How to Change Your Tractor’s Oil

Tractors are some of the most important pieces of equipment you can have on a farm, and they can be used for almost any task big or small. However, because they’re used so regularly, tractors have the tendency to go through engine oil at a very fast pace. If you’re interested in saving yourself a bit of time and money by skipping the service appointment and completing the job yourself, you’ve come to the right place! Read through our article below for a list of required tools, helpful tips, and easy instructions on how to change your tractor’s oil. 

Required Tools

While changing the oil in your tractor shouldn’t take you very long, you’ll need a few important tools on hand to help the job go smoothly. For starters, you’ll need to have a set of gloves, two oil pans, a socket wrench, and a few rubber gaskets or crush washers to replace your old ones. You’ll also need to purchase some fresh oil to refill your reservoir, as well as a replacement filter—which will either come as a canister or a spin-on model. Once you have everything you need, you’ll want to locate your drain plug and place one of your oil pans directly below it. Using your wrench, remove the drain plug and allow the old oil to begin pouring out into the pan. 

Replacing the Filter

As the oil drains, go ahead and grab your wrench to remove your tractor’s old filter. As you remove your filter be sure to pay very close attention to any gaskets you remove, and where they were originally located. When you replace the old gaskets with the new ones, you’ll need to lube them up with some fresh oil and reinsert them in the exact order you removed them. If your drain plug had any gaskets on it, you’ll also need to follow this same process and be sure the gaskets are placed in the correct order. Once your old filter is removed, you’re free to begin inserting the new one. If you have a spin-on filter it will need to be threaded into the engine with your hands and then tightened with your wrench. Like your gaskets, a canister filter will need to be installed back into the canister in the reverse order it was removed, before being placed back in the engine. 

Finishing Up

Now that your filter has been installed, and all of the old oil has drained away, it’s time to reinsert your drain plug and refill your tractor’s engine with fresh oil. As you do this, be sure to stop regularly to check that you aren’t overfilling your reservoir. Once you’ve hit the correct line on your dipstick, go ahead and replace the cap on your oil reservoir and start your tractor's engine. After running for a few seconds, you’ll want to once again check your dipstick to see if the oil levels have fallen significantly. If it has, it’s very likely your tractor is leaking oil and you’ll need to double-check your handiwork or visit a nearby service center. 

If you’ve double-checked your gaskets and tightened up your bolts, only to find your tractor is still leaking oil, you’ll want to visit our service center here in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. Here at Mike Cooper Tractors we proudly serve the nearby cities of Tulsa and Muskogee, Oklahoma, and employ only the best technicians on-site to ensure you and your farming equipment receive a quick, efficient, and high-quality repair.