Oil & Fuel Mahindra 2555 tractor engine oil.

[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!


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[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.