Go BottomWhat viscosity oil for B7500
 | Duane Pearl
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2000-10-01 20222
OK, this might take a while, and in the process I will probably confuse myself, so bear with me. My new Kubota B7500 recommends the following: SAE30 or 10W30 or 10W40 for temperatures above 77 degrees, SAE20 or 10W30 or 10W40 for temperatures between 32 and 77 degrees, and SAE10W or 10W30 or 10W40 for temperatures below 32 degrees. Here's my question. Can I safely run Pennzoil 15W40 in this tractor, at least as long as the temperature is above 32 degrees? From what I understand by reading some of the other posts here, 15w40 will have the cold starting properties of a 15 weight oil, but the protection of a 40 weight oil at operating temp, therefore, it is actually thinner at startup than the straight 20w, and would be suitable to use at least down to 32 degrees (which is where the straight 20 weight is rated at). The only reason I ask is because I have torn many many motors apart in my young life, and have compared the effects of different brands and viscosities on each one. I have seen several motors (and these are gasoline motors) that ran only the pennzoil 15w40 in them for more than 100,000 miles. The amount of wear inside of these engines, or rather the lack there of, doesn't even compare with any other brand or viscosity that I have seen. (Although I have never seen one run exclusivley on synthetics). Not to mention that the inside of these motors with the pennzoil 15w40 were spotless. No sludge, no build-up, nothing. A chevy 454 which I have in my truck now, had 180,000 miles on it when I got it, and only had pennzoil 15w40 put in it every 3000 miles (I know this because it was my brothers engine before me). I tore it down to rebuild it, but found that it needed no machining. The valve guides and the cylinder bores were still in factory spec!! I slapped a new set of pistons in it and a big camshaft and put it in the truck, and it's still running today. I would really like to use this oil, but only if the viscosity is acceptable. I just don't know enough technical data about oils to figure this out on my own, and I don't want to hurt my wonderful new tractor.
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| Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 962 
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2000-10-01 20237
Duane, Kubota is a little behind the times in updating their manuals. It seems most of them still specify a CC or CD rating for diesel engines, and those are obsolete ratings. A 15W-40 oil is good for your tractor, but use one that's rated for diesel engines (and while I'm not absolutely positive, I don't think the Pennzoil is). I believe the latest diesel rating is CH-4. So I use Delo 400 15W-40 in my tractor. Shell's Rotella T is also popular, and then of course, there are those who are convinced the synthetics are worth the extra cost, and maybe they're right. ....
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| Duane Pearl
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2000-10-02 20259
Here's the deal. Pennzoil "Long Life" 15w40 says it's formulated for diesel and gasoline engines, with API services CH-4, CG-4, CF-4, CF/SH, SJ. I guess that all means that it's ok for diesels. Is there a synthetic 15w40 on the market formulated for diesel engines? I have seen 15w50 Mobile One oil, but not sure I like the 50 in the number, and I don't know if it's made for diesels. ....
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| Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 962
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2000-10-02 20260
Duane, since you've had good luck with that oil (Pennzoil Long Life) and it has the proper API rating, I'd say you should go with that. ....
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| KlayW in MI
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-10-02 20267
Let me toss this one into the discussion. It looks as if cold starting is your concern DP so how about synthetics that are rated like 5W-40 or even 0W-40? I do not know if these are rated for diesel but they would seem to have the best cold start protection. I know these oils from a racebike owner friend who was looking for a less sluggish cold running motoroil. ....
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| Duane Pearl
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-10-03 20280
yeah birdy, I agree with you I think. I have had great luck with Pennzoil 15w40 in the past, and as long as it's not too thick for my tractor, I think that's what I am going to use. I have this gnawing sensation in the back of my head about synthetic oils, but after reading the thread on Petro vs Synthetics, I think I'll just not worry about it. I have one question though, didn't pennzoil and Quaker State merge or something like that? I wonder if, since the merger, they changed any of their formulas. Most of the experience that I have with pennz 1540 was from several years ago, and I know the bottle has changed slightly since then. I think it used to say specifically that it was for diesels right on the bottle, but now it's reccommended for gas too. I don't know much about any of this, so any help would be appreciated. I guess maybe I should just stop fretting and use the stuff... it's just that I love my tractor oh so much. ....
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| Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 962
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2000-10-03 20281
Duane, I'm a little out of my element with some of this, too. I grew up with a dad who owned a service station and auto parts store, and in later life was a fleet manager for a few years, but most of my experience and knowledge is dated. Quaker State oil used to have the CC/CD rating for diesels and I started using it in 1982 when I bought a diesel sedan. I'm still using Quaker State 10W-40 in my gas powered car and pickup, even though they dropped the diesel rating in the past. I called Quaker State and talked to one of their technical support guys and he said it would still be just fine in a diesel, but that you would need to change oil more frequently. I've never used Pennzoil even though it's a very popular brand. I have a brother who has been using Chevron's Delo 400 15W-40 in big trucks; Caterpillar, Cummins, and Detroit diesels for years (in both Alaska and Texas) and I have a farmer neighbor who buys the same oil in 55 gallon barrels for his 3 big John Deeres, and it's readily available at Wal-Mart and K-Mart, so that's what I'm using in my tractor. Maybe there's something better, and maybe not. ....
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