Oil & Fuel Anyone using Mobil 424 Hydraulic fluid in your Mahindra?

[nelsond7004]

Hi All,

I am curious if anyone is using Mobil 424 hydraulic fluid in any of your Mahindra's. I am at my 200 service hour for my 2816. The manual lists Mobil 424 as one of the recommend fluids and is one that I can get my hands on the quickest.

I have not heard anything bad about this fluid, but I have heard that Mahindra's manuals may have minor misprints. What do you all favor in your in your tranny's? I believe in "you get what you pay for."

Thanks
-Nelson

 

[civesnedfield]

I'm using 424 in my 4530. Good fluid in the summer. A little too stiff for the winter temps in Maine. If I use the loader in the winter, I start the tractor then walk away for about 20 minutes. Even then the hydraulics are a bit slow. Other than that it's great stuff.

 

[nelsond7004]

I am sure your temperatures are a lot colder than they are in Southwest Virginia. We very seldom see anything below zero. It is common for me to use the tractor in the teens to maybe single digits.

Unless my hydraulics are seriously degraded with 424 in winter, I doubt it will be much of an issue for me. Sounds like your 4530 is just like my 2816. I have to run it forever to get the temp gauge in the green. I hear this is common with Mahindra.

 

[nelsond7004]

Well I went ahead today and bought two buckets of 424. Paid $58 per bucket at the Caterpillar place. Looking forward to doing the Tractor service this weekend.

 

[civesnedfield]

I am sure your temperatures are a lot colder than they are in Southwest Virginia. We very seldom see anything below zero. It is common for me to use the tractor in the teens to maybe single digits.

Unless my hydraulics are seriously degraded with 424 in winter, I doubt it will be much of an issue for me. Sounds like your 4530 is just like my 2816. I have to run it forever to get the temp gauge in the green. I hear this is common with Mahindra.

Yea it tends to be a cold hearted beast in the winter. Not to bad in the summer either. The only time I have issues is when I'm bush hoggin. I have to pay attention to the radiator screen. If it gets plugged up the tempo seems to rise a bit.

 

[civesnedfield]

Well I went ahead today and bought two buckets of 424. Paid $58 per bucket at the Caterpillar place. Looking forward to doing the Tractor service this weekend.

I'm not looking foward to this spring. Not only do I have the Mahindra but I also have a Massey 1100. Last time I did a guestimate I think the oil for just the two oil changes was gonna run me somewhere around $130.00. Good thing I don't have to do a Hydraulic change---I would have to go get a second mortgage to do that on both tractors. Hydraulic capacity on the Massey is around 20 gallons, I can't remember what the Mahindra is.

 

[nelsond7004]

Last summer I bush hogged in the humid 90's and my temp gauge on the 2816 never got over more than a 1/4 - 1/2 way on the green part of the temp gauge. I was pleased considering that I was mowing field grass as high as the hood of the tractor and cutting Autumn Olive trees up to about 2 inches.

I did notice that the hydraulic fluid that was factory filled was thicker than the 424 this passed weekend. This might be where I am going to see a difference in temperatures during the summer. I am not sure what fluid Mahindra uses at the factory, but when I got the tractor, I don't think the dealer checked the fluid level when they added the backhoe. It was low and below the bottom line on the dipstick. This was checked of course with the dipstick not screwed in.

The only hydraulic fluid that I could get my hands on at that time to top it off was McCormick HTX. Comparing the two, HTX is thicker than the 424. I used the HTX in the front diff and it was a pain getting the fluid to drain down into the hubs even with the diff warm from running around the fields before I did the service. I will say that my hydraulics appear to be faster with the 424 vice the factory fill.

I would hate to be in your shoes if your Massey requires 20 gallons of fluid, but that is part of tractor ownership. I think the 2816 calls for roughly 6.5 gallons, but more than that came out during my fluid change.