"Don't change Hydro oil at 50 hrs" says Dealer

[HarleyBob]

"Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs" says Dealer

I have a L3010 HST that is at 50 hours and I went in to the dealer to
get everything I need for the first 50 hour service and the mechanics and
parts desk told me not to change the Hydro fluid at the first 50 hours unless
I suspected it was contaminated. They said that if I brought it to them they
would just change ALL Hydro filters and engine oil and filter but not Hydro oil.
I trust this dealer and I would think that they would want to sell me 12 gallons of
oil if I wanted it. They feel it is a waste of oil and money. They showed me their in house checklist
of 50 hour, 300 hour etc service and they do not list hydro oil for first 50 hours. They say
change it at 300. They assured me that it would not affect my warranty. It would be nice to save the
money and disposal hassle and not waste 12 gallons of oil.

 

[r0GuE]

Re: \"Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs\" says Dealer

They may be absolutly right BUT, I know if I invested many thousands (and I did), I'm not taking the chance.
Perhaps the breakin period produces heat that breaks down the fluid. (perhaps not).

Rogue

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: \"Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs\" says Dealer

FWIW, my dealer says the same thing. I'm coming up on the 50 hour service on my B7500 and I'm still on the fence as to whether to change the hydraulic fluid or not.

 

[Charliebrn]

Re: \"Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs\" says Dealer

My question is this: How do you clean the strainer if youre not draining the oil? The oil itself should be ok for quite a while, but it'd sure be nice to clean that strainer.... On the BX, the strainer is part of the retaining bolt on the suction tube...you remove it and its amazing how fast that stuff drains out, it's not a little hole. I'm all for saving an unneeded fluid change....

 

[Alan L.]

Re: "Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs" says Dealer

Kubota says change it at 50, so I changed it. The warranty comes from Kubota - not the dealer.

Alan L., TX

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: \"Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs\" says Dealer

I wonder if the dealer would put their instructions (showing no oil change) in writing, with a statement saying they would honor the warranty if Kubota doesn't...

The warranty is actually very short time wise, a lot of folks run out that one year or two year warranty with few hours on the machines.

(and that's what the manufacturer hopes for)

If you really want to save the money, eventually? Drain it at 50 hours into a clean container, seal it and put it back in after you have used tractor 2000 hours when it's due for a change. Then you'll have had 2000 hours of use, and still save the oil money..../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

del

 

[GlueGuy]

Re: \"Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs\" says Dealer

My dealer said (and did) the same thing. Said that changing the hydro fluid at 50 hours was an utter waste unless there were signs of contamination. Since it's a closed system, the only sources of contamination are (1) breather tube , and (2) something broke and spewed parts. Both leave obvious signs.

The GlueGuy

 

[boatman]

Re: "Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs" says Dealer

oil is cheep/ what a great time to switch to synthetic such as chevron, amsoil or mobil?

 

[SimS]

Re: "Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs" says Dealer

I agree with Rogue. You have already spent thousands of dollars, what's a few more? I feel that if you follow the maintenance schedule, regardless of all the conspiracy theories, you'll sleep better at night knowing you did the right thing and if anything goes wrong, Kubota won't have a beef with you. MHO.

Sim

 

[r0GuE]

Re: \"Don\'t change Hydro oil at 50 hrs\" says Dealer

If your budget is really tight and you want to take the chance, that's one thing, but to second guess the Kubota engineers... I don't get it.
If you think they don't know what they're talking about, why buy a Kubota? If you think the corporation is corrupt and they are trying to bilk you, why trust them enough to invest money in their product? There is such a thing as science and research that is invested in to these machines on the front end. They do this to develop recomended service schedules. They provide these schedules to us so that we can make our gear last a long time. That makes us (the customer) happy. That makes us trade for another Kubota next time because we had no failures of our gear. Nobody ever trades a tractor for a different brand because the oil changes were costing too much.
Also, why do people give so much creedence to dealers? I'm sure that there are some (I dunno, 1 in 3, or 5, whatever) that are exceptional. But in general, I'd say the average joe on this board knows more than their dealer and possibly even the shop mechanic. Think about it! Do you think the mechanic at your shop is researching the web at night and agonizing on which grease is best for the loader and which is best for the deck? They may have more hands on experience wrenching, but that doesn't mean that they really know (real understanding and overall comprehension). I just can't imagine me following my mechanics advice, if he told me something in direct disagreement with the published recomendation of the manufacturer of my 10 or 20 thousand dollar tractor.
Disclaimer:
I'm not trying to be confrontational here and I realize that some dealers and mechanics read this board. You are the exception, as evidenced by your spending time on this board!



Rogue