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Paul in MN 11-18-2009 18:32:59 71.210.146.203 817263 Report to Moderator

I do not think 10-40 oil was ever approved for your diesel tractor engine. I will not run it in any of my tractors, gas or diesel. It is too thin of a base and when hot is thinner than water. Feed that crap to your tired VW (or Yugo if you got one). The currently approved oils for most IH tractor engines are the offroad diesel rated 15w-40 #1 Engine Oil sold at CNH. It also comes in 30 wgt, 40 wgt, and a 10w-30 viscosity. I think your climate is much more mild than we experience here in MN, and so the 15-40 will be appropriate all year. My Ford 401 cu inch diesels will consume the lighter stuff (like a frauline at Octoberfest), and so will your tractor engine. The needs of a good heavy oil for a diesel relate to the relatively high compression of about 400 psi (cranking, but not firing), compared to a gas tractor engine of about 100 psi. The heavier diesel rated oil helps to seal the rings, helping to maintain this higher compression. Maybe 10-40 was a good choice in 1970 in your Pinto engine, but has long ago been disapproved for tractor diesels. The 15-40 diesel rated oil is significantly heavier than 10-40 gas engine oil. And yes, your tractor engine probably needs new rings and/or complete overhaul, but I doubt the oil starvation you experienced had the disasterous effect that others are suggesting. And I doubt the valve seals are significant. There are never seals on the exhaust valves, and maybe (not always) seals on the intake valves. There will be wear on the valve stems and the stem bores, but that doesn't make much difference in oil consumption (unless the oil drain passage from the head to the oil pan is gunked up). If the oil is pooling in the head, then you will have a lot of oil consumption and smoke, because the oil will then go down the valves. Does your engine have a significant stream of blowby? Most likely caused by ring wear or stuck rings. My advice now is to put a good heavy diesel rated oil in it and put it to work for a number of hours of heavy tillage...whatever it will pull at 3/4 to full throttle. It will probably clean up and use less oil. Good Luck Paul in MN [Reply]   [Send Email]