I wanted to ask this before I make my purchases.


This question pertains though to a Ford tractor a diesel one that was built in 1968. It used regular 10 through 30 weight motor oil depending on the climate. The old canister style filter was removed and a spin on filter adapter was installed.


It now uses a FL1A filter but was curious if I ran a Motorcraft FL1A filter would there be any issues if I actually ran a diesel oil with that filter? I honestly don't see how there could be but I rather ask before I create a problem. Otherwise I will just get plain old 20W50 oil and run it if it would cause a problem.

 

You didn't say where the tractor is, where or when, or how it'll be operated, but I see your in Huston Tx, so it seems to me that a diesel rated 10W-30, would be a good choice, if its to be started & operated in your area in cold weather, as the 10W would flow a lot faster to get a cold lube job done on things that need it done fast & the 30wt part would have the hot viscosity film thickness that the mfgr called for.
Seems to me that a 20W-50 is a lot thicker than is called for, so wouldn't flow, nor lube as fast on a cold start, where most start up wear occurs & might not flow back to the oil sump fast enough to keep it at the proper level.
If an oil is too viscous, it'll remain in the top end of the engine too long, & may be whipped into a foamy froth that won't lube well at all, nor be able to be easily pumped into tight spaces to get a proper lube job done when hot, so best in most cases for us to stay within the mfgr recommended viscosity/temp range for our particular engine design.
The FL-1A should be ok with what ever you decide to run in it.
I run straight 30wt in all of my lawn & garden equipt, here in SW Va, but I don't start or run them on the straight 30wt if the temp is below 50 deg F, as the mfgr suggests a multi-viscosity synthetic in temps colder than 50F.
One is a dip & splash, the other is a pressurized oil filtered system. I use an oversized oil filter, that's known to have lots filter media inside, to lower the pressure drop across the oil filtering media & increase flow on those cool day starts, so your FL-1A, having lots of filter media inside, is likely a safe bet to use with whatever viscosity you choose to use imo. Some lube thoughts for consideration.

 

The tractor is out towards La Grange. It gets colder there than it does here in Houston. But I was thinking 20W50 if I went with just plain motor oil instead of a diesel oil. For diesel oil I was looking at 10w30 but was concerned that the FL1A filter might clog up or something running diesel oil through it.


I am leaning how ever towards going with Valvoline brand though for the oil as I have had good luck with Valvoline and it seems to clean better than Pennzoil. That stuff just is black after 20 miles where the Valvoline after cleaning my engines out it slowly turns darker over 3,000 miles.


Recommendations though as shown in the owners manual is as follows.


Below 10*F : SAE 5W or 5W/20 Supplement 1


10*F to 40*F : SAE 10W Series 3


32*F to 90*F : SAE 20W Series 3


Consistanly above 75*F : SAE 30W Series 3


Based off this I could possibly get away with 20W50 considering its good for down to 32*F which I don't think I would be running it below 40*F as this tractor is being used in conjunction with a shredder.






Well I did some searching at local stores and the only Diesel Valvoline oil I found is in a blue bottle for cummins diesel engines and its a 15W40 oil. I did see that I can get a Motorcraft brand diesel oil in 15W40 though. So I am probably going to go with the Motorcraft brand diesel oil or just say screw it and get the Shell Rotella T 15W40. The Shell oil would be cheaper than the Motorcraft but the Valvoline would be the cheapest as its on sale right now but I just don't know if it would be safe to use Valvoline oil with the Cummins logo on it and stating its designed for Cummins diesel engines will have a negative effect on a older Ford 3 cylinder diesel engine.

 

Running a diesel rated 10W-30 as you were thinking is a good idea imo. It'll flow better & faster on a cold start & have a lower pressure drop on the filter media, which it & the engine will appreciate, likely more so than using a more vicious 20W-50, which would put way more pressure on the filter media & flow more slowly to the engine parts that need a fast lube job on a cold start & when up to temp & running & not quickly draining back to the sump, to keep it properly topped up.


The diesel rated 10W-30 is still a 30wt at operating temp, just that its hot viscosity is usually toward the upper/thicker side of the 30wt viscosity specification & it usually has a more robust ad pack, but that's no problem for the FL-1A.
A diesel formulated motor oil has a higher detergent & dispersant additive level, to clean & hold the diesel engines soot in suspension, until the filter can remove the larger particles. A diesel motor oil is formulated to deal with high loads of fine soot suspended in it, without getting too thick to do a good lube job, or have the soot saturate the oil, fall out of suspension & cause sludge. It also usually has higher Phos & Zinc levels to deal with the added bearing load & diesel puts on its parts.
The Pennzoil has a high detergency, so will begin to darken fast as it gets to its tidy up task, so its just doing its job, no problem that it gets dark faster than the Valvolene recipe.

 

I ended up getting two gallons of the Valvoline 15W40 diesel oil, got two gallons of it and two FL1A filters for $28 after tax. The oil was on sale $13.99 a gallon.


Was shocked when I was looking for some 20w50 for my gas tractor as that 4 cylinder engine has solid lifters like found in the Y blocks. Couldn't find it in Valvoline or VR1 as I was really looking for for the added ZDDP. But I was seeing at other stores like Pep Boys and Oreillys they were selling a gallon of conventional motor oil for $28.00 and up.


I ended up getting six quarts of VR1 for the other tractor for $40.04 with free two day shipping from Amazon.


Thanks for the response though, I was a little weary of running diesel oil through a FL1A filter as I know the diesels we work on at work they have cartridge filters and both of mine have been converted to spin on FL1A filters.

 

Every Powerstroke in existence has spin-on filters.

Pop

 

Really?


Then I wonder why the 7.3, 6.0, and 6.4s we work on I have to use a Matco socket ment to unscrew the oil filter cap located ontop of the engine to access the filter canister.


I know the newer power strokes have went to spin filters located underneath. But the majority of 7.3, 6.0, and 6.4s use a cartridge paper filter that comes with a rubber O-ring to seal the plastic cap to the aluminum oil filter housing.


But my concern wasn't the spin on filter but the FL1A as that filter is not used on anything but gas related engines. That is where my concern was.

 

7.3 takes an FL1995 which is a spin on filter. The 6.0 and 6.4 take a cartridge filter.

 

I must be thinking of the fuel filter then because we don't see many 7.3s as they are not junk engines such as the 6.0, 6.4, and 6.7s are.


All I know is the 7.3 does have a filter on top that has raised ribs and the tool I have has grooves cut into it to match the ribs to unscrew the plastic cap. That probably isn't a oil filter but I thought it was. That is the down side when you deal with so many different makes/models/years of vehicles from large trucks down to trailers it is hard to keep track of everything. I barely remember what I worked on the week before as its so fast paced.

 

I remember the feeling. I just got out of being a tech at a dealership after 10 years. People would always ask me stuff and I'd be like "What? I don't remember. I just set it to the spec in the shop manual!" And the 6.0 is not junk. Everything they put on top of it was junk. The turbo, the egr cooler, the head gaskets, etc. The bottom end is great