30 years.

Wow, pretty passionate this morning. Cut me some slack as this is the 1st rebuilt motor I've ever pd for. I've always worked hard and been fortunate enought to be able to buy new. Back in the day we patched it till it died then went an bought another piece of junk. It's all we could afford then. It's pretty hard to buy a new 53 SH farmall.

Yeah, you're smarter than everyone else aren't you? Are you really that cheap that you won't spend money to change oil? I always figure oil and filters at regular intervals is pretty cheap insurance. I can change oil many, many times before spending what I would on an overhaul. To each his own I guess.

Its easier to change that oil than the the bearings. Hal

I figured that post would garner many emotional responses. I have seen too many engines ran for many, many years with infrequent oil changes to believe that zealous oil changes can save an engines internals.

In my mis-spent youth, I bought into that change the oil every 2000 miles crap. Then I got lazy and let it go to 4000. Finally, I switched to once a year and guess what...then I practically quit altogether! I haven't had an engine failure yet. Currently running a 1987 Toyota 22R engine with 200,000 that hasn't seen an oil change for 20,000 miles. The '96 Dodge I bought new hasn't had an oil change for 4 years but it only has 117,000 miles on it. The Pontiac has 169,000 and I changed it last summer. It had 18,000 on the old oil. The Dodge gets driven very little..6000 miles in those last 4 years. The toyota is a beater with no signs of dying any time soon. I do run synthetics..have since they came out. I have owned many, many used tractors and the oil in most looked like tar when I bought them. I'd change it just to say that I had....who knows when they were last changed. Not had a bearing failure yet. Keep in mind none of these engines have had coolant or fuel contamination.
Now as for my 5 year old Deere...I'll never wear out that engine and it's had the pump turned up from 56 horses to 82. I use my machinery as it was intended to be used...I don't baby it...or abuse it. It won't cost any of you a cent if I have to overhaul it...so relax. I am (relaxed) because I know that ain't happening. Just keep the crankcase on the full mark and free of coolant or fuel.

One other bit of trivia.....I was a railroad engineer for 27 years. You know how often a locomotive diesel gets an oil change? NEVER! That's right, they never change it.....unless it goes in for a major, and that's generally twice in a 30 year service life and probably 15 million miles. But...they do keep them full of oil. The oil also gets changed if lab tests shows an unduly high amount of fuel or coolant....which is rare. The oil filters get changed every 3 months during what is called a Q (quarterly) inspection. You reckon I should contact them and tell them you folks think they should do otherwise? I'm willing to bet they will stay the course...just as I am.

I don't know much about never changing oil but my father was in that category. In the late 1960's he purchased a very nice 1966 Massey Fergerson 165 gas tractor from an estate with around 500 engine hours as I recall. Since I retired in 2002 and moved back to the farm it was lacking any significant power and couldn't handle the loads it did earlier along with a hydraulic system that wouldn't work. It also ran on or in the red zone on the temp guage and you could only use it for a few hours when doing some trimming pastures with a bush hog and working it a little to let it cool down. It had a little over 2000 engine hours at the time. A couple of winters ago I had it rebuilt with a complete overhaul. It now is a powerhouse with coolant temps at or below the lower limit. Everything works again like it should. The close to $3500 to "make it work again" would have bought a lot of oil and fluids. It could have never had an oil change, coolant or hydraulic fluid replacement from the time dad bought it. Dad just always did the add thing and was a fix it when it broke guy. I guess the only good thing about not changing fluids the drain plug won't get stripped out, Hal.

well Hal....hehe....think about it. That was 36 years..1966 to 2002. Your dad got the good out of it and didn"t give a damn whether anybody else after him would. He bought it, used it and evidently it served him well until he was finished using it.....that"s all that mattered. By time my 2005 tractor is 36 years old....I"ll be close to 83 and what happens to it after I am done, I couldn"t care less...nor will anybody else, except some junk collector that will pi$$ and moan because it was kept in a high state of preservation for them.

I bought a new JD tractor 5 years ago and changed the oil at 200 hours. I have decided to never change it again.

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Mark: I'm not trying to get personal here; a sincere, genuine interest compels me to ask...... What is your philosophy with regard to shaving, bathing and brushing teeth?
mike

Of course you"re getting personal.

You wish to denigrate me simply because I think changing oil is an overrated exercise. Folks just hate it when somebody like myself refuses to follow the lead of the herd. It"s considered nonconformist and socially unacceptable to advocate something other than what the majority holds as indisputable truth.

But for what it matters, my personal hygiene practices more closely mirrors the oil changing ideas of you folks.....daily baths, use lots of toothpaste and shave as needed.

(quoted from post at 14:40:27 01/10/10) Of course you"re getting personal.

You wish to denigrate me simply because I think changing oil is an overrated exercise. Folks just hate it when somebody like myself refuses to follow the lead of the herd.

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No, Mark. I was not getting personal. My post was, very obviously, an insertion of humor - the intent of which was to take some of the tension out of the thread. My question was rhetorical; I did not expect an answer and I assure you I have no interest in your personal hygiene practices.
mike

oil's job is to keep metal to metal contact to a menimum and to assorbe heat and disapate it to the air in crankcase, that is one reason the new autos use a much thinner oil(20W) as did the older tractor manuals called for. i run mine 5000 miles and my wifes new jeep calls for 6000 miles between changes with a 100,000 warrenty. so i guess i'll keep the rag h#@&* a little richer.