Gino A. Platania

Caterpillar’s TDTO TO-4 specification defines the exact lubrication behavior required to keep heavy-duty transmissions, final drives, and hydraulic systems operating within design tolerances. Selecting a proper TO-4 equivalent is a technical decision rooted in friction balance, film strength, and thermal stability—three variables that decide whether a machine shifts smoothly or grinds itself toward failure. Seal […]

There’s a reason so many flat-tappet engines never make it to the mileage they should. It’s not bad parts or bad luck — it’s bad oil choices. The stuff lining most shelves today was built for emission-era engines with roller cams and catalytic converters, not for cam lobes that live and die by splash lubrication

Diesel performance isn’t about marketing claims or flashy additives — it’s about ignition, pressure, and the chemistry behind how fuel actually burns. Every diesel engine depends on one number to tell that story: cetane. It determines how quickly the fuel ignites after injection and how efficiently that ignition turns into power. You’ve probably heard the

You wanted an answer, so here it is. Gasoline doesn’t “mysteriously go bad” — it fails for four predictable reasons: oxidation, gum formation, ethanol-water separation, and corrosion. A stabilizer worth the bottle will fight those battles with antioxidant chemistry, water dispersants, and corrosion inhibitors. Everything else you’ll read online? Just noise dressed up as advice.

Grease is not all the same. Viscosity index, base oil chemistry, thickener type, and additive load all decide whether a Kubota’s joints run smoothly or grind themselves into failure. Treating grease as generic maintenance overlooks the most critical protection a tractor has. This post examines the technical side of lubrication—channeling in oscillating bushings, moly content