Power Major oils

Hi all. Just joined forum, just become proud dad of a 1958 Fordson Power Major and after some advice. What's best oil to put in engine gearbox and back end ? Seen a lot of different advice.
Cheers Colin

Nebraska Test #685 of a Power Major was conducted from Feb 27 thru Mar 11, 1959. Trans and final drive were lubricated with 20W30 Type MP and engine with 20-20W. Note
that the test was done during cooler weather. Temps ranged between 35F and 58F during the test. That and an effort to get a little more power out of the engine and thru
the final drive may have influenced that choice of oil viscosity.

Cheers Bill. I'm reading a lot of different advice, some saying use same oil right through

Majorman would be the guy to ask. He's been building and working on Fordson Majors since he was three years old. He posts here a lot.

Top man, cheers Bill

We used, and recommended, EP 80-90 in the differential and the transmission. In warm weather for the engine 30 Wt. Series 3 Delo Standard
Oil, or Mobil Delvac, below 40 Deg. 20 Wt., a good diesel multi grade Like Delo 400 would give you good coverage all year round. And do not
let anyone tell you that the differential, and transmission share a common sump, They do not. The transmission fill/check is on the left
side of the transmission, by the clutch pedal, a hex head cap that sets on an angle, and If I remember correctly the flange it screws into
says High/Low, The differential is checked with the dipstick to the right of the gearshift lever. It is filled through a cap behind the
seat, that looks just like the one for the transmission. A couple clues for future reference, if suddenly your transmission is overfull and
differential low, the seal on he main drive shaft is out. If the transmission is extremely low, and the differential is overfull, the PTO
seal is out. I'm an old Major Mechanic.

Great stuff, cheers Skipper, top advice

It is a case of horses for courses. In 1959 Ford changed the oil specifications to 20/30W
Universal throughout engine, gearbox and hydraulics. This was to prepare for the Dexta and
Super Major hydraulic systems with the new hydraulics which could not cope with the heavier
grade well. So 20/30W in the gearbox and rear axle was approved for tractors back to 1952 at
that time.

However, I agree with Skipper and still run 80/90W in my gearbox and rear axle/hydraulics in
my Major. It reduces the gear noise but the lower grade would be fine, it is just my choice.

The one oil that I do not use is the 15/40 modern engine oil like Rotella. I used it for some
years in all my tractor engines, that is Major, Super Major, TE20 Ferguson, Dexta and Nuffield
4/65. All suffered oil leaks and low oil pressure. I spoke to my oil supplier and he told me
to change to a 20/50 Diesel engine oil without so many of the modern additives. I did this and
my oil leaks stopped on all tractors and my oil pressures improved dramatically. I now use
20/50W in all engines, gearboxes and rear axle/hydraulics on all my tractors other than the
Major although that gets it in the engine. I have now done this for the past ten years with
very few problems.

If you got any bronze gears or bushings you would want to use a gl1 or gl2
high sulfur in gear oil for hypoid gears not a a good choice

Modern oils have a cleaner in them... so that they clean up gunk off of old engine internals. They also clean and free up piston rings, lifters, and oil galleys for better oil flow, and compression, and stop sludge formation in the engine. They dont create leaks but they do uncover and expose them by slowly removing sludge. So yes, if you have porous leaky gaskets, hard and cracked seals, and dont want to fix them, then stay with the non detergent oils full of waxy paraffin by-products that form sludge on everything. The oil galleys will slowy clog up, oil flow will slowly decrease till you have a catastrophic failure.

Sorry but that is not correct, diesel engine oils were always High Detergent (HD) oils not Straight Non detergent oils. Modern oils are Very High Detergent (HDD). I can only speak from my experience of 60 years working with tractor engines and what I own.

We had Mercedes engines on certain applications and they would not warranty their engines if they were used with HDD oils, they had to be HD oils.

Cheers Majorman, appreciate your advice. I'll go with that and see how she goes

Cheers Majorman, appreciate your advice. I'll go with that and see how she goes

Have you got any advice on best way to flush gearbox before adding new oil mate ?

I put kerosene in my international C , about five gallons and drive it around up and down hills in yard for about a week . . The Fordson F I
didnt ,my friends didnt recommend it , put 600 w in it. And I took the accessible hitch plate off back of differential to add shims and check
worm endplay .I did not see the sludge that was in the Farmall C .

I didnt know much about your major so I dont think I would do it if you dont see sludge (much) when you take the cover off .

Give it a good check for metal ,gears fragments , wipe out sludge in bottom with something to satisfy you ,fill it and go play .

Your interpretation and mine intersect somewhere. Are you saying the 20w50 is preforming better due to worn out engine and high clearances? Or due to reduced zinc phosphorus additives for newer emissions specs? Or that is has less alkali additives (redundant). Trying to find the answer here as to why 20w50 leaks less than 15w40. Its either viscosity or your comparing early oils packages to later emission oil packages? Oils of the same api rating other than viscosity will have an almost identical additive packages. Today they buy the additive package from a few certified providers now instead of having their own labs and unique packages as in the early days. They save the testing and certification costs. Only the base oil mix will vary or viscosity improvers will change slightly. Your 20w50 will demonstrate only a viscosity change within that class of oil. People with leaky engines want to know what magic you pulling from your hat. What is this oil... that stops leaks? 65 years of changing out gaskets, seals, and rebuilding engines when I should have just changed the oil.

I have no answer. I went to my oil supplier and told him what I was using in my tractors, 15/40W. He suggested I change to 20/50W HD as it was closer in additives to the oils that were specified for the tractors I have. It worked. The higher viscosity is probably the answer.

I had reconditioned one engine with all new seals, rings, crank and bearings, bores and pistons were within original specifications (no sludge found in engine after 50 years of regular oil and filter change) and was asking for advice on the best oil as my usual supplier of Castrol oil had changed the additive package to include anti wear additives for wet brakes. As I am sure you know, if an engine is not worked, these can cause glazing of the bores, and my tractors are not worked hard. Also, too high a detergent package in the oil can affect the build up of a carbon seal, leading to slobber.

I am reporting my experience, not trying to start an argument. I have serviced Ford and Fordson diesel engines for many years now and saw what happened when Ford changed the specified oil in the '000nd series at their introduction in 1964. At the time the oil specified was not readily available and those engines gummed up and rings stuck in a short while using the same HD oil that worked in the earlier engine. Once HDD (Series 3) oil was used our problems stopped.

I am all for modern oils in modern engines and transmissions, as recommended by the manufacturer, but the OP is asking about a tractor that I have had many years experience with both old and new, I own two of my own. I use the nearest thing I can get, today, to the recommended oil.