Mobile DTE 26 what for?

Hey all, I searched but cant nail this down. I have a gallon of Mobil DTE 26 oil, not sure where that's used on my heavy 10...

That is the equivalent of the "C" oil....it can also serve as way oil...it is ISO 68- AKA "heavy medium"( what a stupid name!)

A Type Oil:
Mobil Velocite #10 Spindle Oil is a light oil (viscosity of 20) that is used in the headstock, to lubricate the spindle bearings, in the apron reservoir and in the electric motor (later lathes with ball bearing motors use grease).
B Type Oil:
Mobil DTE 24 is a stabilized hydraulic fluid (viscosity of 32) that is used in the gearbox and countershaft assemblies on the underdrive, and overhead drive systems. Early back gear oil ports (marked “OIL”) will take this oil,( later ones take grease).
Type C Oil:
Mobil DTE 26 is a stabilized hydraulic fluid (viscosity of 68) that is used on the external screws and gears, tail stock ram, lead screw, and micrometer assemblies; basically most of the external rotating parts of your lathe.
Mobil Vactra #2 Way Oil:
South Bend


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Thank You!

And don't think about just using that 26 on everything or the South Bend Maintenance Police will be knocking on your door in short order.

^ain't that the truth!!
I took all kinds of flack for using ONLY DTE24 and DTE26...even though those two oils satisfies all the original specs for cast bearing machines.

dkmc said:

And don't think about just using that 26 on everything or the South Bend Maintenance Police will be knocking on your door in short order.

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they still have those? i thought the private equity vultures got rid of them when they took over and started making the machines out of toxic chinese plastic...

jcollings said:

B Type Oil:
Mobil DTE 24 is a stabilized hydraulic fluid (viscosity of 32) that is used in the gearbox and countershaft assemblies on the underdrive, and overhead drive systems. Early back gear oil ports (marked “OIL”) will take this oil,( later ones take grease).

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Where did this come from? Define "early". My 10L calls for Type C oil for the back gear and the spindle cone oil ports. On the 10L, the only place Type B oil is used is for the QCGB.

Mobil's randition for lathe oils different from South bend say bolt recommendations. there's some crossover there in terms at AB &C I'm sure you're aware that.
When you question mobil"s Tech Support based on say bolt readings that's where those figures come around as we all know 10W for spindle oil non detergent 20W non detergent and 30W non detergent are acceptable.
beside way oils.

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(Above pic)
What the heck is a "Saybolt second" on a oil?
Why would it matter so much if thick or thin if the oil is full and on everything?

10W-30 motor oil, gear lube, detergent or not, machine tool oil, hydraulic and way stuff, will your lathe know or care?

I'm gonna run my SB on WD-40 oil ............ hopefully I poke the subject on both the overkill and don't go that way sides.
What can you get away with and works fine, what is not a good idea and why.
Can or should you take the "recommenced" as right or needed for you? Is there any sense in chasing the manual's grades that were written long ago?

They call this stuff tribology and unfortunately we lost an expert on this from our world here just a bit back. (God bless and cradle JR with the best of care... missed)
Brushing the tears aside, ....anywhoo it's just oil, how much difference can one or the other make? Any lube is better than none.
Can you run Speedway gas station 10W-30 in machine ways? How about gear boxes?
I know the "book" answers but real world?
Bob

No it's only a machine

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I would think that light weight spindle oil is probably the most important on these old machines based on the wick technology....... old tech

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Can you run Speedway gas station 10W-30 in machine ways? How about gear boxes?

I know the "book" answers but real world?


You could run the machines on water for a short time but I'm sure of the effect.

As a shop owner with 1 or more cnc machines it would have costly repairs.

My one machine is 75 years old still going strong.

Don't know of too many new machines that would last this long.

Thank you,

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FYI - Mobile DTE 24 has the same characteristics as DTE Light but has more wear additives. My lube guy recommended against using DTE 24 in my surface grinder hydraulics because we could not guarantee how the additional additives would affect the hydraulic system so I stayed with DTE light. On a lathe its probably fine to use either one. Mobil crossed the original SB Type B Mobil Gargoyle Vactra Oil Light for my 16 inch to DTE Light.

DTE light is still available but only in 5 gallon containers. I use 11 gallons in my surface grinder so its no problem for me to buy it in 5 gallon pails.

DTE light is an ISO 32 correct.
I've use there ISO 68 and 100 Heavy on some applications nice products.

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CarbideBob said:

(Above pic)
What the heck is a "Saybolt second" on a oil?
Why would it matter so much if thick or thin if the oil is full and on everything?

10W-30 motor oil, gear lube, detergent or not, machine tool oil, hydraulic and way stuff, will your lathe know or care?

I'm gonna run my SB on WD-40 oil ............ hopefully I poke the subject on both the overkill and don't go that way sides.
What can you get away with and works fine, what is not a good idea and why.
Can or should you take the "recommenced" as right or needed for you? Is there any sense in chasing the manual's grades that were written long ago?

They call this stuff tribology and unfortunately we lost an expert on this from our world here just a bit back. (God bless and cradle JR with the best of care... missed)
Brushing the tears aside, ....anywhoo it's just oil, how much difference can one or the other make? Any lube is better than none.
Can you run Speedway gas station 10W-30 in machine ways? How about gear boxes?
I know the "book" answers but real world?
Bob

Click to expand...

IMO grades, types, and thickness's of oil are very important. Now if you use El-cheapo brand or Hi-$$$ brand is all up to what helps you sleep at night.

All lubricants can be seen as molecular bearings in between moving parts that reduce friction and in some cases provide a medium to carry contaminants out.

Non-detergent is important as the "detergents" in most oils essentially encase trash and then hold it until it is filtered out. 90% of manual machine tool applications do not have a filter and so over time the encased dirt just builds up and leaves sludge inside the machine. Non-detergent oils don't hold onto the dirt but effectively rinse it out.

The viscosity's are important as thicker oils climb moving mechanisms better, but hold debris more. Thinner oils flush debris out, but don't climb. So where the balance lies depends on the mechanism and where the OEM engineers thought it should be.

Way oils tend to adhere to surfaces better while being more slippery between flat surfaces than regular oil. Spindle oils stand up to higher RPM's. Some oils have additives to keep certain composite materials from breaking down, while those same additives can actually erode other materials.

It's the same concept as why can't you use HSS tooling for everything? Or carbide? Why not run all your cutters as 10,000 RPM? Not all mechanical application are the same, so not all lubricants are the same.

[emoji106]Amen to all of that

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