Oil for a 440 ICD

[lastchancegarage]

For those of you with diesel 440's:

What type of engine oil are you using in your machines? I know the manual calls for SAE 30 high detergent. Has anyone used synthetic 30 wt? Is there a special 2 cycle diesel oil I should look for? At first I was going to go with Pennzoil Long Life 15-40wt but the service manual says to not use multiweight oils. Anyone know the reasoning behind that? Thanks.

Scott

[Lavoy]

Detroits are kind of peculiar on oil. I have head that high detergent oil can varnish the lower rings. Gravel hauler at home made the mistake of running it in a 6V-92T and ended up with a really expensive rebuild because of it. Talk to a local Detroit shop about what oil to run. Seems to me that a CD or CD-II oil was recommended. I know my brother had a Terex with an 8-71N in it, and we had one barrel of oil that was only run in it.
Lavoy

[lastchancegarage]

For what is worth, the word from a local Detroit shop is to use Delvac 40wt. Unlike the original service manual, he said stay away from the high detergent oils. Now to find some Delvac....

[lastchancegarage]

Just a little further update on engine oils for the 2-53 diesels. The Delvac 1340 staight 40 wt recommended by the detroit shop I spoke with is no longer being made. The Delvac 1640 is its replacement. Now trying and find someone who has the stuff has been a different story. The hydraulic shop I've worked with in the past was able to cross reference the Delvac 1640 with Delo 400 straight 40wt. Supposedly they're identical in performance and additives. Has anyone actually been able to get Delvac 1640 40 wt? If so, where? NAPA and Autozone could only get the multigrades. At least there'll be a 5 gallon bucket of DELO waiting for me Sat morning.

[Lavoy]

Check the phone book and see if you have a Mobil jobber in your area, they should be able to order it for you.
Lavoy

[lastchancegarage]

Lavoy,
I see what you meant about when you had one specific oil you'd run in these things. At this point I'll give the Delo a shot. The guy at this hydraulic shop has worked on these things for some time now. He seems like a good egg who wouldn't steer someone wrong. I figure while I'm there Sat morning I'll kill two birds by getting the actuator packings for the 440. The fluid was running pretty bad this weekend when I gained another 1/2 acre of lawn from what was rustic woodland. THAT was a lot of fun. Even gave the boys a chance to tear something up. Gotta train em young. The 10 year old was upset because he couldn't reach the clutch pedal enough to try it. Might have to fabricate a clip on pedal extender.

[shinnery]

I checked with some jobbers in Abilene and they said they could get the Delvac 1640 but it would only be available in 5 gal. pail. They recommended Exxon 40w as basically the same oil and is diesel rated. It is available in qts. or gals. Exxon and Mobil are the same conglomerate I think.
Bryce

[lastchancegarage]

Changed the oil this weekend. (used DELO 400 40wt.)The filter element that came out was a NAPA 1006. Went to a parts store and found a filter labeled P-4 which crossed to a FRAM C-4 which crossed to a NAPA 1006. From the job I had removing the drain plug on the 440 it was clear it hadn't been off in a while. The other indication was having to use a piece of wood to knock the filter cover loose. Anyway, after all said and done, I cranked the engine for approximately 5 seconds until I saw the oil pressure gauge move. I started her up and let her warm up. From the moment she started I was reading 60 psi for oil pressure. I let her run for about 5 to 10 minutes and noticed the oil pressure hadn't dropped at all. I don't remember seeing the pressure that high in the past. Could the old filter have been that clogged to only allow 40 or so psi? Or could the filter be holding back the pressure (improper filter element)? Are these engines prone to spinning bearings easily? Just trying to figure out the sudden rise in operating pressure. After warm up, the pressure remains whether at idle or high speed. Is 60 psi the oil pumps relief setting? In a way I don't like asking these questions because it could take me down a road I don't need right now. Anyone come across this before? Thanks in advance.

Scott

[Lavoy]

Normally I am all for higher oil pressure. I have to plead a little ignorance in this case, I am not that well versed in the 2-53's. I would however check the oil pressure gauge with a master gauge, there should be some variation in pressure from idle no matter how good the engine is.
As to any preponderance to spinning bearings, I guess I have never heard anything of the sort. When properly maintained, I think the 53 series was just as dependable as any other engine.
lavoy

[hunter41mag]

Hi,

The pressure will be dependant on the weight of oil that was drained compared to what was put in. If it was a lighter weight oil that was drained (ex: multi-weight 10w30 or straight 30w) and you put straight 40w in you will see a higher pressure on the gauge.

As long as you do not see any sudden drop in oil pressure during operation and it stays within the minimum and maximum range of pressure recommended by Detroit you will not have anything to worry about.

Don
Eastern PA
440IC

[lastchancegarage]

Thanks Don. I'm not sure what was in there. Like I said in the earlier post, from the trouble I had getting the drain plug and oil filter cover off, I'm not sure how long that oil was in there. Depending on what manual I look at, the oil pump relief pressure is either 40 psi or 71psi. I'll keep an eye on it anyway.