Correct oil pressure, tire pressure, fuel

Would like some opinions--facts even better--about the following:

Tractor: 5020 John Deere yr.1967

Correct tire pressure for 30.5x32 rear tires.
14 lbs?? Think that"s where they are now and I"m guessing a little less would be best.

Optimum/adequate oil pressure. Was told good to see 40 psi at full throttle but notice the shop manual says 25-35 psi at 1900 rpm. Full throttle is 2200 rpm. Until oil got warmed-up, really well, could not make it to 40 psi at 2200 rpm today. Temparature outside about 25 degrees.
Have new gauge and at certain reading levels the dial did quite a bit of "jiggling." Also have new oil pressure "idiot light" hooked-up and working proper.

Best oil to use in this tractor? Previous owner was using 15W-40 Shell so I"ve continued with the same. Some say 30W best for lubricating older tractors with greater parts tolerances.

Best fuel? I"ve used only #2 Diesel but see in operaters manual for typical weather temperatures in my area that #1 might be best year round. I know about all farmers here use #2. Would seem #1 would burn cleaner and maybe even up the power a little.

Don

I see the recommended pressure for such tires is 18 psi, which I think is excessive. I wouldn"t run anymore than 16 in any tractor rear, and sometimes that"s more than adequate.
As for fuel, #1 has less energy, thus less power. Save it for cold(below freezing)weather.
SAE 30 oil is fine if you only use in warm weather. 15W-40 is a good all-weather lube. My 2 cents, I guess.

In 18.4-38 through 18.4-46 you can run up to I think 25 lbs if I am not mistaken. If you are talking about a floatation tire like a combine has then those have lower pressure, sometimes. I have 18.4-46 tires on my John Deere 8400 and with no duals I run 25 psi but with duals I run around 14 psi. If you have radial tires and the tractor starts loping while going down the road you need to add air.

rear tire pressure is depending on tire size, weights and ballast. air the rear tires up so that the tread stays flat on the ground and you dont have a bulge in the sidewall.. unless its a radial. lots of folks over inflate the tire so the only the very center of the tread is used and this is too much air... so based on that, some tractors run 10 lbs, other will run as much as 18 lbs if loaded heavily.

oil.. hd oils have improved to the point that diesel trucks regualarly get a million miles between overhauls and these are heavily loaded trucks that run every day of the week with full loads.. do NOT run light duty car oil in your tractor when you can run hd oils for a few pennies more. Shell rotella, chevron delo, mobile delvac 15w-40 are all heavy duty oils with fantastic proven records. You can run the same oils in the 5w-40 sythetic version if you need sub zero starting and do snow removal work. Again, do NOT run 30wt car oil in your tractor!!!!

Diesel fuel.. run #2 in the summer and #1 in the winter. number 1 diesel fuel has less power and is only used in winter as the better number 2 fuel will not flow well in cold temperatures. So buy your diesel fuel based on the time of year. The stations will automatically sell the correct fuel at the right time of the year for you area as well. If you have a left over tank of number 2 fuel in the tractor, and it gets down to 20 degrees or colder, the fuel will not flow through the filter adn will stopped up unless the filter is heated. Tractors usually return the warm fuel to the filter to help prevent the filter from waxing up in cold weather on most models. So if you do snow plowing, you will be concerned about using number 1 diesel and 5w-40 oil for your tractor. hope this helps.. bill

Rear tire air pressure is determined by rear axle loads. Usually no less than 12 psi and no more than 18 but it depends also on what the tire manufacture for that particular tire says. Radials are a whole nother animal.

Thanks everyone for your response.

Great to hear 15W-40 Rotella oil is one of the best oils.

The low sulfer diesel that highway trucks have to use........ any good for a farm tractor?

Don