John Deere Plus-50™, 0W-40 Synthetic Engine Oil

I think you've got the 100% full synthetic already. According to the Deere website the Plus-50 II is the API SM and SAPS version for engines with a DPF. It is due to be released in Spring 2010 according to this link:

https://jdparts.deere.com/partsmkt/d...s_50_Synthetic

You got a great price I think for the full synthetic version. Where in North Carolina is this dealer located?

High ash content is the price you pay for a high TBN and strong detergency.

I think ash can be washed out of cordierite core diesel particulate filters. I'm probably wrong but I think the threat of exhaust aftertreatment system degradation through irreversible poisoning from high SAPS oil is overstated. I don't think it is a concern for diesel vehicles without a DPF or oxidation catalyst.

All I can say is, from what I see from the stats stated above, I would LOVE to have the this oil in my car.

I found this JD 0W40 UOA on BITOG : 06 Dodge/5.9l Cummins/JD Plus 50 0w-40 @ 10,671 miles 3/21/2009

Here is a sample of JD Plus 50 0w-40. Sample performed by Fluid Analysis (oilscan.com through JD). Miles on oil 10671/263hrs. Total miles on unit 96834. Quad Green air intake, Quad race box, straight piped, and a Fleetguard LF 16035 filter used. No make up oil. Oil was not changed. I will resample at roughly 400 hrs.

IRON 36
CHROMIUM 2
LEAD 3
COPPER 3
TIN 0
ALUMINUM 5
SILVER 1
SILICON 10
BORON 100
SODIUM 3
MAG. 120
CALCIUM 2976
PHOSPHORUS 1224
ZINC 1465
MOLY 79
FUEL UNDER 1%
VIS. 14.98
WATER LESS THAN .05%
TBN 8.84
OXID 10
NITR 11.0
F-SOOT 1.62

ANYTHING NOT LISTED WAS AT 0

OIL WAS INSTALLED 12-4-08. THIS TRUCK WAS STARTED ALL WINTER WITHOUT ANY USE OF COOLANT HEATER EVEN DOWN TO -2*F. IT HAS HAD ROUGHLY 25% HARD TOWING ON THIS RUN ALONG WITH EXTENDED IDLE TIME.

http://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1410359#Post1410359

100 ppm Boron maybe it's time to abandon M-1 TDT

If you open the link in my first post to the VOA analysis that was done, it shows a higher level of Boron (123) to start out with. The UOA above is after 10, 671 miles.

Racer007 said:

If you open the link in my first post to the VOA analysis that was done, it shows a higher level of Boron (123) to start out with. The UOA above is after 10, 671 miles.

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Educate me guys! Read little bits and pieces about boron, but not enough to be as knowledgeable as I'd like to be. Seems like Boron is being added into some new oils, but not all. Pro's, con's?

my cars been running with John Deere oil for over 2years and its fine

PoloPower said:

my cars been running with John Deere oil for over 2years and its fine

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What year TDI, which engine, and which John Deere oil?

Is it boron or boron nitride? What does boron on its own do?

Bob_Fout said:

What year TDI, which engine, and which John Deere oil?

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2000/2001 ALH engine
i dont know if its the same it just says John Deere mixed fleet engine oil

we get it in 45gallon drums for the tractors so i use it aswell

Obviously, John Deere does not manufacture its own branded synthetic oil. There are at least several major companies that produce a diesel-rated 0w40, so it should not be hard to figure out which one is the supplier to JD.

The question is not whether this oil is good or bad, it's probably an excellent oil. No, the question is what is a good price to pay for it. $4/quart is a great price, $10/quart is terrible, both prices have been mentioned in this thread.

Since there are many excellent 0w40 and 5w40 oils available for around $7/quart or even less, there is no reason to bother tracking down this John Deere branded oil unless it is $7 or less.

TornadoRed said:

Obviously, John Deere does not manufacture its own branded synthetic oil. There are at least several major companies that produce a diesel-rated 0w40, so it should not be hard to figure out which one is the supplier to JD...........

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Deere does not manufacture oil, correct, but they have oil built to their specifications by a handfull of major oil suppliers. Just because it's made by Shell this year (and it changes from time to time), does not mean that if you go out and get a Shell diesel oil of the same viscosity that you're getting the same thing. I'm willing to bet that there's a contract saying that their forumulation can only be sold to Deere & Co and cannot be sold to anyone else.

Dimitri16V said:

100 ppm Boron ....

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UOA @ 10K Boron 110

Dimitri16V said:

...maybe it's time to abandon M-1 TDT

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I did that already. 1st one in the TDI Club to use M1 ESP FM 5W-40 with high Boron content.

SD26 said:

Educate me guys! Read little bits and pieces about boron, but not enough to be as knowledgeable as I'd like to be. Seems like Boron is being added into some new oils, but not all. Pro's, con's?

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In low SAPS oils, the new good boy Boron replaces ZDDP. ZDDP is bad boy additive that will clog up the e-gear, CAT, EGR, DOC, DPF, HO2S etc.
Boron gives much better protection than ZDDP, and LTPE to boot. It's a win-win.

Btw, JD 0W40 oil is not a low SAPS oil but a high SAPS oil. Low SAPS oil SAC < 0.8. High SAPS oil SAC > 0.8

Racer007 said:

If you open the link in my first post to the VOA analysis that was done, it shows a higher level of Boron (123) to start out with. ...

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I don't know what the Boron content VOA of the M1 ESP FM 5W-40, but will do a VOA ITNF.

TDIPOWER, for those with VEs and PDs, clogging is not an issue.

Mobil 1 0w40, for example, has 1.2% ash, and over 1000 ppm Zinc and Phosphorus. Do you really think this oil is going to cause all the harm as you say?

As I mentioned in post #31 above the SAPS API SM version of this oil, Plus-50 II for vehicles and equipment equipped with a DPF is not due out till Spring 2010. I would think that this current version with Zinc, Phosphorus, and Boron as well would make it a great oil for anything else. The UOA I found in post #33 shows real potential for extended OCIs too.

Bob_Fout said:

TDIPOWER, for those with VEs and PDs, clogging is not an issue.

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Fair enough.

Bob_Fout said:

Mobil 1 0w40, for example, has 1.2% ash, and over 1000 ppm Zinc and Phosphorus. Do you really think this oil is going to cause all the harm as you say?

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Well, I have compared my UOA SAC results w/ a fellow TDIer who used the M1 TDT, '04 PD_BHW vs '05 PD_BHW .2 vs .49.
I would take lower SAC anyday.

The only proof that I have so far is the UOA results. Unfortunately, I don't have an exhaust gas emmission analyzer to make a comparison between two identical cars/engine with two different oils. It would be very hard to do such a comparison/study.

Racer 007 said:

As I mentioned in post #31 above the SAPS API SM version of this oil, Plus-50 II for vehicles and equipment equipped with a DPF is not due out till Spring 2010.....

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I have my doubt it will have SAC < 1.00. Right now M1 Delvac ESP 5W-40 has SAC 1.00. That oil will be ok for LT Diesel engine, equipped with DOC or DPF, but not for Diesel passenger car i.e. BMW, MB=Bluetec, and VW-Clean Diesel/BlueMotion

I found this guide while searching for Deere dealers near me. Looks like a good basic explanation of Oil Ratings,Tests, Specs, and Benefits for Oil and Gear Lubes in general not just Deere products. Thought I would pass along here for anyone interested.

https://jdparts.deere.com/partsmkt/document/english/featbene/DKD1801OilGuide.pdf

Thanks Racer, that has some good info.

I can't add anything technical, but can tell you this....TORQ-GARD has for at least 35 years been the trade name for John Deere engine oils, just like Hy-Guard is their hydraulic/trans oils. I grew up on a farm where we had only JD tractors. Probably 18 years ago we changed over to what was then called torq-gard plus 50. It was a synthetic blend. at the time we had a 3 cyl turbo and two 6 cyl naturally aspirated tractors. When we changed over to plus-50 (called that because it increased the change interval by 50%) we were worried...the engines started to USE oil...like a quart in 100 hours! They did this for about 2 oil changes, and then never used a drop after that. We were well pleased. The highest hours we had on any of the tractors at the time of the change was about 5,000 on one of the 6 cylinders. The last I was aware, the machine had over 12,000 hours and still ran great even after having it's pump 'turned up' to push the power up by about 25%. I even used this oil in my v-8 chevy at the time since we got it in 50 gal. drums. I agree...Deere has the oil made for them to their specs and you won't find anything out there exactly like it. I would be interested in running it in my PD, but don't understand the technical stuff well enough to do it without some 'experts' offering up some good reasons as to why it would be suitable.

I am not an expert, but I can say from numerous people using API CI-4+ and CJ-4 oils in PDs (those using Delvac 1, Turbo Diesel Truck, Delvac 1 ESP, Rotella T and others), it's certainly not going to harm your engine, and might actually be better overall.

any oil 'experts' able to weigh in on this? How does it stack up against some of the favorite oils for PD's?

Anybody running this and have UOA's available?

I used to work for John Deere, got a pretty good price so i'm gonna try it out on my next oil change. 2,000 miles left on my 5W-40 Pentosin.





I paid $5.40 a quart soo 21.60 for 4 quarts.

This will be my first oil change on my TDI, and I just now realized the metric conversion so i'm gonna go pick up another quart tomorrow to top off with.............

That's the same CH-4 stuff my local Deere has 10 or 11 quarts of.

I had to pay $7.05 a quart for the same oil here in Asheville, NC and it was bottled in August, 2006 almost 4 years old. You got a great price for that oil. The back label says the pour point is -66 F.

do you guys think it's suitable for a PD (out of warranty, of course)

Well, anybody...have an opinion on using this in a PD?

04SlvrJetta said:

Well, anybody...have an opinion on using this in a PD?

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Plenty have used CI-4+ synthetics in PDs, but not CH-4 synthetics. It should be better since it has more ZDDP, but no one really knows. You could do UOA at 5K and 10K with it...

The fact that it's only rated CH-4 is worrisome.

I had five 5-gallon pails of Mobil Delvac 1 5w40 rated CH-4 -- enough for 20 oil changes in my ALH engine -- and I decided not to use it. I sold it instead and have been using CI-4+ and CJ-4 rated versions of M1 TDT instead.

There are many good oils available for PD engines -- some VW-rated and some API-rated. But I do not think this obsolete JD oil is one of the best choices.

The newer JD 0w40 is CI-4+, if your local Deere has the newer stuff.