Synthetic Oil

I have always used SAE 30 wt. oil in my older tractors. Then when it got hard to find I switched to a 10W30 oil. Now even standard oil is getting harder to find and all of the companies want to sell Synthetic Oil. What do most folks feel about putting synthetic oil in older tractors engines.

Low end oil today is probably superior to the best oil back then .
Type III Synthetics vary widely from treated natural hydrocarbons . Type IV from PAO and type V are built from esters .
Is you tractor used under extreme cold , extreme heat or extreme pressure ?
Shell still sells straight Rotella low ash for two stroke Detroit diesels .

Synthetic is mo' betta.

I use synthetic in my H and M, rebuilt the engine in the H about 18 years ago and have always run Mobil Delvac 1 5w-40, it hold 70 psi all day long and drops to 50 psi when hot at a low idle. The M I just put together but that has Rotella T6 15w-40 in it. Most of the equipment on the farm gets JD 15w-40 Plus 50, from F12, F14, A, C, H, 544, 886, 1086, etc. I even use it in the old tandem axle trucks.

I have switched many vehicles to synthetic oils once I bought them over the years. The latest was a 98 Grand Caravan with 285k on it when I bought it. Changed oil to Mobil 1 10w-30 and it still doesn"t use more than maybe a pint in 3000 miles. And there are NO NEW LEAKS! Don"t buy into the old tales of how synthetic oil causes leaks, it has never happened to me in 30+ years of running synthetic oils. In fact, after almost 40 years on this earth, I have never had an oil related failure of any engine - from heavy farm equipment to Honda cars running 7000 rpm.

Also, unless you have PROOF that someone has gone to the trouble to find the ANCIENT SAE 30 non-detergent oil for the past 70 years, don"t bother finding that garbage. It is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that someone has bothered to keep using such an antiquated oil in their equipment. If you are concerned that a detergent oil is going to knock so much sludge loose that it will ruin your engine - it probably needs an overhaul anyway. Pull the valve cover, side cover, and oil pan if you are concerned about sludge...

It seems most oil is at least synthetic blend anymore. Personally I won't use 100% synthetic in mine. I use 15W-40 Shell Rotella in all of my tractors, gas or diesel.

I use synthetic, Molbil 1, in all but the diesel tractors, they get DelVac 10-30.

gas or diesel ? i sure would not use it in an old worn engine, maybe from new yes. with fuel injection systems yes , but an old engine with carb and sucking as much gas as it wants and flooding ,..no. why screw up expensive oil .going to get worst yet with all the hype about going green, and it took green stuff to make this oil.

I have switched allllllllllll my vehicles (cars trucks tractors small engines RV, Generator lawn engines etc) to Synthetic Oil. Its my "opinion" its superior and I respect other opinions so use whatever yall please or believe to be best works for me.

John T

If you change the oil on a timely basis there is nothing wrong with standard oil. The synthetic is just better for those that put off oil changes too long. The viscosity of synthetic will just take longer to break down.

I have no beefs with it, just do not pay the extra cash.

I do run it in my air cooled engines.

I understand that modern automotive oils don't have enough zinc for flat tappet engines, that's why most people just use something like 15-40 Delvac diesel oil. Works well in most tractors, old, new, diesel, or gas. And it's very inexpensive. If you have to cold start your engines it's available in lighter weights and synthetic.

I wouldn't waste my money on synthetic oil. Not in my old antique tractors that just gets run a few hours a year.Not even the 56 series IH that I acctually farm with.Maybe a new one that is run alot of hours yearly.I've been running 15;40 fleet diesel in EVERYTHING for the last 40 years(since I started farming)., For the last 10 years Tractor Supply oil.No issues.As said below,todays worst oils are far superior to the best oils of yesterday,when the tractor was made.There was no such thing as detergent or multi viscosity oil,or the newer additives.

(quoted from post at 09:03:31 02/14/21) I understand that modern automotive oils don't have enough zinc for flat tappet engines, that's why most people just use something like 15-40 Delvac diesel oil. Works well in most tractors, old, new, diesel, or gas. And it's very inexpensive. If you have to cold start your engines it's available in lighter weights and synthetic.

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hat's what I use in the older gas tractors. For my older cars and trucks that don't have roller rocker arms or catalytic converters I use Valvoline high zinc racing oil.

You only need the zinc with a high life cam the creates high friction on the cam lobes. Many of these older tractors came out before "extra" zinc was even an additive to motor oil.

I would shy away from automotive spark ignition oil of any weight or type for the older flat tappet engines.

It is designed around roller cams and to be compatible with emission systems.

Better to use diesel oil. It is closer suited for the older engines, automotive, marine, farm, and industrial engines, anything without emissions, and has a flat tappet cam.

Conventional or synthetic will work. Synthetic is supposed to work better with extreme temperature swings, especially with air cooled engines.

Older equipment that gets little use can run on either synthetic or traditional. If you have cold cranking issues, synthetic may help a little.

I am a firm believer in premium synthetic 2 cycle oil.

Steven, are you the young man from New England, ND that moved to Lake Havasu City, Az to teach school?

The group III blends will perform as well as the group iv or group v in normal use and your engine life will be the same.

EXCEPT.... in extreme temperatures where the group iv and v oils will exceed. SO>.. If you run your tractors and equipment below zero,,, or when out side temps are above 120,, you might... want to move up the 4 and 5 bases oils. All of the hd oils use the exact same additive package which it what does the most work. Since I dont plow below zero or when its above 120,,,, the normal 15w-40 hd diesel oils with the heavy duty additive package,,, are fine... The 5w40 oils will have the 4/5 base oil if you run outside the normal temps. Space craft MUST use the group 4 and 5 oils due to the extreme temps in outerspace. My equipment currently does not go that high.

Remember that in Siberia, its so cold that the city equipment must be started in side the heated garage, and not shut off till it returns to the heated garage. Those folks should run a group 4 or 5 base oil. It was minus 89.9 degrees F at one time. Turning off an engine there is immediate dismissal if you live long enough to get back.

The coldest place on Earth is on a frozen ice ridge of the East Antarctic Plateau between the summits Dome Argus and Dome Fuji, where researchers measured temperatures that reached minus 148 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 100 degrees Celsius). Not only was this the lowest temperature ever recorded on the planet, but it's also likely as cold as it can possibly get.


If you live here, well what in the heck are you thinking.

Thank you all for the come back. I don't really want to change . But in my area Non Synthetic oil is getting hard to get. I don't usually change brands or weight of oil in an engine that I have been using in it.