SUDT/UDT THF story

   / SUDT/UDT THF story #1  

Beaux Duke

Silver Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
108
Location
S.E. Louisiana
Tractor
Kubota L48
It's time to change the HST fluid so I started reading up on all the posts about what's best. Decided to call the Kubota dealer and ask their price. Gal behind the counter told me roughly $75 per 5 gallon pail for UDT and about $145 for SUDT. She asked me if I was putting it in an excavator. She told me that only excavators required the SUDT. Then kinda quiet like she told me that she sends a lot of customers down to Car Quest to get their SUDT equivalent. She told me to tell the guy behind the counter that I was there to get some of the THF they sell to her company.

I go in Car Quest and ask for the SUDT. The guy behind the counter looks at me like I'm from Mars. I tell him the story and he tells me they only have one type THF and it's $34 per 5 gal pail. I tell him there must be a mistake and quote him the dealer price for the SUDT. He goes and gets the manager. Manager tells me the same thing. Only 1 type THF for $34 a pail.

So, since things weren't going all that smoothly I figured I'd go to NAPA and check out their prices. NAPA guy meets me at the door and we start talking about THF. He shows me a couple different types. No major brand names that I could recognize but the NAPA store brand did say it met a couple Deere specs on the label. I asked if it met Kubota specs and he wasn't sure. He called the manager over and he said he was "sure it would work. Guys came in all the time and bought it." So I decided to ask him if he could get Chevron Synthetic All Weather THF.

He suddenly became disinterested in waiting on me and started walking away. He told me that if I wanted to pay high prices for THF I should go to the dealer. They had lots of it. I thought that was unusual and started to walk but decided to press the issue. I told him that if I was going to pay for a quality product I wanted to get the most for my money and that I was familiar with Chevron quality and didn't see why he wasn't interested in checking to see if it could be ordered. So he asked for my phone number and told me he'd call if he "found something." Never got a call.:p

So I called a Chevron jobber. Seems Chevron only sells it in this area in 55 gallon drums for a tad less than $1,000. Found that hard to believe so I called a different jobber.:confused: Same story, same price.

So, here I am back as square one. Trying to decide if I should buy THF from the dealer or go to Car Quest and get the same stuff the dealer uses for about 1/3 the price. Or possibly try the Mystic brand Tractor Supply sells.

I can't for the life of me understand why something so simple has turned into such a hassle.:mad:
 
   / SUDT/UDT THF story #2  
First off I'm no expert on the subject but from what I understand SUDT/UDT main difference is the cold weather performance. If you are in a cold climate sudt is recommended. You being in a warmer climate I would think udt or a brand that is a udt equivalent would be fine. UDT can be used in cold weather but requires a longer warm up time. Check your manual to make sure you can use either SUdT or UDT I dont think you will find a SUDT equivalent if you do you probably wont save much money but should be no problem finding a UDT equivalent It should list what manufactures specs it meets on the label if it does not list Kubota UDT I would not even look twice at it. I know alot of people use the TSC brand and have had good luck with it.
 
   / SUDT/UDT THF story #3  
Try Texas Refinery. Very high quality lubricants and I know for a fact that they sell a couple varieties of tractor hydraulic fluid the meets or excceds both the UDT and SUDT spec.

When I bought mine (they use 6 gallon pails) I though the price was high at approximately $135 for the six gallons, but its seems reasonable compared to the Kubota fluid that you priced out. The more TRC products you buy, the more of a discount you will recieve as well, so getting a case of grease, and motor oil may be the best way to go about it if you need that stuff.
 
   / SUDT/UDT THF story #4  
After all of that hassle I would just go to the dealer and by the UDT from them. You know the UDT is what you need so why skimp if what you might end up getting isn't a quality oil. Or you could go buy some of Amsoil's Synthetic Tractor Hydraulic/Transmission Oil, it's rated as a substitution for Kubota UDT.
 
   / SUDT/UDT THF story
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Well, the manual says to use SUDT so I'm locked in on that or it's equivalent.

I guess my point is that I'm not sure what I'm going to get even if I get it from the dealer. After talking to the gal behind the counter I could be getting the cheap stuff in an expensive pail.
 
   / SUDT/UDT THF story #6  
Well, the manual says to use SUDT so I'm locked in on that or it's equivalent.

I guess my point is that I'm not sure what I'm going to get even if I get it from the dealer. After talking to the gal behind the counter I could be getting the cheap stuff in an expensive pail.

I'd visit another dealer if there putting you through this much hassle just to do the maintenance on your machine. Most dealers have displays of the stuff, so as long as the top on the bottle is sealed, then its genuine UDT/SUDT.
 
   / SUDT/UDT THF story
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I'd visit another dealer if there putting you through this much hassle just to do the maintenance on your machine. Most dealers have displays of the stuff, so as long as the top on the bottle is sealed, then its genuine UDT/SUDT.

Well, it's me putting myself through this more than the dealer. Technically speaking this ain't no big job. I'm just frustrated that I live in an area where I can't locate the brand and type of fluid I want in a quantity less than 55 gallons. I'll just have to keep digging.

Oh yeah, the NAPA guy finally called. Said they "used to sell the Chevron but dropped it."

Tomorrow I'll be dropping by the Kubota dealer about 30 miles from here.
 
   / SUDT/UDT THF story #8  
Nothing wrong with THF, just about everything used it 30 or 40 years ago and a lot of those tractors are still running it.
Re-branding ? not for me.
Wix filters, etc.
 
   / SUDT/UDT THF story #9  
I understand your point. Tried to get Chevron in Austin area... couldn't even find anybody who would order it... much less find it in small quantities.

Local dealer was surprised I wanted SUDT... he had just sufficient to do one oil change for my tractor... price similar to what you were quoted.. he said sale of SUDT was extremely rare...I used it for one oil change.

Have moved to using TSC hydraulic fluid... it says it meets Kubota specs for UDT... and is much cheaper than dealer UDT.

I find that SUDT is a LITTLE less noisy under LOAD... but, a short while after the change over, I forgot what the SUDT sounded like and now UDT sounds "right" to my ears.... HST simply whines... made that way... under load it's louder.

Agreed... amazing hassle.... solved it myself by going with TSC.. 2 changes now... seems to be doing the job.
 
   / SUDT/UDT THF story
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Guess I'll drop by TSC tomorrow. The other Kubota dealer had pretty much the same prices. Duhhh.

I have found out that Valvoline has a product similar to UDT. Need to go by Oreillys and see what they want for it.
 
 
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