Combines Oil

Yes different oils do behave differently. Basicly, you get what you pay for. Check the specs on the oil and see what cummins recomends. Usually cummins requires a higher spec oil than alot of other engines. I'm pretty sure chevron delo 400 meets or exceeds cummins requirements. Something to check into. This year I noticed a larger oil consumption on my 466 and I found out the hand primer pump on the injector pump was broke. The lock down for when not in use broke and was letting the pump jump in and out. After I fixed it, the oil consumption was back to normal. Thats just what happened to me. If you change the oil again soon, take a sample and send it in to be analized so you know whats going on both in the engine, and with your oil.

I have a 1991 1660 , just turned 3000hrs , bought it with 1200hrs seven years ago . When I first got it it and up to this year , after an oil change I would go 30hrs with no oil use , 1 qt_10hrs to 50-75hrs , then from 75-100hrs it woukd take 2qts_10hrs . I thought it was excessive oil use but they all told me that was normal . I always change oil at 100hrs , use 15-40 FS SuperX Gold , never changed brands . This year seems like when I got close to 3000hrs it started to use 3-4qts a day , just a few hrs after a change . That is way too much too suddenly . A neighbor has a 1680 , same year , about the same hrs , his started doing the same thing . Mine still has plenty of power , runs real good , no smoke , blowby etc , don't know what to do . This is my first CIH machine , first Cummins etc , all other tractors are Deere as well as previous combines . Any body else have this problem with oil consumptionIJIJIJIJIJ

I don't believe that John Deere's oil is any better than any other oil out there. We used JD Hygaurd oil in the trans hydralic system of our 8570 4wd tractor and the clutch went out of it at 1948 hours. We used plus 50 oil in our combine and the motor went out of it at 347 hours. I don't think that JD oil lengthed the life of these components any. We usually change oil halfway through harvest as well. If we tried to do the whole harvest the 300 hours it would take would be too long on one oil change. This year we changed oil after 143 hours, then we changed engines 58 hours later then after getting our combine back with its new engine we put 43 hours on it and changed oil after that so it could be stored with clean oil in it.

No matter what kind of oil used, if ya want to push hours on oil change I would send in oil samples into lab, at like 100 hrs, 150 hrs, 200 hrs, etc. This will give you an idea of your condition of your oil as well as your engine. As long as the additive package is still doing its job I'd say its safe to push oil changes, but when the additive package gets used up oil consumption usually goes up toward the end of the life of the oil and that's not good. Also I like the idea of a clean fresh oil change before driving it into the shed for the winter.

Been using it for years with no problems.....it's a good oil. I have extended my oil change intervals but not as long as they recommend. I will go 150+ though, depending on the circumstances. With the better oils these days, changing at 50 or 100 hours is a waste of money as far as I'm concerned, unless you don't get that many hours and want to get fresh oil in for storage, etc.

I use the Plus 50 oil and still change half way through fall near 150 hours because I put on near 300 hours in a season. The difference with the Plus 50 and the cheaper oil which is suppose to be same quality is when I never have to add any oil at all before the oil change where the cheaper oil would take more then one gallon over those 150 hours. Changing oil is a cheap investment because you have to remember the last half of harvesting is usually when temperatures are near freezing(northern states anyways) and having the engine lubricating properly in cold weather will save you alot of money. Just calculate how many oil changes you could have done instead of paying to have your engine overhauled and add on the down time.

Maybe I am doing it wrong, but when my oil starts to get brown, I dump it, usually 80 hours. I like to drop it in the evening and let it drain all night. I have about 50 hours on it in the shed and it will stay till next fall when I will drop it after the first day. Did this with my old 6620SH that I bought new, and when I sold it it had close to 4000 hours on it and still did not use oil. I do not use plus 50 oil. gs

There is nothing wrong with your method but for 300 hours it costs more to change four times instead of two. The cheaper oil I used was good for 80 to 100 hours but the Plus 50 is still comes out alot better quality at 150 hours then the other oil at 100. No adding oil and only changing twice is why I went to Plus 50. The only wrong thing with oil changes is waiting too long between intervals. John Deere might say the Plus 50 is good to 250 hours but I personally wouldn't go much above 150 myself.

I have tried plus 50 and it gets dirty just as fast as the cheap oil. How much do you think it will cost to randr the motor because you saved a few bucks on oilIJ If you are just going to trade the thing in a year, I guess the next poor guy gets to worry with it. gs

I agree with you that more frequent oil changes is alot cheaper then having the motor overhauled which I mentioned last post. What type of oil are you usingIJ I tried Shell Rotella "T" which is not lasting as long as the Plus 50. I also have tried other brands which were similar to Shell so maybe I have missed a good cheaper oil that might be equal to the Plus 50. We have had lots of tractors run over 5000 hours and never burn any oil as long as I change it around 150 hours or earlier. I change the oil on all tractors after spring and fall work no matter what.