Originally Posted by zstand
Originally Posted by jeepman3071
Originally Posted by mrsilv04
I have two of these tractors... one was purchased brand new, that has 3300 hours on the clock now.
I'd never use 0w-40 in them. HDEO only.
But whatever. It's not your equipment, and the oil is already in there. So... why not.
Hopefully the plastic cam gear that fails has already been replaced. Personally, I wouldn't be messing around with what oil goes in if it hasn't, but it's already in there.
This. The plastic cam gears in these can become a problem no matter what oil is used. There is an upgraded metal replacement part available.
These are liquid cooled and 0w40 should be perfectly fine, but it does depend on if the owner checks the oil, how much the machine burns, etc.
I use 0w40 in my own small engines with great results, but use 15w40 HDEO in customer machines because it seems to be more resistant to burning off, and most of my customers are people who check the oil maybe once a year or never check it. Surprisingly many of them have been getting better lately though.
This machine has already had the plastic cam replaced with metal. Good point on the need to check the oil. A 15 year old boy does most of the mowing on this machine. Is there a reason you choose the 0w40 over HDEO for your personal equipment?
I use 0w40 in my personal equipment because I already use it in several vehicles I service (especially the Euro cars). It's easy to use in everything from snowblowers to riding mowers. My Deere garden tractor gets used year round, and I noticed even with 10w30 HDEO it cranked over a bit slower on 0 degree mornings for snow blowing. Either one works fine though, for me it is more out of convenience because of what I have on hand.