- Joined
- Mar 3, 2023
- Messages
- 2
Hey all. Long-time lurker but first-time poster. I apologize if I am beating a dead horse here, but I've been doing a lot of research (and have done virgin oil analyses on most of the major brands of HDEO available in my area), and still cannot come to a good conclusion. I would like to hear some opinions from the forum - maybe you can help me stop overthinking (and hopefully the info from the VOA's will help others here).
To start off, nothing in my fleet is newer than 2000 model year. I tinker with old tractors in my spare time, which have engines ranging from air-cooled Kohler single-cyl and Onan two-cyl gas, Yanmar & Kubota 3-cyl liquid-cooled diesels, two-cylinder gas John Deere's (which originally called for a low-ash SAE30), and some 50-60 HP three-cylinder diesels. Also have plans of collecting more antique tractors (both gas and diesel) in the future, along with old semi trucks (Cat/Cummins/Mack diesel powered). My tow rig is a Ford F-250 with 7.3L Powerstroke (pre-emissions). I've spent way too long buying different kinds of oils for all of my equipment and would like to find "THE ONE" 15w40 oil that I can use across my whole fleet - an oil that would fulfill the "low ash" requirement for my air cooled Kohler engines (splash lubed with no filter), but still provide good lubrication for the Onan air-cooled twins (with an oil pump), the small diesels, all my antique tractors, and my truck. Something I can easily buy in a 55-gallon drum that I won't have to worry about becoming obsolete (like JD Torq-Gard 15w40 or Mobil Delvac MX - both originally rated CI-4+ and getting harder to find here in the US). My machines all get used throughout the year (for work and play), and they all get a decent amount of hours put on them per year, but not enough that I can justify the cost of synthetic oil (or the need to deal with an independent sales rep - especially if I'm in a pinch).
I've had VOA's performed on the following conventional diesel oils which are readily available at most auto parts stores and dealerships around me (plus I work for a Case IH dealer that frequently stocks the Akcela No. 1 and Mobil Delvac 1300 oils). The exception being AMSOIL 15w40 which I used as the control. The results from the lab tests are as follows (and yes, I'm aware they are all decent choices, but if I'm buying a 55-gallon drum I want to make sure all my bases are covered):
From the results, it would seem that the Delvac MX, JD Torq-Gard, TSC Traveller, and Case IH/Akcela No. 1 (all highlighted) have the best combination of additives, detergents, and TBN. While my air-cooled Kohler engines typically require a low-ash, non-detergent oil, I don't know that I'll be able to achieve that without sacrificing some of the additives that the bigger engines need. I was leaning toward JD Torq-Gard and Mobil Delvac MX due to their high additive packages, but both of them are practically obsolete (and expensive if you can find them in a 55-gal anywhere). Working for a Case IH dealer I'm also leaning toward the Akcela No.1 since it's readily available, but it doesn't really qualify as a "low ash" oil. I've always used the Motorcraft 15w40 in my 7.3 Powerstroke, as I know Ford's WSS-M2C171-F1 spec is basically in a class of its own.
Am I better off just buying a low-ash SAE30 for my Kohler's and sticking with a 15w40 for everything else? Is there really a good all-around oil that fits all these categories? Am I just overthinking it??
To start off, nothing in my fleet is newer than 2000 model year. I tinker with old tractors in my spare time, which have engines ranging from air-cooled Kohler single-cyl and Onan two-cyl gas, Yanmar & Kubota 3-cyl liquid-cooled diesels, two-cylinder gas John Deere's (which originally called for a low-ash SAE30), and some 50-60 HP three-cylinder diesels. Also have plans of collecting more antique tractors (both gas and diesel) in the future, along with old semi trucks (Cat/Cummins/Mack diesel powered). My tow rig is a Ford F-250 with 7.3L Powerstroke (pre-emissions). I've spent way too long buying different kinds of oils for all of my equipment and would like to find "THE ONE" 15w40 oil that I can use across my whole fleet - an oil that would fulfill the "low ash" requirement for my air cooled Kohler engines (splash lubed with no filter), but still provide good lubrication for the Onan air-cooled twins (with an oil pump), the small diesels, all my antique tractors, and my truck. Something I can easily buy in a 55-gallon drum that I won't have to worry about becoming obsolete (like JD Torq-Gard 15w40 or Mobil Delvac MX - both originally rated CI-4+ and getting harder to find here in the US). My machines all get used throughout the year (for work and play), and they all get a decent amount of hours put on them per year, but not enough that I can justify the cost of synthetic oil (or the need to deal with an independent sales rep - especially if I'm in a pinch).
I've had VOA's performed on the following conventional diesel oils which are readily available at most auto parts stores and dealerships around me (plus I work for a Case IH dealer that frequently stocks the Akcela No. 1 and Mobil Delvac 1300 oils). The exception being AMSOIL 15w40 which I used as the control. The results from the lab tests are as follows (and yes, I'm aware they are all decent choices, but if I'm buying a 55-gallon drum I want to make sure all my bases are covered):
From the results, it would seem that the Delvac MX, JD Torq-Gard, TSC Traveller, and Case IH/Akcela No. 1 (all highlighted) have the best combination of additives, detergents, and TBN. While my air-cooled Kohler engines typically require a low-ash, non-detergent oil, I don't know that I'll be able to achieve that without sacrificing some of the additives that the bigger engines need. I was leaning toward JD Torq-Gard and Mobil Delvac MX due to their high additive packages, but both of them are practically obsolete (and expensive if you can find them in a 55-gal anywhere). Working for a Case IH dealer I'm also leaning toward the Akcela No.1 since it's readily available, but it doesn't really qualify as a "low ash" oil. I've always used the Motorcraft 15w40 in my 7.3 Powerstroke, as I know Ford's WSS-M2C171-F1 spec is basically in a class of its own.
Am I better off just buying a low-ash SAE30 for my Kohler's and sticking with a 15w40 for everything else? Is there really a good all-around oil that fits all these categories? Am I just overthinking it??
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