Rod in Forfar
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2010
- Messages
- 572
- Location
- Forfar, Ontario, Canada
- Tractor
- 1960 Massey Ferguson 35 (Perkins), 1995 TAFE 35DI, 1980 Bolens G174, 2005 Kubota B7510, 2020 Kioti Mechron 2200ps UTV Troy-Bilt Horse 2 1988 Case IH 255 4WD with loader and cab
I just finished changing the hydraulic oil in the Kubota B7510. It's quite a job. I'm told HST machines live or die on the condition of their oil, so it needs doing every 300 hours. The previous owner told me he had done it just before I bought the tractor at 210 hours, but he apparently went by the manual and only changed the filter mentioned there. That filter handles the lifting hydraulics. The other one the manual seems to have forgotten handles the HST drive -- the one which gets all of the use on my machine -- and it still had a factory black filter at 370 hours.
To judge from a lack of particulates in the oil and no evidence of metal filings anywhere, everything turned out to be in top condition, but to determine that I had to drain 11 litres of oil from the transmission case (from 6 different orfices: 6 potential leaks) and then pour new oil back in until it was full. The parts guy said its capacity is 13.4 litres, so he sold me 15. The manual said 13.4 litres for a B7510DT, but this one needs 15.3. It took 11.
The tough part was the strainer everyone warned me about. 26 mm nut, factory-tightened very tight. I almost rounded the nut with a 27 mm socket when I removed it. Out the 4" screen filter came, attached to the nut. I washed it, but it wasn't dirty. I couldn't find any metal fragments in the strainer, but the learning curve was a bit steep when I set out to replace the strainer. Eventually it went in easily if I lay directly beneath the assembly on the bottom of the transmission. This was not a bolt I could put in by feel alone.
I plan to check this strainer regularly from now on -- about every 1000 hours <grin>.
The new, higher-quality oil from the Kubota dealer seemed to make the tractor quieter, and likely smoother. I'll know better after a few hours of mowing.
In retrospect, changing the HST oil was a messy job made tedious by the risk of a leak, but things went together quite well once I'd figured out how to do it.
Next up is the front axle lube change.
To judge from a lack of particulates in the oil and no evidence of metal filings anywhere, everything turned out to be in top condition, but to determine that I had to drain 11 litres of oil from the transmission case (from 6 different orfices: 6 potential leaks) and then pour new oil back in until it was full. The parts guy said its capacity is 13.4 litres, so he sold me 15. The manual said 13.4 litres for a B7510DT, but this one needs 15.3. It took 11.
The tough part was the strainer everyone warned me about. 26 mm nut, factory-tightened very tight. I almost rounded the nut with a 27 mm socket when I removed it. Out the 4" screen filter came, attached to the nut. I washed it, but it wasn't dirty. I couldn't find any metal fragments in the strainer, but the learning curve was a bit steep when I set out to replace the strainer. Eventually it went in easily if I lay directly beneath the assembly on the bottom of the transmission. This was not a bolt I could put in by feel alone.
I plan to check this strainer regularly from now on -- about every 1000 hours <grin>.
The new, higher-quality oil from the Kubota dealer seemed to make the tractor quieter, and likely smoother. I'll know better after a few hours of mowing.
In retrospect, changing the HST oil was a messy job made tedious by the risk of a leak, but things went together quite well once I'd figured out how to do it.
Next up is the front axle lube change.
