What kind of gasoline and oil in a Farmall H?

Just curious as to what kind of gasoline and oil you guys would use in a Farmall H. The manual is helpful but it’s so old, I’m not sure if oil specs have changed.

Also, gasoline is probably different now than in the 1940s, so I’m not sure what octane or grade gas to use. When I buy my Farmall H, I want to make sure I do everything right.[/list]

I use 87 octane in my Farmall C and 10W40 oil from
RK. My other tractors I use in winter I use 5w30
synthetic blend from RK.

I use 15/40 oil and regular pump gas in
my DC case, which would be similar
vintage and size. It always starts,
doesn't have gas or carb issues, and
pulls good. But then it's used regular
so gas stays fresh. If it's going to
sit a lot add some sea foam or stabil
to help keep the gas fresh. I went out
last week at -10? and she started right
up with no plug in it anything.

We use 87 octane ethenol mix gas
(reg gas) in our working tractors.
It never has time to go bad. The
tractors that don't get as much
exercise get 100% gas ,no ethenol
mix.

E-10 in the gas tank and Rotella T 15w40 in the engine.

Just the 10W-40 from RK Wall Mart or simular, Forget about the overpriced 15-40 that is a diesel oil And just plain trgular gas as the non ethonal is not even normally avaible most places. Only in the last year as oposed to the previous 30 years has non ethonal became avaible at a verry high price at only one station out of hundreds. Think the new station had to get a waver or somthing to even sell it. I grew up on a 41 H from 49 to 84. Just needed a 50 horse tractor instead of the 27 horse one.

E-10 ethanol gasoline, 30W in the crankcase, and half and half 90/140 in the trans/rear end.

Rusty Farmall is spot on. If it helps, the old oil specification is just as you believe, modern formulas are far
superior. If your tractor is ever connected to hydraulic implements that are also commonly used by a tractor using
hyguarg, or hytran (those are interchangeable) use either of those in the hydraulic system. if it has a retro
installed engine driven pump. the hytran is OK, as is "tractor Fluid" from a farm store. if originality is desired
and only your equipment is used, and you have the belly pump, a mix of 3 quarts 10 wt and 3 qrarts of 20 wt non
detergent oil is OK. It is harder to find. Jim

In our Farmall C, E-10 regular pump gas, and 15-40 Mobil Delvac. I add a quart of diesel to the gas to reduce octane and tank corrosion,
don't know if it helps, but it can't hurt. When Mobil has their rebate sale I can buy the Delvac way cheaper than WM oil.

That is a low compression engine, so it will run on the lowest octane pump gas available. Unless you live in one of the rare areas that still sell non-ethanol gas, it will only be practical to run E-10 fuel.

It will run fine on E-10, but if it does a lot of sitting the fuel tends to gum up the carb. One way to prevent this is to turn off the fuel and drain the carb when it will be stored for more then a couple months. The ethanol is also hard on neoprene fuel lines. The tractor would have originally had a steel fuel line. Best keep the steel line, no rubber or inline filters.

As for engine oil, 10w-40 diesel oil works well. It is preferred for use with flat tappet engines. The modern automotive oils are designed more for roller cams and complex emissions systems.

The transmission/differential oil will most likely be contaminated with water if it has been stored outside. That will also need to be changed, possible flushed with diesel if really nasty. It uses 90 or 140 gear oil, depending on your climate. Don't forget the steering gear, same oil.

I use Quaker state 10-30 motor oil. Haven't had any problems. Run it in all of my tractors. I use non-ethonal 87
octane gas straight out of the pump from local gas station.

IIRC, you are in New England or another state with colder weather? If so, you DO need to pay attention to more variables. Things are tougher up north.

Guys tend to fret a lot about motor oil, but for how most old tractors get used, almost all multi-weight motor oil today is vastly superior to what the tractors got back when new.

Biggest issue is picking an oil weight that will allow for easier winter starting and cold startup lubrication. Personally, here in MN, I go with 10W-30 or 10W-40 synthetic. That's good for down to as cold as I'm going to try to start/run an open station tractor. If I had to start a tractor often to clear snow or whatnot in the winter, I may even to got 5W-30.

If you can get gas with no ethanol added, do so. It just cuts off a whole list of potential problems.

Guys that say it doesn't matter are correct in that if you burn a tank of gas or more every week, you are using it faster than it will ever go bad. My use is a lot more inconsistent so I'm happy to pay a little extra for non-eth gas so that I know I'm not going to have wet gas and other issues that can be made worse by ethanol in fuel.

I can get non-ethanol (aka non-oxygenated) fuel at any number of places locally, so it's no trouble. If you cannot get it, that's fine, but IMO then be sure you burn your tank down to below a quarter before refilling. Cycle your gas, don't add new on top of old.

Grouse

John,run the same oil as you run in your pickup.Regular gas. Lead subistitute is not needed.Snake oil,waste of money.Today's worst oils are better than yesterday's best oils.I currently have 5 H/M/400 tractors. I run the same oil in them as I run in my 4 larger diesels(706,826,1256,1456),(gas)combine,grain truck,pickup'ATV,motorcycle,lawnmower....I have for 40+ years. The same oil in everything.I buy it in 5 gallon,or 55 gallon sizes. Keep it simple,no mix-ups. 15/40 fleet diesel is what I run.You can run 10/30 'automotive' oil if you like. Brand is not important.Keeping it clean and regularly changed is important.Good luck,and happy tractoring!

(quoted from post at 08:06:27 01/04/19) Rusty Farmall is spot on. If it helps, the old oil specification is just as you believe, modern formulas are far
superior. If your tractor is ever connected to hydraulic implements that are also commonly used by a tractor using
hyguarg, or hytran (those are interchangeable) use either of those in the hydraulic system. if it has a retro
installed engine driven pump. the hytran is OK, as is "tractor Fluid" from a farm store. if originality is desired
and only your equipment is used, and you have the belly pump, a mix of 3 quarts 10 wt and 3 qrarts of 20 wt non
detergent oil is OK. It is harder to find. Jim

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Thank you!! I might also say that the Rotella T (diesel oil) has an additive that protects the camshaft and lifters. The 10w-40 or whatever else you use in your modern car or truck does not have that additive because it messes up the catalytic converter.

I use regular 87 octane fuel with no additives.

The 15w40 oils are ideal because of their additive content. However, these engine are overbuilt and the unit loading on the
sliding cam and rocker surfaces is low and on top of that you have relatively light valve springs. As the others are saying, any
modern oil that has an SAE label will be fine so consider the ambient temperature range you'll operate in. I can use 15w40 year
round because it's not as cold as for the folks up north. I would not run a 5w or 0w oil though, I think that's too thin.
Whatever you do, do not run "non detergent" oil.

You don't need oil additives or any other snake oils. The oil companies have fixed it for you. As Delta Red is saying, the worst
oils today (as long as it has an SAE label) are better than the best oils when the tractor was new.

One of the very best things you can do when you acquire an unknown tractor is to drop the oil pan and clean it out and check the
pump inlet screen. All kinds of crud can accumulate over the years and the inlet screen can get partially blocked. I've looked
into some tractors that were pretty on the outside and not so pretty on the inside.

Thank you everyone for your help! Looking forward to getting my tractor, hopefully within a couple weeks.

RotellaT will mess up a catalytic converter? Really? I didn't know that! Glad you told me!
I'll stop using it immediately in my 2008 Silverado with 228,000 miles on it. It's always
had RotellaT 15W40, but I'd sure hate to mess something up!

A few years ago a gas station in my town started to sell
non ethanol gas 92 octane, a friend told me to try it in my chain saw
Unbelievable what a difference it makes in starting and so much more power.
so I started to use it in my Ferguson TO-30
again what a difference the old Fergy starts right up every time

(quoted from post at 18:44:38 01/04/19) RotellaT will mess up a catalytic converter? Really? I didn't know that! Glad you told me!
I'll stop using it immediately in my 2008 Silverado with 228,000 miles on it. It's always
had RotellaT 15W40, but I'd sure hate to mess something up!

Click to expand...

I never said it would. I only said that is why that certain additive was removed from common engine oils. If the EPA said it, it must be true.