Engine oil and filter once a year?

[3RRL]

My thoughts on that...
I prefer having "fresh" oil when working the tractor especially during the hot Summer months. I feel I need the best lubricity the oil can offer during those times. If water is going to accumulate into the oil somehow, say over Winter storage, it is going to do it whether it's clean or used oil, right?
I might be wrong about that, but that's why I do my oil changes in the Spring.

 

[Sully2]

Follow on question, that has been danced around a bunch (and I think Sully answered his thoughts exactly)

Lets say you are on the "change once a year" schedule.

Speaking in Generalities, you use your tractor more in the summer than in the winter.

Is it better to change it in the spring when taking the machine out of hibrenation so to speak, where there was more chance, time etc for the water to accumulate in the oil, or is it better to do it in the fall after the completion of the most work, so it has relatively "clean" oil to sit through the winter with?

Can anyone reference something other then gut feelings would be the follow on.

My own preference is to have fresh clean oil in it during "hibernation". Winter usage for me is "almost" non existant...if AT ALL. ( 200 ft driveway...might snow 2 times a winter where it needed cleaned off??)

I think every article Ive ever read dealing with "winter storage" or "long term storage" suggested fresh oil and filter prior to storage.

 

[Doc_Bob]

Its the best way to go...IF you have a need to use it. I cant see just starting mine up and running arond the property for no real reason.

I will always use it for an hour or so. I agree with you, I do not think that just starting it up for a few minutes is wise at all. Too much wear and tear.
Bob

 

[Doc_Bob]

My own preference is to have fresh clean oil in it during "hibernation". Winter usage for me is "almost" non existant...if AT ALL. ( 200 ft driveway...might snow 2 times a winter where it needed cleaned off??)

I think every article Ive ever read dealing with "winter storage" or "long term storage" suggested fresh oil and filter prior to storage.

I am in the change the oil in the fall group. If a bit of water (from combustion) gets in the oil during the winter from use, the first nice warm day in the spring with a few hours use will boil off the water. My tractor is in a cold barn, so snow and rain does not egt into the tractor. I am like you, just a few uses during the winter. Unless we get a lot of snow this year, then maybe I will use it for many more hours.
Bob

 

[kenmac]

My own preference is to have fresh clean oil in it during "hibernation". Winter usage for me is "almost" non existant...if AT ALL. ( 200 ft driveway...might snow 2 times a winter where it needed cleaned off??)



Sully2, I can't believe I found something I agree with you on.

My tractor gets synthetic year a round even if it sits all winter (what little winter we have)

 

[On-Site Oil Analysis]

Oil sitting in a oil pan for a full year can cause it to oxidize and will cause it to build water not that the water wont burn out but it will leave trace elements. All from just sitting so changing it once a year weather it is the full 300 hours if the right thing to due (Playing it safe). Now if you want to try to go two years to reach 300 hours then I highly suggest in the spring running an oil analysis test to verify that the oil hasn't oxidized. Because oxidized oil is very poor performing oil and will cause poor lubricity and wear.

I hope this helps the cause.......

 

[ccsial]

Oil sitting in a oil pan for a full year can cause it to oxidize and will cause it to build water not that the water wont burn out but it will leave trace elements. All from just sitting so changing it once a year weather it is the full 300 hours if the right thing to due (Playing it safe). Now if you want to try to go two years to reach 300 hours then I highly suggest in the spring running an oil analysis test to verify that the oil hasn't oxidized. Because oxidized oil is very poor performing oil and will cause poor lubricity and wear.

I hope this helps the cause.......

Don't know if this is true but I have heard that synthetic oil won't oxidize from sitting.

I run Delvac one but I change it every year anyway.

 

[RalphVa]

I do my 2 cars, pickup and tractor once/year. The cars/pickup end up putting about 6,000 miles average (generally 5-7,500) one each and around 100 hours on the tractor. Use Mobil 1 in all of them, 2 gas and 2 diesel engines.

Ralph

 

[Kaliburz]

My two vehicles, at least twice a year. I'm the average 10-12,000 miles per year driver. Pickup is twice because it does lots of idling (farm rig).

My two semi trucks, which don't get THAT much miles, I'm going two years. Granted, it leaks and uses a bit of oil, so every other fuel up, I dump in a gallon of oil.

Lets look at it this way. IF you converted the HOURS to miles, a 200 hr change would be about 9000 miles (using 45mph) for your tractors. Now, a car, changing the oil every 3000 miles, that would be about 67 hours (again, using 45mph).

I've always wanted to put a hour meter on my car, under the hood, just to see how many hours it gets.

Tractor, all three get oil twice a year, IF I get to the oil change in the fall. Most tend to be exposed to some dust, so..... I err on being safe.

Hydraulic oil, well, between the leaks in some hoses and such, seldom do I change the 15-20 GALLONS it needs. Usually I change the filter every two years and top off....

 

[john_bud]

Interesting discussions on hours vs calenders with a twist of use thrown in for spice.

One point on "abuse" or "severe use". We mostly have a gut feel that abusive use and severe use are when we mow for 12 hours thru thick and nasty stuff in 105F heat. Actually, that isn't too bad on the engine. It's running at rated RPM's, has full oil flow and as long as the air filters and cooling coils are kept clean there is no problem. Tractors are made to be used that way for thousands of hours with no complaints.

Now, if you often run the tractor at 1/3 to 1/2 of rated engine speed and only run it for 15-20 minutes, most of us would think that was very gentle use. BUT, that is about the worse use you can give it. The engine never really gets hot enough to evaporate out water from the oil, cold starts allow excess fuel to wash down the cylinder walls, the oil will cake up and form huge globs of goo on the upper end, rocker arms, etc. Can get so bad it blocks the return of oil to the block. Nasty. Worse engine I ever tore down was one that the thermostat was removed from. It never got up to temp and everything in there was nasty.

Every situation is different and the people writing the manuals can't address them all. We own the tractors and we are all big boys and girls. If we don't want to "waste" $20 on an annual fluid change that's our call. It turns out that my tractors are used enough to justify annual changes, even if they are sometimes short of the book hours. No big deal to me. If a machine was only used a couple hours a year, I'd think hard about getting rid of it. Might be simpler than worrying about wasted oil and filters.


$0.02
jb

 

[Mundy]

I'm in the "At least once per year" group. I do the tractor in the fall so it will have fresh clean oil for the hand full of cold starts to push snow during the winter. I may put 40 hours on the tractor per year.
Now if somthing happened that I did not use the tractor for the whole year I may not change it until I forsaw or began regular use again. But even though the oil technically had no or very few hours on it I would be planning a change very soon after I began to use the tractor again. If it had been several years I may start it to move it or warm it up but would change it before doing any work with it.
The mower I do filter once and oil twice a year. Oil once the middle of June and oil/filter once the end of August. I may put 50 hours on the oil fall and spring and have 75 to 80 hours between the summer changes. The recomended is 150 by the manufacturer and that why I do the filter only once but it makes me feel safer to have clean oil to finish out he year. The 15 minutes it takes to service and the few $ for the oil is worth it if I get more years out of the equipment. I have 2700 hours on it and does not use any oil.

Regards,
Mundy

 

[Ford850]

Interesting discussions on hours vs calenders with a twist of use thrown in for spice.

One point on "abuse" or "severe use". We mostly have a gut feel that abusive use and severe use are when we mow for 12 hours thru thick and nasty stuff in 105F heat. Actually, that isn't too bad on the engine. It's running at rated RPM's, has full oil flow and as long as the air filters and cooling coils are kept clean there is no problem. Tractors are made to be used that way for thousands of hours with no complaints.

Now, if you often run the tractor at 1/3 to 1/2 of rated engine speed and only run it for 15-20 minutes, most of us would think that was very gentle use. BUT, that is about the worse use you can give it. The engine never really gets hot enough to evaporate out water from the oil, cold starts allow excess fuel to wash down the cylinder walls, the oil will cake up and form huge globs of goo on the upper end, rocker arms, etc. Can get so bad it blocks the return of oil to the block. Nasty. Worse engine I ever tore down was one that the thermostat was removed from. It never got up to temp and everything in there was nasty.

Every situation is different and the people writing the manuals can't address them all. We own the tractors and we are all big boys and girls. If we don't want to "waste" $20 on an annual fluid change that's our call. It turns out that my tractors are used enough to justify annual changes, even if they are sometimes short of the book hours. No big deal to me. If a machine was only used a couple hours a year, I'd think hard about getting rid of it. Might be simpler than worrying about wasted oil and filters.


$0.02
jb

John bud,
Those are great examples. I'll admit I considered the uses as you described, incorrectly thinking light use was gentle use. The strange thing is that most of us think just the opposite for autos. We all know that highway miles are much better that short trip miles. Anyway... good points and thanks for the advice.

 

[jnyost]

Well ,my New Holland TN70A wants the oil and filter changed every 300 hrs. I run about 150 hrs a year, so I change my Rotella-T synthetic 5-40W and filter once a year in the late fall or early winter. What do you think?
Bob

Perfect. I do the same. Since my hours usage is less than the recommended interval I change mine in the spring before usage. That'll get rid of any condensation that happens over winter.

Jared