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dexta oil
Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:53 pm
by terry274
I am getting ready to change the engine oil in the 1964 Super Dexta that I bought a few weeks ago. The tractor had not been started in a year or more, and the oil that was in it was very clear, it looked like new oil. Once I got it home and running, the oil began to darken. I am afraid that the previous owner had been using non detergent oil. ( I think the dirt particles had settled to the bottom of the pan and got stirred up when I got her running.) He had owned the tractor for 15 years. Looking in the oil filler hole in the valve cover, the motor appears very clean. The motor does not smoke at all and starts easily. Should I continue with non detergent oil, or not? Is there a sure way to tell if the oil is non detergent?
Thanks, Terry
Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:48 am
by Brian
Terry,
If she had been run on non-detergent oil, she would have been very sludgy. I would suspect it could have been a series three heavy detergent that has kept her nice and clean.
It has been nearly impossible to get a non-detergent oil for many years now, even petrol engine oils are far higher in detergent than they were when I stated in the trade.
I would just change the oil for a standard diesel engine oil and leave it at that. If sludge has been forming, it would be all over the inside of the engine and in the valve cover, not just in a layer in the sump.
Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:48 pm
by Jerry Coles
I remember when the British Army changed over to detergent oils. There were hundreds of engine failures as the carbon deposits had kept seals etc working. Along comes detergent oil and cleans out the crud and failures everywhere. Changing a tank engine is a BIG job!
Regards
Jerry near Bath
Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 6:16 am
by Mark
Jerry,
Which war?
Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 9:54 pm
by Jerry Coles
For us brits it was the 1939-1945 war, some came along a bit later!
Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 10:28 pm
by Mark
Jerry,
I know a lot about that war, my dad was in the Navy on board the USS Indianapolis CA35 a heavy cruiser. He got 10 battle stars while on board. They put in for upgrades in San Diego CA, at Mare Island, my dad was put in the infirmary and the ship sailed without him to Hawaii to pick one part of the bomb and take it to Guam. A Japanese submarine sank her on her way back to the Philippines. Most of the sailors were eaten by sharks.
Dad also had a brother that sailed with the USS Enterprise the whole duration of the war.
War is Hell I'm sure you will agree.