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What oil is best for 10-30F weather

E

enginegeek21

Member
Hey everyone, i just got 7 inches of snow in my area, and i'm wondering which oil would be best for my tractor. It is a Ford 640 tractor. The oil is older than me, or 15 years. Should i remove oil pan and clean it??? I guess that's up to my dad to decide, but still, it probably needs it.

Thank you,
Bryce
 
I've never cleaned oil pans.
As for oil, my car and trucks have for years recommended 5w30. My boys camry recommends 0w20.
My terramites hydraulics recommends using 10w30 winter, 10w40 summer. Last oil change I used 5w30. I'll never use 10w's again. The first number is when oil is cold. The smaller the fist number the easier the oil flows which is critical for getting lubrication to engine. I can tell 5w30 in hydraulics works better when cold.

I've been using 5w30 for years in my Jubilee. The oil pressure gauge shows it builds oil pressure faster. The faster you have oil pressure the less damage you will have with dry starts. Just my opinion. No way will I ever use anything with a larger first number, go smaller especially if you live in colder weather. I live in Terre Haute.
 
If the oil hasn't be changed in a decade and a half, there's a very good chance it's because nobody could get the plug out. It's a big thing with a square protrusion that often gets rounded off. So examine it closely to see if it needs replacement before you do your oil change; that way you can order a replacement and have it on hand. Even if the square part is rounded off, you can probably remove the plug with a large pipe wrench. You can buy the replacement from YT: <a href="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/9N6730WG_Oil-Pan-Plug-Kit_12223.htm">https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/9N6730WG_Oil-Pan-Plug-Kit_12223.htm</a>

There's no need to clean the pan, but if you think there's a bunch of sludge in the engine you can dump in a quart of kerosene or diesel and run it for a minute before changing the oil to flush any sludge out.

10W-30 is a good choice for these tractors in cold climates. In my experience, 15W-40 will make them hard to start in sub-zero conditions.
 
When a teenager at home dad used 20W (major brand) year round in everything, no diesels. With two boys at home that WD Allis never go much rest. I have it now and use 10W-30. When it was my chore tractor went to 10W in winter. That 6 volt battery kicked it off every time.
 
For sure, all the new stuff is using the low-number of multi-grade oil, I guess the engine manufacturing process has small clearances right off the assembly line. I remember though back in the mid 70's I had an older VW van which wasn't much fun at minus-25 degrees in January, I suspect I might have been using 10W30, not sure. One old fella told me to run straight 10W in the winter, no multigrade. I changed over to 10W and couldn't believe the difference in how much faster the engine would spin over. Sometimes I think a guy might imagine that happening after the oil change but it really did make a difference.
 
(quoted from post at 04:23:12 11/18/18) Hey everyone, i just got 7 inches of snow in my area, and i'm wondering which oil would be best for my tractor.

Thank you,
Bryce
Click to expand...
If you are talking -30 below then straight #10 or a 5W-30 might be best. Most of my machinery and vehicles go all winter on 10w-30 with no problems for years but I have block heaters to pre-heat the engine. I've even run straight #30 in the 2090 Case but will use a space heater to warm the oil pan and thin out the oil a little for starting. Some winters I just change over to #10 in that tractor. Keep in mind that my stuff is stored indoors out of the wind chill and has block heaters to pre heat the engine. If yours sits outside with no heater, then you might do better with straight #10.
 

A new oil pan gasket is not costly at all. If it were mine, and the oil has not been changed in at least 15 years, I would drop the oil pan and clean it. THEN you will know. I personally have seen oil pans with so much sludge in the bottom that the oil pump pick-up screen was obstructed.
 
(quoted from post at 07:52:58 11/18/18) Wind chill does not cool
inanimate objects below actual
temperature.
Click to expand...
I really don't want to have this argument again but I can tell you from over 40 years experience starting engines in a Saskatchewan winter. They start better when parked indoors out of the wind.
 
Right but it will reduce the effectiveness of any block heater by dissipating heat produced.
Ben
 
Are you in Idaho? How hard will you be working your dad's tractor during the cold weather? If not much, I would just change the oil to match winter conditions and wait until warmer weather to tear into it. Any of today's oils is better than what was available in the late 1950's when that tractor was new and the owners manual was written. I'd use 10W-30 or 5W-30 non-synthetic for easier starting.

One easy way to remove the majority of sludge in a gas engine is to use something like Gunk Motor Flush at an oil change. The flush is a quart of solvents and detergents. Warm up the engine to operating temperature, the longer the better to warm up all the sludge. Add the quart of motor flush to the hot oil and idle the engine for 5 to 10 minutes, then drain the old oil, change the filter and the oil. After that you can decide how much sludge is left and if you need to tear into it.
 
We run 15W-40 most of the year in our diesel tractors, but the ones that need to work in the winter get changed to 10W in late fall. They start easier with the thinner oil.

This is in western MN/northeast SD, where -10 to +10F overnight lows are pretty average in winter. The tractors are stored in unheated buildings, and have 1500W tank heaters. Block heaters make a bigger difference for starting than the weight of the oil, in my opinion.

Lon
 
I will agree rusty when it?s 40 below zero the tractor
in the shed starts a lot better than the one sitting
outside . Why? I don?t know but when there?s cows
to feed I just need the tractor to start whether it has
feelings or not
 
I run 5w30 in the winter . With the new ck spec I don?t know if I?ll change from 15w40 this year or not it seems to be a lot thinner when?s it cold
 
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