LeTempt
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 54
- Location
- Alabama
- Tractor
- John Deere 5065E Cab and John Deere 316GR skid steer
I am putting a few hours on the new CK30HST and starting to gather information and supplies for my 50 hour service (will probably not be doing the service for another 2 months at my current usage rate). The owner's manual says to use "transmission oil or SAE 90 gear oil" in the front axle case. I have been having fun going to all the local auto parts stores and reading the lables on all the different oils. I also searched the archives and saw a thread posted to the TBN on 10/3/08 reference this topic.
I also found an interesting article about gear oil at:
Gear Oil FAQ's - MX6.com
I thought the SAE 90 was going to be a thick oil, but according to the web site listed above it is about the same viscosity as 10W-40 motor oil. It would seem like you could buy a fully synthetic engine oil and save some money. My local Walmart has a 5 quart jug of Valvoline SYNpower for $19.00.
When the manual says "transmission oil" are they talking about the normal oil used to service the transmission case? Prices for universal tractor fuild (UTF) are from about $45-60 per 5 gallon bucket, so even at about $10 a gallon either alternative will be cheaper than buying 6 quarts of synthetic gear oil. And if buy two 10 gallon buckets of UTF I will have about 2 gallons left over after I service the transmission case.
Traditional (non-synthetic) gear oil is ~$3.00 per quart (vs. $3.80 for fully synthetic SYNpower or ~$2.50 per quart for UTF). I did not write down any prices for synthetic gear oil, but as I recall the prices were about $6-7 per quart (about the same cost as fully synthetic motor oil). Not sure I really need synthetic oil in the front axle case and I am not concerned about saving a dollar or 2 on the service, but if I can improve the performance and/or life of a component and save money while doing so...well sign me up.
My next post will be about API certification CJ-4 oil and service intervals if you are using anything except ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD). When reading through the oils forum on TBN, it seems like some people would fight you about oil faster than if you talked bad about their momma
Thanks,
Jeff
CK30HST
Enterprise, AL
I also found an interesting article about gear oil at:
Gear Oil FAQ's - MX6.com
I thought the SAE 90 was going to be a thick oil, but according to the web site listed above it is about the same viscosity as 10W-40 motor oil. It would seem like you could buy a fully synthetic engine oil and save some money. My local Walmart has a 5 quart jug of Valvoline SYNpower for $19.00.
When the manual says "transmission oil" are they talking about the normal oil used to service the transmission case? Prices for universal tractor fuild (UTF) are from about $45-60 per 5 gallon bucket, so even at about $10 a gallon either alternative will be cheaper than buying 6 quarts of synthetic gear oil. And if buy two 10 gallon buckets of UTF I will have about 2 gallons left over after I service the transmission case.
Traditional (non-synthetic) gear oil is ~$3.00 per quart (vs. $3.80 for fully synthetic SYNpower or ~$2.50 per quart for UTF). I did not write down any prices for synthetic gear oil, but as I recall the prices were about $6-7 per quart (about the same cost as fully synthetic motor oil). Not sure I really need synthetic oil in the front axle case and I am not concerned about saving a dollar or 2 on the service, but if I can improve the performance and/or life of a component and save money while doing so...well sign me up.
My next post will be about API certification CJ-4 oil and service intervals if you are using anything except ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD). When reading through the oils forum on TBN, it seems like some people would fight you about oil faster than if you talked bad about their momma
Thanks,
Jeff
CK30HST
Enterprise, AL