Oil & Fuel Mahindra 2555 tractor engine oil.

[RAHarden]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything in the forum. I own a 2016, Mahindra 2555 HST and it needs an oil change. I ordered a new Mahindra engine oil filter, 006016642V91, from a local dealer. That's the new, shorter filter. My manual says to use oil that has an API CD/CE type. I looked that up, API | Oil Categories, and the CD/CE are both obsolete. This website says to use API service category CK-4. Shell ROTELLA diesel oil is a CK-4. I would buy the Mahindra brand, but the dealer said to use the Shell oil. So now I'm a bit confused. The Shell ROTELLA oil is cheaper, because I can buy it from my brother, who owns a diesel repair shop. He thought it would be fine if I used it in my 2555. What do the rest of you think? What oil do you recommend and use? Thanks.

 

[Agvg]

If the spec sets the minimum to CD everything newer is OK. Synthetic or not? How is your climate?

 

[duffer]

FWIW, I use the Shell Rotella in my 2538. Change it every 100 hours, and I have almost 800 hours on it. Never had an issue.

But I would recommend that you not go past 100 hours for your oil changes, as every time I change mine, I'm surprised to see how dirty it is, even with no dust conditions.

Dirt the biggest threat to the engine, IMO. Causes more wear and tear.

 

[RNeumann]

Your brother is right, so is your dealer........I think the bigger issue is you don’t trust your dealer or the owner of a diesel shop!

Reminder- these machines are sold all over the world with all types access to oils. They make these machines to run on about anything. They are very “easy” running engines.

 

[RAHarden]

If the spec sets the minimum to CD everything newer is OK. Synthetic or not? How is your climate?

Thanks for your comment. My climate is northern Illinois. It gets cold here. It was -14 last night. That's a bit unusual, but we get cold, in the teens. The manual says 10W-30 below 32F degrees. That was my plan. Is it a good one?

 

[RAHarden]

FWIW, I use the Shell Rotella in my 2538. Change it every 100 hours, and I have almost 800 hours on it. Never had an issue.

But I would recommend that you not go past 100 hours for your oil changes, as every time I change mine, I'm surprised to see how dirty it is, even with no dust conditions.

Dirt the biggest threat to the engine, IMO. Causes more wear and tear.

Thanks duffer. I agree, dirt is what causes problems and wear. The Shell Rotella is a CK-4 category and that's what is recommended for a newer diesel 4 tier engine. I'll try it when I change the oil, which will be soon.

 

[RAHarden]

Your brother is right, so is your dealer........I think the bigger issue is you don’t trust your dealer or the owner of a diesel shop!

Reminder- these machines are sold all over the world with all types access to oils. They make these machines to run on about anything. They are very “easy” running engines.

Thanks RNeumann. That's kind of what I thought. I did some internet research and read the Shell Rotella oil is compatible with the newer 4 tier diesel engines. Mahindra doesn't make oil, so they buy it from someone. I was going to put 10W-30 in the tractor because of winter. What do you think?

 

[RNeumann]

I run Delo but Shell also makes diesel specific oil. I’ve not heard of the 10-30 for diesels. The Delo is 15-40 for conventional and 5-40 for synthetic. I assume the Shell would be near the same. If it’s that cold and the machine is stored outside the synthetic flows better when cold. YouTube has several videos on that topic. Since it’s only a gallon or two and your brother is (hopefully) giving you a good deal I’d splurge- if it’s stored outside and or started in below freezing temps.

My machine is used below freezing but is started in the garage which is kept at 40° so I’m running 15-40 in it.

BTW- most would tell you that 100 hours is roughly 1000 miles of use for figuring service intervals. So if you service every 300 hours that’s only 3000 or so equivalent miles- that’s an easy life for oil. OTR trucks and most cars have service intervals that are 3x or more that for the oil. I say all that to reenforce that we typically baby tractors when it comes to servicing. Yours (and mine) will be no different.....haha

 

[Agvg]

No reason to use 15-40 on a diesel, 10-40 is a better choice of mineral oil.

 

[RAHarden]

I run Delo but Shell also makes diesel specific oil. I’ve not heard of the 10-30 for diesels. The Delo is 15-40 for conventional and 5-40 for synthetic. I assume the Shell would be near the same. If it’s that cold and the machine is stored outside the synthetic flows better when cold. YouTube has several videos on that topic. Since it’s only a gallon or two and your brother is (hopefully) giving you a good deal I’d splurge- if it’s stored outside and or started in below freezing temps.

My machine is used below freezing but is started in the garage which is kept at 40° so I’m running 15-40 in it.

BTW- most would tell you that 100 hours is roughly 1000 miles of use for figuring service intervals. So if you service every 300 hours that’s only 3000 or so equivalent miles- that’s an easy life for oil. OTR trucks and most cars have service intervals that are 3x or more that for the oil. I say all that to reenforce that we typically baby tractors when it comes to servicing. Yours (and mine) will be no different.....haha

Thanks! I know my brother doesn't have Delo. He buys Shell products because there is a distributor in town. Shell Rotella synthetic is 5W-40, 100% synthetic. I see AutoZone sells Delo. My brother buys 55 gallon drums of different oils. He uses quite volume of diesel oils. He gives me a good price. I contacted Shell Oil website and asked their advise. Probably won't hear from them until next week. Unfortunately, my tractor sits out. I have garage space, but only 7' tall doors. The cab is too high. The synthetic oil is probably the best route for me. I have read that most of the engine wear comes at start up. We have cold weather. I plug in the block heater, but it's not the same as being inside a warm building. I think that's next. Ha! My wife is going to kill me!

 

[RAHarden]

No reason to use 15-40 on a diesel, 10-40 is a better choice of mineral oil.

The Mahindra 2555 manual says use 10W-30 for cold temps. I contacted Shell Oil's help line. They will have their answer to my question this Monday. I asked for both a synthetic oil and a regular oil type. I'll post what they say. Thanks.

 

[DirtHauler]

Since it's first oil change, I use Red Line 15w-40 Diesel full synthetic and change it about ( this will give everybody a heart attack ) every 300 - 500 hrs. I'm just south of 4k hrs. and haven't had any "mechanical" issues yet (knock on wood). Also using the same in my '06 Kioti with a little over 4k hrs. on it now. I use Shell Rotella T6 in my '05 6.0 and change it out at the factory recommended 5k miles.
Now as for "dirty" diesel oil, it's not so much as dirt/dust getting in the oil as it is more carbon. Since engines now a days are a "closed loop", the only way dust can enter is thru the air intake into the combustion chamber. There is no "external" crank case breather like old days. Any diesel oil will turn black in about 100 hrs. or so. A good/high quality filter (oil & air) will catch any dirt/dust before it gets to vital engine parts. Now I'm not saying everyone should use synthetic oil but I do because I run my tractor(s) 7-12 hrs. a day 7 days a week from spring to fall in 90+ degree weather and the synthetic seems to hold up a whole lot better with the hot weather and the high heat generated by these tier4 engines.

 

[RNeumann]

Going dooooowwwwwn the worm hole on this one-

Is Synthetic Motor Oil Better For Your Car? - YouTube

 

[RAHarden]

Since it's first oil change, I use Red Line 15w-40 Diesel full synthetic and change it about ( this will give everybody a heart attack ) every 300 - 500 hrs. I'm just south of 4k hrs. and haven't had any "mechanical" issues yet (knock on wood). Also using the same in my '06 Kioti with a little over 4k hrs. on it now. I use Shell Rotella T6 in my '05 6.0 and change it out at the factory recommended 5k miles.
Now as for "dirty" diesel oil, it's not so much as dirt/dust getting in the oil as it is more carbon. Since engines now a days are a "closed loop", the only way dust can enter is thru the air intake into the combustion chamber. There is no "external" crank case breather like old days. Any diesel oil will turn black in about 100 hrs. or so. A good/high quality filter (oil & air) will catch any dirt/dust before it gets to vital engine parts. Now I'm not saying everyone should use synthetic oil but I do because I run my tractor(s) 7-12 hrs. a day 7 days a week from spring to fall in 90+ degree weather and the synthetic seems to hold up a whole lot better with the hot weather and the high heat generated by these tier4 engines.

Thanks for your comment DirtHauler. I see Red Line is sold at O'Reilly's Auto. I will check it out. I'm kind of stuck on Shell Rotella synthetic. You go many hours on your oil. I was afraid Mahindra would frown on that and it may void my warrantee. I worked as a mechanic for many years. When Mobil 1 first came out, many people never changed their oil. They would replace the oil filter every 3000 miles and add new Mobil 1 to top off the level. I thought that was nuts, and it was. Many of the engines, especially in fleet vehicles didn't last. The oil turned into tar. I don't remember if this was how Mobil suggested performing oil/filter changes, but it didn't work. I believe synthetics will last long than conventional oils, but it's the contaminates from combustion that damage the oil. You're right about that. Mahindra recommends an oil and filter change every 100 hours. I don't know if the Mahindra brand oil is synthetic.

 

[RAHarden]

Going dooooowwwwwn the worm hole on this one-

Is Synthetic Motor Oil Better For Your Car? - YouTube

Thanks RNeumann. I watched the video. Very good. I think synthetic oil is the way to go, especially for me. I don't have heated storage. I was told that 90% of engine wear and damage is caused at start up. Oil's job is to act as a film or cushion, so the metal doesn't touch, like in the bearings. When a hot engine is shut down, most of the oil drains back to the oil pan, leaving very little at the bearings. It's very important to get oil flowing as soon as possible when a cold engine is turned over. That's when metal can touch. I worked a nuclear power plant for around 30 years. They used Mobil products and Shell. Some of the lubrication was under extreme heat and pressure. Most of the equipment had electric oil pumps that would start and pressurize the oiling system before the main equipment was started. We never had many failures, if everything was working correctly. Too bad our tractors weren't built like that.

 

[TractorNH]

I'm using Shell Rotella T5 10W-30 in my 2655 which is pretty much the same as your 2555. I had to go with the T5 which is semi-synthetic because I couldn't find the T6 full synthetic in 10W-30. Like yours, my manual also said 10W-30 for the colder climates. Makes it easier to start when cold.

 

[RAHarden]

I'm using Shell Rotella T5 10W-30 in my 2655 which is pretty much the same as your 2555. I had to go with the T5 which is semi-synthetic because I couldn't find the T6 full synthetic in 10W-30. Like yours, my manual also said 10W-30 for the colder climates. Makes it easier to start when cold.

Thanks TractorNH. I couldn't find it either. I don't think Shell makes a Rotella T6, 10w-30 oil. My brother can get a good price on Shell products, but only if he buys large quantities. I don't need that much, 2.5 gallons for now. Tractor Supply has the Rotella T6 in 5w-40 and 15w-40. That's it for Rotella, unless I go with the T5 or T4. I can't find any 100% synthetic diesel oil, API CK-4, of any brand that is rated for diesels. As cold as it is here in northern Illinois, the 5w-40 may be a good choice. I emailed Shell to ask what they recommended, but no word so far.

 

[RAHarden]

I bought the new oil filter, part # 006016642V91 that Mahindra is recommending for the 2555/2655 tractors. It's a shorter filter than the older part number 006008803F1. The new filter cost $30.19 and shipping/tax was another $15.75, $45.94 total. Just too much money! I took my new Mahindra engine oil filter to NAPA today. They researched the filter and found one that looks very close. The center threads on the filter are 20x1.5 mm. The NAPA Gold filter part number is 1324 and it's under $8.00. The gasket matches up perfectly to the Mahindra. I list the fact sheet for this filter. Please read it and let me know if you think this filter will replace the Mahindra on a 2555 HST. I'm not sure about how this specs out to the new Mahindra oil filter.

I did call Shell customer service and they recommend their T6 Shell Rotella 5w-40 full synthetic oil in the Mahindra Tier 4 diesels. This oil has an API CK-4 rating, the same as Mahindra brand oil. Thanks!


.

 

[Ford850]

I use T6 mainly to get the 5w-40 oil. Been using it for years now, and gradually switched most engines large and small over to it. I find it priced lowest at Menards most often.

 

[RAHarden]

I use T6 mainly to get the 5w-40 oil. Been using it for years now, and gradually switched most engines large and small over to it. I find it priced lowest at Menards most often.

Thanks Ford850. I never thought about looking at Menards. I paid $54.99 at Tractor Supply for a 2.5 gallon container. I'll check Menard's price. How often do you change your oil? Mahindra says every 100 hours for oil and filter. Some have told me, they go longer between oil changes when using s full synthetic.