When do I change the oil? Service Manual vs Operators manual: 100hrs vs 400hrs!

[Ricn]

50 hrs here on all our tractors. 2500 mi on vehicles..

 

[jyoutz]

50 hrs here on all our tractors. 2500 mi on vehicles..

2500 miles for a vehicle oil change is about twice as often as necessary. 5000 miles is sufficient.

 

[5030]

2500 miles for a vehicle oil change is about twice as often as necessary. 5000 miles is sufficient.

Don't go over 5000 miles on a Ford Eco Boost turbo charged engine. Reason being is, they have a bad (and expensive) habit of eating camshafts if you do the 10K oil change as indicated by the electronic oil minder built into the ECM on those trucks. Very expensive repair as well.

Additionally, while I have way more hours on my tractors than most posters on here (because I farm with them), I recommend making the INITIAL oil change and filter at no more than 100 meter hours, reason being is because that initial oil and filter change will rid the engine of any left over machining swarf. All engines (and gearboxes) will have some remnants of machining left inside and the sooner you change the lubricant and filters, the sooner you get any and all 'junk' left over from the machining process, out of the engine and transmission. Having said that, I check my fluid levels EVERYTIME I use my units, I check the tire pressure as well and I disagree with their greasing interval. Grease is probably the cheapest item you will ever consume and I grease ALL my fittings at least ONCE every 10 running hours and sometimes even less, depending on the severity of use. I carry a lever grease gun loaded with high quality synthetic grease (never use cheap clay based grease, ever) in both tractor's tool boxes and one in each of my powered implements tool boxes.

Because my tractors are older and have a lot of hours on them, I tend to change the lube oil, every fall but I do, do an oil analysis with each yearly change because I want to know if the oil is doing the job and if my yearly change interval is sufficient and so far, it is. I use Blackstone Labs and they will provide you with FREE oil sampling kits as well.

I Always check fluid levels and look for leaks prior to starting them before I use them, without fail and I often look at them, underneath when in the field to see if anything IS leaking or anything else I might see. Probably why my 2000 and 2002 Kubota M9 farm utility tractors run without issue. Never had a lube or gear oil issue with either.

Far as coolant and gearbox (or HST in the case of smaller tractors go, after the initial change to remove any machining contaminants (and there will always be some), I change and flush my cooling systems every other year and the gearboxes and filters (I have 2 on each tractor), gets changed every 2 years but I do check the fluid levels every time I use them (before initially starting them). If I remember correctly, I changed the gearbox lubricant initially, when I changed the engine oil at I believe 50 meter hours.

Oil and antifreeze is cheap and good insurance. Having said all that, I do run mine hard enough and get the engines and transmissions hot enough to 'boil' off any condensation that might form in the engine or gearbox, that is a non worry for me. My tractors to hold a large amount of gearbox oil, like 15 gallons per unit and the gearbox lube is also the hydraulic fluid and every time I hook up or unhook an implement, I loose a small amount of fluid from the quick couplers so I'm always checking the fluid level in the gearbox and topping off as required.

I realize this is a long post but keep in mind that the INITIAL oil and gearbox fluid change and filters, is the most important one.

At 6000 and 4500 hours with no lubricant related issues ever, I'd say I'm doing it correctly. I do use high quality engine oil (5-40 Rotella T6) and high quality synthetic gearbox oil (Chevron All Weather THC) and it's not cheap by a long shot either. Don't use cheapo oil like TSC Traveller ever. Always premium lubricants as well as premium filters (in my case, always Kubota OEM filters)and I grease ALL my fittings as needed but never longer than a 10 hour interval.

I also have cabin and air intake filters to deal with and I will blow them out on an as needed basis but never longer than a 1 year interval and I blow out my radiator as needed as well with low pressure compressed air and a blow gun (40 psi) maximum. Don't think I've ever changed my secondary air filter on the engine (I have a primary and secondary filters on both my tractors but if the outer filter looks dirty after I blow it out (from the inside out, not outside in) with low pressure compressed air (under 40 psi again), I'll replace it, not that expensive and again I use OEM filters because the people (engineers) that design and build your unit know better than you do, what works and what don't.

Don't cheap out on filters or lubricants or grease because all that does is hasten the chance of a breakdown or worse and I always recommend an oil analysis simply because it tells you if there is any impending issue with the engine or gearbox and if your lubricants are doing their intended job and a Blackstone Labs analysis is a cheap date (25 bucks) anyway and provides peace of mind, plus it will tell you of impending engine or transmission issues like failing injectors or a bad head gasket among other things like a failing water pump as well and I want to know if there is excessive condensation (water) in the gearbox oil.

How I do it and so far I've not had any engine or gearbox issues. My tractors are a sizeable investment for me (over 100 grand for the pair) so I take care of them and they take care of me and if and when I sell them, the next owner will be able to take solace in the fact that I maintained them properly and I do keep maintenance records and those records along with the owners manuals go with them when and if I ever sell them. If anything, that adds to the sale price when they do get sold.