# Non-Detergent



## Glen640 (Jul 11, 2014)

There is an old adage that if a tractor has been running on non-detergent oil, that you should not change to detergent oil as too much can get messed up when the detergent oil goes to work. If you get an old tractor at auction, or by some other means perhaps where the previous owner(s) are unknown to ask, then my question is, is there a way to tell what's in the crankcase?


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

Oil sampling by a lab, but the story is urban myth. Use high quality modern oils.


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## PJ161 (Sep 12, 2016)

Like Mr. Wells, I use modern oils even in my old tractors. I put 20/50 in them but never use synthetics in the old stuff. I use Rotella in the diesels, but there are other good oils out there, matter of preference. PJ


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## Ed Williams (Jun 13, 2019)

With the old tractors, there was only one kind of oil availsble, non detergent. I switched mine, 1953 model over to the new multi weight detergent oils without any problems at all. I may have gone overboard, but During the changeover I changed oil and filter at 25 hour intervals instead if the std 100 hrs due to the same concerns of unleashing a lot of crud and overwhelming the filtration system. The filers were full of crud the first 2 oil changes. You could physically feel a weigh difference from prior changes. By the fifth oil change, everything was back to what I consider normal, and went back to the 100 hr cycle. I had the foresight to weigh the oil filters on a kitchen scale, (you did not here that from me in case the wife checks). When weight stabilized, I went back to the normal cycle. Otherwise, you could not tell the difference in oils. I only saw a weight change in the used filters.


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