Coobie - Some of us do not have local dealers to buy anything from. Are you suggesting that Kioti will not honor the warranty if you use a fluid that meets or exceeds the specifications they tell you to use. It says right on the top of the lubricants table in my manual "To prevent serious equipment damage, use only genuine KIOTI fluids, oils and greases, or equivalents." I am sure Kioti does not make oils, oil additive packages, or even filters. I am sure they purchase oils and filters and have a Kioti stamp imprinted on it. How many of you buy all of your car parts (filters, tires, belts, hoses, wiper blades, filters)and oil from your car dealer?
Capt Bob - 90W gear oil is not the same viscosity as say 90W motor oil (if there is such a thing). 90W gear oil is about the same viscosity as 10w-40 motor oil. I plan on using transmission oil in my front differential when I do the 50 hour service on my 2008 CK30H fairly soon. The is one of the lubricants specified in the manual and I am going to have 2+ gallons left over after I change the transmission oil.
I have done a lot of research on oils in preparation for this service and bought 2 five gallon pails of Shell Rotella Heavy Duty Universal Tractor Fluid (UTF) at my local WalMart for $54.97 each. I sent Shell the lubricants list from the manual and they said for our application the HD UTF would exceed the requirements.
Here are some prices that I have found locally for different transmission/hydraulic fluids for 5 gallon:
Napa UTF - $43.40
Napa Premium UTF - $65.00
Chevron 1000 THF from Napa - ~$70
Multi-Trac from Advance Auto Parts - $48.39
Coastal Multitrac (from Auto Zone I think) - $44.99
WalMart UTF - $48.00
Sams UTF - $40.68
John Deere Hy-Gard - $64.48
Traveller UTF from Tractor Supply Company - $39.99
I think as long as you buy a UTF that is designed for use in wet brake applications you will be ok and if the fluid is designed to meet JD JD20 Hy-Gard or IH Case Hytran it should work just fine. These are very common fluid standards and most fluid containers you read will reference both of these fluids.
As often as I think I will have to change my fluids, I am more concerned about quality than price. I am comfortable with a brand name like Shell, although many of these oils probably come from the same place and are just packaged differently. I think I will probably change my transmission fluid at 250 hours rather than wait for 450 hours (2nd service). At that change I think I will probably use JD Hy-Gard because I think it is a very high quality fluid, readily available (for me), and not much more expensive. I think the differential cost of fluid between really cheap and high quality fluid is pretty insignificant unless you really rack up the hours on your machine.
At $8 per gallon (the cheapest stuff I found) it will cost you about $60 to change the transmission fluid.
At $11 per gallon for the Shell HD UTF I bought it will cost you about $82.50 to change the transmission fluid.
At $14 per gallon (the most expensive stuff I found) it will cost you about $105 to change the transmission fluid.
The cost difference between the cheapest and most expensive would cost $45 more. I am not saying just because it costs more it is better, but it gives me piece of mind to go with a name "I" can trust.
I do not believe that a synthetic transmission fluid is worth the extra cost for me. I live down south where it stays nice and warm.
Jeff LeTempt
CK30H - 30 hours
Enterprise, AL
