Oil change interval 600 series

So the books arrived and it says oil changes at 100 hour intervals. That sure seems like a lot of work being done on that oil. I'm thinking more along the lines of 25 hours. Oil filter is Motorcraft FL1A spin on and oil is Shell Rotella 15W40. Thoughts?

The tractor is already setup with universal hydraulic oil in all 3 compartments. I'm thinking annual change for those.

There are several factors involved but one
of the biggest ones is your use of the
tractor. To me short run times means more
frequent oil changes.
I usually change engine oil once per year
even though I only put about 50 hours/year
on it.
The transmission and rear end oil I haven't
changed in 8 years though it is on my to do
list. Generally though, when I run it I run
it hard on the brush mower for 4 or 5 hours
which gets it hot enough to evaporate out
any water that may be in the oil.
I use a generic 15W40 diesel rated oil in
the engine and a generic Hytrans or UTF
that meets Ford 134D in the tranny/rear
end.

I agree with UD.

I change the engine oil and filter in my tractors each fall after last use.

Most of my vintage tractors see very few hours each year but condensation contamination takes a toll.

If I was frequently using the tractors year round I would increase the oil change interval.

Dean

I will be using the tractor a lot. I have 22 acres of which about 14 will see the 6ft finish mower so I could put a good bit of time on the tractor. Right now it is seeing a lot of time as I bushhog the 12 acre tract we just purchased.

oil change per 25 hours? only if that was a tractor that was used 25 hours per year.

think about this. 10, 10hr days is 100 hours.

you seriously want to change your oil every 10 days?

I run my 950 hard mowing brush and general chores. up to but not much over, 6 hours a week. The oil is still golden brown like the bottle and it's the end of august.. and I changed it in december... that means it has about 50 hours or so on the oil. looks fine, and don't smell like fuel.... I'll change it again this year when I'm done mowing.

now the air filter oil is different. It might get changed after a couple days of mowing, if the fluffy stuff is flying.

I like 15w40 oil in mine as well.

rear oil on some are 600 hr intervals. I usually go 2 years oil trans, hyds and diffy, unless I see water in any of them.

key is workign them hard and hot to get moisture out... that's way better than a 10 minute run each week.

pretty much the same as the other guys.
My old tractors get an engine oil change once a year regardless of low hours.
exceptions happen of course.
My 2 hardest workers have had 2 engine oil changes already this year and will get another when the snow flies.(they've earned it)
These heavily used tractors also get the hydraulic chamber oil changed with the engine oil. It's only 2 gallons in there and dirt/water there is a parts killer.

Trans, rear, gear oil tractors, get new when I buy them...
after that, drain plugs get cracked to let condensation out before I use them. and I leave them be...some models take an enormous amount of expensive gear oil back there...........

lets face it. the average old ford has survived? 70 ys on average with probably, little maintenace, including oil changes.. i don't think one will notice 25 hr changes vs 50 hour changes at this point.

(quoted from post at 14:31:27 08/27/15) lets face it. the average old ford has survived? 70 ys on average with probably, little maintenace, including oil changes.. i don't think one will notice 25 hr changes vs 50 hour changes at this point.

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I used to own a 1946 Cessna 120 airplane. The Cessna 120/140 Club members never identify themselves as the aircraft owner, only the custodian since many of these airplanes are owned by people not born when they were built. They were here before they were born, and they'll be here when they are gone. Same is true for my 1950's Ford 640. I wasn't born until 1963 and this tractor will no doubt be here when I am gone. I want to be a good custodian and plan to leave it better than I found it.

I grew up on and around my grand dad's 1940
Allis Chalmers B.
He never changed the oil in the time I
remember. And the only oil it ever got was what
he drained out of his car.
I overhauled the engine in it my senior year in
high school. Mostly because it had a burned
valve. Did a valve job,rings and rod bearings.
The crank was right at the edge of proper specs
but my teacher said it would run a long time
that way. Dad had that tractor another 15 years
and it never missed a beat.
Now I don't advocate doing like Grandpa did but
I don't get too worried about a few extra
hours on my oil here and there.

Back when that tractor was made...... oils were right out of the ground, no additives and full of parrafins and waxes that sludged up the engine. Oils would collect moisture and with the by products of combustion, develop acids (sulpheric acid) that would harm the engine parts. Harden engine surfaces were very thin and it did not take much wear to cause an overhaul. Oils would boil off the thinner parts and slowly thicken up. No cold weather protection, no wear protection and no acid protect. No dry start protection.

Where the oil came from was very important to how good and pure it was, vrs how much sulpher and was was in it.

Spin forward to 1990s.. Oils can be ultra refined so that they are very pure so the source of the oil is no longer an issue. Oils can be extra duty oils. This means... in addition to being ultra pure, they are now low on ash, have additives that extend the volitility so they are thin for cold weather, but DO NOT thin out so they are also good for high heat.. hence a 15w-40 oil will act like a 15w when cold and then act like a 40w at high heat. The have cling molecues added so that they stick to parts and prevent dry starting problems on cam shafts. The wax and parrafins have be refined out so they dont sludge up. They have additives that are added to fight the acid build up so that you no longer have problems with acids from the moisture and sulfher. These same additives also have the side effect of super cleaning the sludge and wax buildups. They have extreame wear additives meaning the phosphorus and zinc are added and only react to extreamly hot areas where they bond to the hot metal, coat it and then lower the friction back down that spot quits wearing. They have boil off additives that keep the thinner componants from vaporizing out of the crankcase. And I can go on and on...

But to sum it up... in the 1950s every 100 hours was needed.. in the 70s it was changed to every 300 hours.. ONLY WITH HIGH END OILS.. If you run an true hd oil, today.. I recommend every 500 hours or 5 years. The modern hd oils will not turn to acid, thicken up, boil off, or wax up. And the keep particles from clumping together so they can NOT get big enough to form sludge. So the need to change them now is more based on water, and additives wearing out. If you run your tractor to hard working temp once a year, you will get rid of the moisture. Cummins even has a program where the engine will actually suck out a quart of oil every 5000 miles and you add a quart of new oil(makeup oil). This new oil will renew the additives so you never need to change the oil for 500,000 miles. But cummins also runs a 3 stage filter on those models and gets 1,000,000 miles between overhauls. Bottom line, 100 hours is for cheap, single weight, non detergent oil, the only oil available in 1955. I would never run that oil in anything other than a sewing machine.

You may have a different opinion, so do what you fill is best for your tractor.

I have a number of tractors. None of them sees more than 30 hrs a year. I change the oil once a year (the fall) on all of them. If I used a tractor more than 100 hrs in a year, I would probably think about changing it at the 100 hr interval. Think about it this way. My truck at 1800 rpm is running about 60 mph. 60 mph times 100 hours is 6000 miles. I change the oil in my truck somewhere between 5000 and 7000 miles.