</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Wow. The 2300 hrs on your profile is that tractor?
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Whatever fluid type got it through 2300 hours MUST be working pretty good. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif)</font>
Har har.
Yes, my tractor has 2300 hours on it, and yes that is a whole lot, but no, I didn't put them on w/o changing fluids. I surely HOPE that the original fluid isn't in there. Actually, I just got the thing this past week, and I do know that the seller (2nd owner) did absolutely NOTHING to it for the 300 hours he had it. It's in pretty good shape though, runs well, doesn't smoke, so I'm assuming it was maintained OK by the first owner, who put the first 2000 hours on it. I'm going through the whole thing before I run it, fluids, lube, etc. The hydro fluid still looks and feels good, so changing it right away isn't as critical as, for example, getting the engine oil changed. It has to be near it's normal change interval, however, so I am going to change it. Since I have no idea what is in there now, I want to get as much of the old stuff out as I can - I worry about potential incombatability issues. The old stuff is red, if that means anything.
I like to subscribe to a "cheap oil changed frequently" philosophy. I don't wait for oil to turn black to change it. I don't expect to put many hours on this tractor anyhow (mostly just around the house puttering), so I'll probably end up doing changes at ~1/2 recommended intervals at least.
I also like to use stuff I can get readily, so I shy away from specialty items. As such, I don't plan on using Kubota Super UDT, which very well might be what is in the tractor now, no idea. I'm putting Rotella-T 15W-40 (from Walmart) in the crankcase, and I'll probably fill the tranny with the HD Tractor Transmission/Hydraulic fluid that Sam's Club sells for $30/5gal. Flame away.
Thanks - Jay