Rotella oil

On the question of what oil should I run in my tractor?. The most common by far is Rotella.Why? Is it really that much better?Well known? Readily available? The truckers use it? A 'status' symbol?.....Just
curious.I use 15/40 fleet diesel in EVERYTHING.Brand is not important. From the lawn mower;ATV to gas/diesel tractors;combine,grain truck,car,pickups....everything. One oil for all. No mixups that way. Keep it
simple.Everything here is high hour/mileage. Have never had an oil related failure.Just my opinion.

I have been using TSC 15/40. Use it in everything. Use to use Rotella but changed when the prices went up. Engines don't seem to care...none use oil.

Rotella is a good "middle of the road" option.

It's from a recognized brand with a good reputation, while being moderately priced and widely available.

Where does the farm store oil come from? Nobody knows. It's a secret.

The ones I find funny are those who refuse to use CaseIH/NewHolland oil now because it comes from Shell. They use Rotella instead.

Yep. I use TSC oil as well. Used to use Phillips,JohnDeere. But they got expencive.TSC is right downtown,while the others are out of town,or in the next town. So far,I havent seen any ill effects from useing the 'cheaper' oils.

Welp what we use is what the ORG was required . Up till I H got pricky and changed , on the gassers we ran the 30 weight low ash , on the OLD diesels we ran the #1 in 30 weight year round . Now the other night i have bee tryen to find some 30 weight for my Cub cadet and not one qt can be had anyplace around here . And the old Kholer also requires a 30 weight LOW ASH . Well after digging i found that Shell has a T 1 oil that is a low ash in 30 weight . Now back when i had my semi and it being a 77 with one of the last NTC 350 before the big cam came out for 78 and by the advice of a close friend who was the service manager for the Local Cummins branch Bobby told me on my eninge to run NOTHING but the straight series three in 30 weight now had it been the BIG cam verson then you go with the 15-40 . The 1066 that i sold my one friend WAY back like 30 years ago we have never been into that engine other then to adjust the valves do the pump and install the 3 LS turbo and it had run on the #1 Diesel in 30 weigh since with no engine problems and the WICK is turned way up on it alng with a bigger head on the pump . Myself i don't buy into this ONE OIL FOR ALL THINGS DEAl . Being a Mechanic i see things most never see and with playen the lets go fast i have seen the carnage of not the right oil for the job . The I H newer gas engines built from the late 50's to the mid seventys the wrong oil loved to eat exhaust valves due to ash deposit . You look at the mains and rods on the same stye engine one ran one kind of oil over about the same time as one that ran what it was suppose to have ya see the ware in the bearings and sleeve ware . With the onset of our new Jeep i have had to switch oil and go with what the factory says as the engine and oil were designed around each other . So yep i have a verity of oils for different apps . It's oe thing to work on customers STUFF and get PAID to do it then it is when our working on your own and NOT getting paid to do it and your digging into your pocket to do so . Usen the correct oil and fuel is a lot cheaper then doing the fixen .

What am I missing ? rotella is shell oil.

And I dont like shell oil. As I said before here. When I use it in tractor the tractor uses oil.

And I agree with you there. I Tryed explaining the same thing. Its when u tear engines down the proof is there. But the comeback is well I dont have any problem. My come back is did u tear the engine down?

Why would you tear an engine down if you're not having a problem?

It got to be popular in old engines because the normal oils no longer had zinc. Rotella, and I msure other, diesel rated oils did, IIRC.

I use JD 50 Plus 15W40 in everything but cars and pickup trucks. The 986 has had no issues and uses less oil than it did with the Rotella. If everything here was burning a quart per day than I might be prompted to use a fleet brand oil but that is not happening. JD stood behind a turbo problem on a tractor because we were using their oil which they could have easily told us SOL on it. So it is worth it to me even though it might cost 25-50 bucks spread over a few tractors. Most people complain over a brand because in fact that brand happened to be in the engine which was pushed far past its oil change interval.

There are several different kinds of Rotella oil, so saying to use 'Rotella' means very little. Today you can pick from T1 (straight grade), T4 (multigrade), T5 (semi-synthetic multigrade) and T6 (full synthetic multigrade). Quite different oils!

One attractive point of Rotella is it's relatively cheap. Did you know you can run Rotella T6 in your motorcycle that requires an MA-rated oil? Running T6 rather than Mobil 1 motorcycle oil will save you a bunch of money over a few years. I understand some folks have been running it with good results in their four-stroke outboard motors even though it doesn't carry the appropriate ratings.

Where is all this oil coming from to form these deposits? Why did the Ford built sixes ( and possibly other brands) not need low ash to stay together?

Does the TSC oil have zinc?

I can't remember the exact numbers, but my JD 317G compact track loader with the Yanmar engine, doesn't recommend 15W40 below something like 40 degrees! So I've had to complicate things by getting a different oil. Until this, everything here took 15W40 except the pickup and Jeep, which both call for a much lighter oil.

When I worked at the M F dealership, used to be oliver, the only oil related failures we identified were when there was none. Brand didn't seem to make a lot of didderence. Maybe long hard use would show some to be better than other, but some is definitely better than none.

(quoted from post at 20:12:40 08/15/23) Rotella is a good "middle of the road" option.

It's from a recognized brand with a good reputation, while being moderately priced and widely available.

Where does the farm store oil come from? Nobody knows. It's a secret.

The ones I find funny are those who refuse to use CaseIH/NewHolland oil now because it comes from Shell. They use Rotella instead.

Click to expand...

Yes, but not all Shell is Rotella. I used to get Cat's SOS oil sampling every oil change on my big trucks. I used to let dealer do the oil changes. I asked to verify and PAID for Rotella.

I get a bad test result back. Oil was wore out way before it's time. Thanks to Cat SOS program came to find out dealer put the cheaper Shell Rimula oil in it.

After that, I did all my own oil changes.

I've tested many oils through Cat and for me, it's only Rotella, Petero Canada Duron (which is good for old gas engines because it has the highest zinc content) and Chevron Delo.

Esso and Mobil One are CRAP.

A 15w-40 HD diesel oil is good for most tractors. It can be any ck rated oil. SO yes, rotella, delo, delvac, all are almost identical and all meet the api ck ratings. and perform very well. Ironically a 15w-40 will always work betting in cold than a 30wt. However if your doing snow plowing you might move to a more expensive 5w-40 in the same brands. Rotella is usually the cheaper oil on sale at wally world.

However there is a newer category for low friction hd diesel oil called FA-4 which is a x-30 oil, the meets or exceed ck4 and is designed specifically for 2017 or later vehicle with emission systems, LESS THAN 15% sulfer, to have a bit less friction for more mpg. Its slightly less friction will save lots of green house gas pollution over the long run says the epa.

So.. its not just ROTELLA, its CK4 rated oil that is best for most. And yes, they are low ash oils.

Well if ya look back and been around engines then you would know that the old G M Detroit's needed LOW ASH and the oil of choice was for around here it was Delo 100 a low ash , and I H put out a TSB on the tractors such as the 460-560 gas that to sovle the exhaust vale burning that was caused by ash deposits to run the low ash they came out with . . Ford super duty truck engines even with the sodium fill valves had issues as i sure did a ton of valve jobs on them while i worked for Ford Ya never lived till ya have to pull heads out of and N series off a 477 or 534 . BY YOURSELF about one a week . Now as to the Farmall tractors we USE to have a bunch of gassers around here and yup we did a ton of valve jobs to the point that i kept on stock Exhaust valves , a dozen at a time and 6 intakes , along with guides m, springs new keepers . To go along with the valve machine we had a head grinder that paid for it's self . BUT if ya used the low ash in them ya did not burn exhaust valves . Buy getting the guys to switch over to the LOW ASH i shot myself in the foot as now the valve jobs stopped coming in . I had two that were hard headed about it and i would see hem a couple times a year with a burnt valve or two. They asked me one day how many exhaust valves i have burnt on my 706 gas and i said NONE and i said i ran the low ash after talking to a guy i meet at a sale who was and old I H dealer as we got talking about the valve burning and Bill explained it to me So i switched but before i switched i burnt three valves after Non and no other work was done to the engine . My last hard headed customer with a 460 gas that was bought new just around the corner from me back in 59 by his dad as there first new tractor and is still on the same farm before i started doing there work that tractor ate a couple valves a year from day one and Old Jim would not change oil or fuel brands as he ran nothing but Sohio products , When he semi retired his boy started coming to us and his first time was for a valve job that he needed done NOW and the dealer could not get him in for two weeks . I told him get it over to the shop and i'll get you out in around four to six hours TODAY . And he stayed and watched , i did the valve job and refaced the head and he was gone in a little over five hours done deal and he got thru spring planting . He had just got started on picking corn with a 2 row mounted when it dinned on another Exhaust valve and with out taking the picker off and in the field we pulled the head run it to the shop and stuffed in two exhaust valves and had it back picking in 6 and a half hours . With him it took four more times before he switched oil and that was back maybe 18-20 years back now and the 460 is still going just not doing as much .

Well over the years i have lost three engines to oil issues , My first was and engine i bought BEFORE i started doing the DIY thing . I bought a 390 Ford built by the guys that were suppose to be the BEST FORD engine builder . As a KID i had good money and i was still in the LEARNING STAGES of engine building way bqack then i gave 2700 US DOLLARS for this RACE engine . I installed it in my car and i put in the seven Qt.s of Kindell (sp) racing oil that came with the engine and we took it to the local drag strip on a Thursday evening , The owner of the local strip was old friend of my mom and my one cousin . He was out there testing his toy along with a few others . I READ and understood the break in instructions and i had made passes as per the instructions . All seamed well and it was NOW time for a full blowen flat out hammer down pass , they told me the engine was GOOD to 7K , i had the brandnew SUN two piece red line 7000 tach mounted on the steering column , i brought her off the line at around 5500 and a side step and took her to the 7K and hammered second yea buddy she was flying and took her on up and pounded third and just as i was cocking myself for the shift into forth the world came to and END and in a huge KERRRRBOOOM and a bright orange flash pieces and parts went flyen . That 390 exploded like a bomb went off big bumps in the hood and floor boards . There was NOTHING to save the largest part of the block was hooked to the motor mounts , the crank was now in three pieces head in two pieces layen on the track all three carbs were ELJUNKO .And today if you walked the east side lane with a metal detector i am sure you would find pieces and parts form 1964 . Something seezed up and something came unglued , Next engine that had issues was the cummins NTC 350 that came in my new 1977 I H 4300 and the problems started AFTER the first oil change . I went and bought a 55 gallon drum of Texaco USAR 30 weight series 3 to do the first oil change at around 6000 miles , New spin on and a new Lubrafiner dumped in 12 GALLON of oil and Monday morning at 3 Am we went to work , At 8:30 that night when we got in we pulled the dipstick and my NEW CUMMINS was a gallon LOW , welp being use to DETROITS they used a gallon a day even if ya did not run it so i dumped in a gallon and went home , next day when we get in it needs a gallon , HUMM my buddy's truck is NOT usen a gallon a day and it is the same truck smae engine , transmission, and rear ends only color and S/N are different . This goes on for several more weeks and we do the next oil change and it NOW time to take it up to Cummins to be PUT IN SERVICE , the PUT IN SERVICE is where they run the overhead and pull the injection pump and check and make sure that the fuel rate is correct as most times they are a little on the LEAN side and IF you know someone NOW is the time to get just a WEEEE BIT MORE . While i was there i was talking to Bobby a good friend of mine while his brother was running the over head and i said something to Bobby about the Gallon a day habit it had and Bobby says OH NO something is NOT right here you fill out the oil consumption report for three weeks and bring it back , amount used per day and mileage After three weeks i take the report up and Bobby looks it over an makes phone call and he was told to have me bring it in and they are going to do a tear down and REBUILD on and engine with just a shade over 20 K . So we lost four days of work and Bobby calls me and wants to know if i want to bring my own oil or have them put in what they use and he questions me over the true mileage and said to come up and look . So i run up and Bobby shows me my main bearings and rods along with the sleeves and pistons out of mine ,the bearings were starting into the copper the sleeves had scoring along with the pistons and he asked what i was usen for OIL and i told him Texaco Usar 30 Series 3 an he told me NO)T to use that anymore and to go either Shell or Deloc , i went Delo 400 in 30 weight as instructed , now had that been the BIG CAM then ya use the 15-40 , small cams straight 30 . Even after we went wacko on Building that 350 into a monster that would lay down MORE Hp to the ground then a KTA 600 turned up 20% did i still ran the delo 400 30 weight and at a shade over 400K miles when i had a piston go south the mains and rods looked almost new,. . The other engine that took a dump was a 460 Ford and it was my fault on that as i had poke a hole in the oil filter and almost ran it out of oil before i got back to the shop and the only OIL i had at the shop at the time was what was left of that drum of Usar and i dumped in a gallon and in the five miles from the shop to town i scraped out the bottom end of the 460 . Now for the oil of choice for our old cars and gas trucks has been Castrol I ran that in my 79 Ford F 250 4x4 and put 279000 miles on it before it got totaled from a head on then my 88 Ford F 350 with a 460 that one i put 278k on it and was still running strong when i sold it just upgraded to a Dodge with a Cummins. That one runs on Delo 15-40 series 3 .