Oil & Fuel bobcats spendy hyd fluid

[RETAF]

Hi Retaf. According to some of the posts on this forum, some owners have the newly designed oil cooler. I imagine that if leaks occur within the warrantee time frame, there should not be an issue. However, I'm surprised that Bobcat hasn't issued a recall on this.

I'm using the Super tech Heavy duty universal fluid sold at Wal Mart... I paid about 90 bucks for two five gallon containers with easy pour spouts. I poured the fluid into a 1 gallon juice container and then into the tractor using a funnel.

I also had a battery acid leak. I replaced the battery with a sealed Sears Die Hard. If your hoses are leaking you may want to try using reusable hose fittings from this site DiscountHydraulicHose.com

Thanks Gumshu...I'll check out those hydraulic fittings. I'm also going to see about a replacement battery....unfortunately the oil cooler is out of warranty...oh well, just replace it and move on. I do think I'll talk with Bobcat and see if they will do something....sounds like a common problem on these tractors..09 and older!!

 

[SABULA FARMER]

Here is my .02 worth... I changed all my fluids, I paid the higher cost for the Bobcat brand. Reason being, if I need warranty work, I dont want them to question the fluids I used. After the warranty period is up, well thats when I would consider a different brand. I am sure there is not any difference in the oils, but its the fine print on the warranty card that would be the issue.

 

[SSdoxie]

Here is my .02 worth... I changed all my fluids, I paid the higher cost for the Bobcat brand. Reason being, if I need warranty work, I dont want them to question the fluids I used. After the warranty period is up, well thats when I would consider a different brand. I am sure there is not any difference in the oils, but its the fine print on the warranty card that would be the issue.

+1, I too used the fluid and filters from Bobcat, have no idea if their fluid is better than others. I do know that for every repair somebody gets charged for it, so if I do have a failure the tractor, fluid in it, and filters carry the same name so Bobcat would approve the repair and I get my tractor back working and then they can try to decide if it was component, fluid, or filter that caused it. If the fluid or filter carries another name, then the manufacturer (Bobcat, Kubota, John Deere, whatever) will take time to find the cause of failure or rule out fluid and filters before approving repair.
Fedral law prohibits any company from denying warranty if maintenance items are not purchased from them, but on same note they are not obligated to pay for a repair caused by something that they did not make or sell.

 

[gumshu]

Here is my .02 worth... I changed all my fluids, I paid the higher cost for the Bobcat brand. Reason being, if I need warranty work, I dont want them to question the fluids I used. After the warranty period is up, well thats when I would consider a different brand. I am sure there is not any difference in the oils, but its the fine print on the warranty card that would be the issue.

If your tractor is under warranty then most definitely go with their fluid. That's the wise thing to do. I'd do the same. For me... my warranty is up. I still buy their filters, but I'll use another brand for fluid. Mobil fluid 424 and Shell Donax are other popular alternatives, but pricy. If there was a problem associated with a particular brand of fluid, that company would be liable for damages. I doubt if major stores like TSC and Wally Mart would not stand behind their product. So far so good and coming up on another change soon.

 

[SABULA FARMER]

If your tractor is under warranty then most definitely go with their fluid. That's the wise thing to do. I'd do the same. For me... my warranty is up. I still buy their filters, but I'll use another brand for fluid. Mobil fluid 424 and Shell Donax are other popular alternatives, but pricy. If there was a problem associated with a particular brand of fluid, that company would be liable for damages. I doubt if major stores like TSC and Wally Mart would not stand behind their product. So far so good and coming up on another change soon.

I agree 100%. On my next change of fluids, I will be looking at alternative brands of fluids...I honestly believe its all the same stuff, just in different colored bottles

 

[IndyIan]

If your tractor is under warranty then most definitely go with their fluid. That's the wise thing to do. I'd do the same. For me... my warranty is up. I still buy their filters, but I'll use another brand for fluid. Mobil fluid 424 and Shell Donax are other popular alternatives, but pricy. If there was a problem associated with a particular brand of fluid, that company would be liable for damages. I doubt if major stores like TSC and Wally Mart would not stand behind their product. So far so good and coming up on another change soon.

My take on hyd. oil is that Kubota or JD or any of the tractor brands specs listed on the buckets don't actually test the oil, you are simply trusting that the hyd. oil manufacturer makes sure their product meets those specs. If Shell or Chevron or Mobil could meet the specs and sell the oil for the prices that that the "no-name" ones go for, wouldn't they under-cut their major competitors, to gain market share?
It would be nice to see some official testing by the API like they do for motor oils, but in the absence of that, I'm going to stick with name brands.

 

[qed-cat225]

according to daedong, the real manuf of this tractor, here is what they call out, this comes out of the Kioti service manual


how many of you actually do this service work yourself, is it pretty easy to do?

 

[gumshu]

according to daedong, the real manuf of this tractor, here is what they call out, this comes out of the Kioti service manual
View attachment 280196

how many of you actually do this service work yourself, is it pretty easy to do?

I didn't have a problem with it and thought it was simple.

 

[gumshu]

Good THFs should state brand-name equivalences in their specs.
I look for the JD J20 and the Kubota UDT equivalences stated. I was
buying Chevron 1000 THF for a long time, but now have converted to
the UnoCal 76 THF. Some Kubota dealers have decent prices on
UDT in 5-gal bkts, too. All were never over $10/gal and look/smell the same.
Nowadays, I have been able to have my empty 5-gal bkts refilled for
about $8/gal.

There are some THFs I have seen at Walmart and TSC that state no
such equivalences on the labels. Steer away from those and the
straight hyd fluids.

Note that Bobcat/Kioti has some generic clear hyd fluid in their tractors
when imported from Korea. Go to a THF soon in the first service (not
more than 50 hrs.).

DFKRUG... The Wal-Mart brand does provide specs and claims to be a UDT equivalent. That's what I used for my last replacement and still have the bkts in my garage. I checked the specs before buying. I believe TSC's specs to be the same as I've seen other posts of people claiming to use it for their Kubotas. I was actually looking for Shell Donax or Mobilfluid 424, but those are hard to find around here.

 

[dfkrug]

DFKRUG... The Wal-Mart brand does provide specs and claims to be a
UDT equivalent.

Yes, I have heard they are carrying deluxe THF now, but I have not seen it. I would have
no problem using that, or the good stuff at TractorSupply. Both places have sold fluids in the
past that do not list branded equivalences on the label.

To add to the Acceptable list, I have recently bought 5-gal bkts of ServicePro THF, which is
listed as J20 and UDT equivalents. I got mine at a oil wholesaler, but I see that the local
NAPA carries it, too. Looks/smells exactly like the other THFs I have bought.