Why "Diesel" oil?

[Richard]

Why \"Diesel\" oil?

I know this sounds dumb..

Spring time..Uncle says..need to change the oil in the Internationial 444. Talking to him today, I said..you get the oil (since I do not know what you use) and when I change oil in Brutus in week or so, I'll do both...

He goes on to say, he simply uses 10w-30 "Valvoline" or other.. motor oil..not "diesel" oil.

Well..I dropped my jaw and said your kidding...I found that hard to believe..says he has been using simple motor oil for 30 years +/-. When he bought the tractor, the guy he bought if from said that is what he should use...

Well..I can't argue his comment that he has used "regular" motor oil for 30 years. I also can't argue that the tractor runs like a watch..(brakes from purgatory..but motor runs smoooooth)

He then looked at me and asked.."What's the difference"..

Of course, I simply stood there with mouth open and not the first word to say..

So...

What is the difference of "diesel" -vs- "regular" motor oil?
What is risk of using "regular" As I don't see any issues on this specific tractor..further..he does NOT take best care of things. In other words, he isn't religeous about changing oils and such..to the point that if regular oil would be detrimental, I would have expected issues with tractor by now. Doesn't leak, doesn't burn oil...seemingly a non issue.

What gives?

 

[cp1969]

Re: Why

It is recommended that diesels use API 'C' (as compared to 'S') rated oils. I think the difference is the detergent additives, as diesels tend to get a lot of soot in their oil and it needs to be held in suspension.

A lot of oils are rated for both categories, so the 'regular' oil he's used for all these years may have been fine.

 

[Richard]

Re: Why

Ok..that answer works just fine for me!!
I noticed I truncated my subject titie..was supposed to read "Why "Diesel" oil"... oh well..happy fingers.

Thanks for info.

 

[Bird]

Re: Why

Richard, I'll leave it to some of our more scientific minded members to try to describe the differences in the refining of the different oils, but as you've already been told, the first letter of the API rating is C for Compression combustion engines (diesel) or S for Spark ignited engines (gasoline), and of course many oils have both ratings. And the Quaker State 10W-40 that I use in my car and pickup used to also have the CC/CD rating (obsolete rating now), but it does not have the diesel rating now. A couple of years ago, I called the Quaker State technical support folks to inquire about that and their engineering types told me that it was just fine for diesel use but you would need to change it more frequently. I feel pretty confident that they were right, but for me personally, I'd sure look for and use an oil with the CH-4 rating.

 

[JATO_RaT]

Re: Why

10W30 is often considered OK to use in diesels. Even my Ford diesel OK's it as a substitue for 15W40. In turbo charged diesels its important to have the right oil as foaming can cause real problems. My Kubota manual calls for 10W30 in the engine as well. While 10W30 may not say specifically for diesels, as long as what the others have said about the codings is followed, you should be fine.

P.S. I have the International 454 diesel with an 8/4 speed transmission and use Delo 15W40 or Valvoline 15W40 in it. It is a 1972 or 73 model. Its a beast and helps me out in the mowing. Its also helpful to use for a more objective point of view when comparing HST to manuals, something that seems to be sorely lacking here on TBN. Rat...

 

[JohnMiller3]

Re: Why Diesel Oil...?

<font color=blue>...my subject titie..was supposed to read "Why "Diesel" oil"...</font color=blue>

Richard,

You can go back and edit your original subject line to Why Diesel Oil...? (leave out the " " though...) /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[JohnMiller3]

Re: Why Diesel Oil...?

<font color=blue>... It is a 1972 or 73 model...</font color=blue>

INTERNATIONAL 454
SERIAL NUMBERS

Beginning No. Year
501 1970
508 1971
4908 1972
8064 1973
~~~ /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[njrqs]

Re: Why \"Diesel\" oil?

Yeah no idea of the specifics but I use Castrol RX-Super. This is a multi fleet oil that is good for turbo diesels and normally asp. diesels but is also OK for petrol engines.

So the castol guys tell me anyway /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif

Cheers

 

[OCDLubeman]

Re: Why

Until about 1996, most "regular" oils were rated for both gasoline and diesel use - SC/CD. After that, new federal mandates required that "automotive" oils no longer be certified for diesel use. I'm not positive why, but it probably had something to do with the additives vs. fuel economy and air pollution. My Kubota 2150 required 10W30 - what was I supposed to do?

I called Valvoline first to see what the change was. Was it just a labeling change and the oil was still the same? They said that all "automotive" (gas) oils were reformulated and that these oils no longer contained the proper additives to handle diesel engine combustion by-products (soot, acids, etc.). They recommended NOT using their "regular" oil in a diesel.

I called Kubota and also talked with my local dealer and they both said 15W40 diesel oil would be the recommended substitute for my tractor. It's odd that Kubota hasn't changed their manuals yet regarding 10W30. I think that valvoline's synthetic blend is dual rated and I think that some of the other synthetic oils might be dual rated (not sure). It is hard , if not impossible, to find 10W30 diesel oil.

I believe that using S rated oil in your diesel is a mistake. Unless you use your tractor very little, under very light load, and you change the oil much more frequently, I believe that problems will show up- not right away - but eventually the gunk will build up and something will fail. Diesel oils have a much beefier additive package to handle the extra by-products produced in a diesel engine. Just my opinion - it's always best to talk to an informed expert at the company (if you can find one).

Randy

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Re: Why

Generally, most "diesel" oils even today still meet API SJ/SL for gasoline engines. You can use diesel-rated 15W40 in your new car if the viscosity is approved by the manufacturer. But I do still see dual-rated conventional (gasoline) motor oils on the shelf. You just have to look for them. For the tractor in question, I'd switch to 15W40 if it has as many hours on it as I suspect it does.