OC3 Rollers oil or grease?

[LoggerLee]

I got some "Ford tractor transmission fluid" It's the same stuff,used it in the rear end and the rollers on my DDH
GL1 is available,not sure if it's the cheapest or not.

[Bruce_Bouton]

New twist in the oil discussion ... diesel engine oil. I talked to a wholesale supplier tech-support yesterday, and I just got off the phone with the Conoco /Kendell tech support line. I read the specs to him and explained the vehicle, including bronze / brass & leather parts. He went to his engineers and called me back a couple hours later. They recommend diesel engine oil for the track & transmission ... everywhere except where the steering bands are.  Their products are PowerD (Conoco), TSX (76), Super 2 (Phillips) and Super D3 (Kendall). The diesel oil won't affect the bronze or leather parts, but has superior lubrication capabilities compared to mineral oil.

I didn't write down the exact numbers but he explained how a 20W-50 SAE engine oil overlaps the 95W mineral oil for "viscosity". I guess the ratings are different scale.

http://www.enerquip.com.au/msds/conoco-hydroclear-power-d-engine-oil-multigrade.pdf   conoco

http://www.conocophillipslubricants.com/documents/kendall/fleet_commercial_engine_oils/Ken%20Super-D%203%20Multigrades%20TDS%20Web.pdf  Kendall

I asked the distributor about using non detergent in the engine .... something i thought we were supposed to do but didn't know why. He suggested that didn't make sense. The detergent will help get the dirt to the filter. They used ND oils "back then" because that's all there was really. He said the real spec to look out for was the GL number. GL 1 through 4 would be OK, but GL5 could be harmful to OEM seals from that era. he said when current oil technology was introduced there was some damage to older equipment. "Detergent" was prominent on the label so that got the blame, when the real culprit was sulfur and potassium (covered under the GL number).

I know some of you have strong opinions on one oil or the other and i'm no expert. I'm sharing what I learned today. Unless one of you yell "heck no and here's why" I think I'll give the diesel oil a try. It's readily available, and should be a better lubricant than straight mineral oil.

Working on this Oliver has been a real journey, and it's just started.

[Blake Malkamaki]

I always use detergent oil in tractor engines. Unless I want to be able to run it when it's really cold out, I use 15W-40 in just about everything - diesel or gas.

I used to use the Kendall Super D3 that you mention, but that was back when Kendall was made in Bradford from Pennsylvania Grade Crude Oil. I think Sunoco bought Kendall and it's now made from other crude oil, so I avoid it. I avoid Pennzoil and Quaker State as well since they are no longer made here since they were sold out to Shell.

My Cletrac E has 50 wt diesel engine oil in the transmission. I put that in there years ago before I knew I was supposed to use non-detergent, but it works ok, so I left it.

For lower track wheels and transmissions I see no need for a detergent oil as there is no filtering system to remove any impurities that the detergent holds in suspension.

Just some points of discussion. Others may have other ideas.

Blake