I can tell you the TRUTH about John Deere oil, with no bias or "I heard that....." stories.


I used to work for John Deere Power Ystetems in Waterloo. I also got to know the former lead Engineer for Oils & Collants, who has since retired. Here's the etire turth to Jo hn Deere Oil......................... 


1.John Deere Does NOT have it's own refinery...neither does GM, Ford, Cummins, Toyota, CAT, etc John Deere has a specification that they have come up with for their oil that they market. This specification is like a "recipe" that indicated what "ingrediants" go into their oil, including anti-foam, anti-wear, etc additives. This is propritary to John Deere, so that no matter what company they hire to blend or package the oil. John Deere oils so have an additive package that is more robust than many other oils. They have found that many other oils are not formulated for heavy duty OFF ROAD applications, and are marketed for ON Road applications. Many oils on the market MEET API specifications, but do not EXCEED them.This does't mean that there aren't other good oils, but you have to look at the additives in the oil to determine if it's robust enough for off road use.

2.John Deere oil is NOT Valvoline, Northland, Shell, Exxon, etc. John Deere Oil is JOhn Deere Oil! John Deere has a few suppliers that they use for the Base Stocks they use. These suppliers are well known names in the oil industry. The base stocks vary little from each supplier, as they have to meet certain requirements. The Base Stocks are a certain viscocity of oil that comes frothe refinery, but this oil is basically "generic", in that it has no additives. The Base stock could just as well be blended to be Valvoline, Archer, Texaco, Rotella, Wal Mart, etc. What makes any oil unique is the additive package "recipe". That is what makes a certain oil better than another. John Deere Oil is not somebody elses "cheap" oil. It does not come out of the same tank as any other brand of oil. It is blended to John Deere specs, then bottled. The blenders that John Deere have strict controls in place to insure only oil blended to John Deere Specs go into John Deere bottles. & that John Deere oil cannot be put into any other brand's bottles.

3.Northland Oil of Waterloo, IA is one of a couple of blender's that John Deere uses to blend & package oil for them. I have been to their facility when I worked in Waterloo. That is why I know about the blending & bottling. Northland markets their own oil, which is blended to their specifications (remember "recipe"). Is it the same as John Deere's specifications? NO! Is it similar? NO! Norhland's specifications are totally their's and 100% separate from John Deere. They only blend & bottle whatever John Deere hires them to do.

4.I now work at a John Deere dealer. We have bulk oil. Our bulk oil is delivered in a semi tanker from Northland oil in Waterloo, IA. The oil is NOT Northland! Again, they blend the oil to John Deere Spec, using John Deere's "recipe". They then are hired to deliver it to dealer's.  

5.Factory fill for John Deere equipment is John Deere Break-In oil.....PERIOD! No other oil is used at any of the engine or vehicle factories! The factory fill oil may be slightly different in color, as they use an additive not put in their oils avalable to customer's. This additive is so that any oil leak can be found at the cfactories using a black light. It makes it much easier to find any leaks when the unit is being test ran or inspected. This additive serves no other function. The John Deere Break-In Oil available at dealers is otherwise EXACTLY the same formulation as the factory fill!

So there is the 100% truth is facts. Having worked for Deere, I am telling you the truth about John Deere Oil, Now before anyone accuses me of wearing green undies, I will tell you that I have done research on some other oils out there as well, & found others that are very good & robust oils as well. I will not say that just because someone doesn't use John Deere oil, it's junk. That is simply untrue. I personally have used John Deere oil, but have also used a couple of other brands I like as well. Is John Deere a good oil...YES! Are there other oils out there that perform as well....YES! One of the most important issues with oil, is doing regular maintenance, including keeping a clean air filter, doing oil sample analysis, & good oil change intervals.