I'm getting ready to do my 50 hour service on a BX2360 and after reading Haywire's recent thread and also John Thomas's old thread, I have a few questions. I apologize in advance if it seems like I'm hijacking Haywire's topic, but by starting a new thread I'm just hoping to get as broad a response as possible.
Questions:
I read in John Thomas's post that some owners are opting for synthetic 75-90 gear oil for the front axle. I live in western NY (lots of snow), and the BX will be my only option for snow removal this year - would 75-90 be a good fit for those conditions? I've actually got some of this on the shelf left over from our racecar, so it sounds like a good option to me. That said, if the current fluid is standard (non synthetic) SUDT, should the axle be flushed at all when putting in synthetic, after it's drained? I'm assuming no since only a small residual amount of SUDT would remain after draining.
I'll probably go ahead and drain / replace all the transmission / hydro fluid. One thing I noticed in the manual, is they don't ask you to "prime" the new filters with oil before putting them on. I used to work in an automotive service station and it was always standard practice to fill the new filter with oil first. I would never do it otherwise with an engine oil change, but can anyone think of a reason not to do it on the tranny filter (short of making the job a little more messy)? I can't imagine it would hurt but neither does it hurt to ask. Also: do most Kubota dealers recycle the HST fluid free of charge?
How much SUDT does the tranny take? The manual says 3.1 gallons (real nice the way they get you to buy an extra gallon) but then again, see my question on engine oil below. Am I correct that there is only 1 filter for the SUDT that services transmission, hydrolics, and power steering? And there's only 1 drain plug for the tranny? I think I saw a tutorial on Messicks web site that showed two plugs, front and rear, but that might have been a B series.
Out of curiousity, I bought my BX in May 2011 - does anyone know if the new synthetic SUDT is now factory standard? If I remember right, the synthetic SUDT "2" is comparable in price, but I wonder if they're using it on tractors right off the line. Thoughts on the synthetic vs regular SUDT?
Engine oil: I'm using 10-30 Rotella. That was one recommendation my dealer made that I plan to follow (his other recommendations included skipping the tranny filter change and screen cleaning at 50 hours, plus he never mentioned the front axle or mower gear box). I'll be playing in the snow quite a bit and it's a little lighter than the 15-40. But the dealer said it takes 3.3 quarts (as does the manual), and I remember someone on these threads said theirs took more than that. Can anyone say definitively how much engine oil the BX2360 takes?
Any thoughts on synthetic vs. regular engine oil for diesels?
I think that's it for now - thanks for your response.
Questions:
I read in John Thomas's post that some owners are opting for synthetic 75-90 gear oil for the front axle. I live in western NY (lots of snow), and the BX will be my only option for snow removal this year - would 75-90 be a good fit for those conditions? I've actually got some of this on the shelf left over from our racecar, so it sounds like a good option to me. That said, if the current fluid is standard (non synthetic) SUDT, should the axle be flushed at all when putting in synthetic, after it's drained? I'm assuming no since only a small residual amount of SUDT would remain after draining.
I'll probably go ahead and drain / replace all the transmission / hydro fluid. One thing I noticed in the manual, is they don't ask you to "prime" the new filters with oil before putting them on. I used to work in an automotive service station and it was always standard practice to fill the new filter with oil first. I would never do it otherwise with an engine oil change, but can anyone think of a reason not to do it on the tranny filter (short of making the job a little more messy)? I can't imagine it would hurt but neither does it hurt to ask. Also: do most Kubota dealers recycle the HST fluid free of charge?
How much SUDT does the tranny take? The manual says 3.1 gallons (real nice the way they get you to buy an extra gallon) but then again, see my question on engine oil below. Am I correct that there is only 1 filter for the SUDT that services transmission, hydrolics, and power steering? And there's only 1 drain plug for the tranny? I think I saw a tutorial on Messicks web site that showed two plugs, front and rear, but that might have been a B series.
Out of curiousity, I bought my BX in May 2011 - does anyone know if the new synthetic SUDT is now factory standard? If I remember right, the synthetic SUDT "2" is comparable in price, but I wonder if they're using it on tractors right off the line. Thoughts on the synthetic vs regular SUDT?
Engine oil: I'm using 10-30 Rotella. That was one recommendation my dealer made that I plan to follow (his other recommendations included skipping the tranny filter change and screen cleaning at 50 hours, plus he never mentioned the front axle or mower gear box). I'll be playing in the snow quite a bit and it's a little lighter than the 15-40. But the dealer said it takes 3.3 quarts (as does the manual), and I remember someone on these threads said theirs took more than that. Can anyone say definitively how much engine oil the BX2360 takes?
Any thoughts on synthetic vs. regular engine oil for diesels?
I think that's it for now - thanks for your response.