Which lubricant to use

[Isoroku]

I'm a newbie to this forum and owning tractors although I've been browsing this site for about six months since acquiring an old Ford 1700 farm tractor. I'm pretty much a neophyte when it comes to matters of tractor mechanics, hydraulics, and lubrication although I've been trying to educate myself through this forum. That being said, I have a very basic question that seems to me should be very simple but the more I read on this forum and the service manuals the more confused I get. I want to top off the transmission/hydraulic fluid in my tractor - the original owner's pamphlet says to use M2C134A, the Ford service manual for this model says to use SAE 80 - obviously neither are available at your local Walmart. An Internet search of M2C134A produces a lot of technical sites but also an ad from TSC which it sounds like quite a few of those on this forum buy from - they have "Traveller Universal Tractor Transmission/Hydraulic Fluid" on sale but no specifications assuring me that this is really what I want. Also on the Internet is "Lucas Universal Hydraulic Fluid" advertised, "compatible to Ford/New Holland M2C134A", but it sounds more like straight hydraulic fluid by description and they talk of its use with automatic transmissions. Help! Surely it can't be this difficult to top off some fluid! My apologies to the fact that I am sure that this question has been addressed multiple times - I really have been studying the Lubricants and Hydraulics Forums so as not to be so redundant. Thanks for any help.

 

[tom4018]

If you look at hyd fluids at TSC, Walmart or where ever they will have a listing of specificationss that it meets on the jug or bucket. There are several that meet the 134 spec.

 

[Bird]

Something just doesn't sound right. Hydraulic fluid vs. SAE 80?

 

[SunnyJim]

AMSOIL - Synthetic Tractor Hydraulic/Transmission Oil (ATH) is a UTF that lists your spec. There is a big difference between a 30wt UTF and a SAE 80 obviously. I would bet more likely then not you need a UTF. You can buy universal tractor fluid at walmart and tons of other places. If you can check your oil and see if it appears to be a 30wt.

 

[flusher]

I'm a newbie to this forum and owning tractors although I've been browsing this site for about six months since acquiring an old Ford 1700 farm tractor. I'm pretty much a neophyte when it comes to matters of tractor mechanics, hydraulics, and lubrication although I've been trying to educate myself through this forum. That being said, I have a very basic question that seems to me should be very simple but the more I read on this forum and the service manuals the more confused I get. I want to top off the transmission/hydraulic fluid in my tractor - the original owner's pamphlet says to use M2C134A, the Ford service manual for this model says to use SAE 80 - obviously neither are available at your local Walmart. An Internet search of M2C134A produces a lot of technical sites but also an ad from TSC which it sounds like quite a few of those on this forum buy from - they have "Traveller Universal Tractor Transmission/Hydraulic Fluid" on sale but no specifications assuring me that this is really what I want. Also on the Internet is "Lucas Universal Hydraulic Fluid" advertised, "compatible to Ford/New Holland M2C134A", but it sounds more like straight hydraulic fluid by description and they talk of its use with automatic transmissions. Help! Surely it can't be this difficult to top off some fluid! My apologies to the fact that I am sure that this question has been addressed multiple times - I really have been studying the Lubricants and Hydraulics Forums so as not to be so redundant. Thanks for any help.

TSC's Traveller Premium Universal Tractor Trans/Hydraulic Fluid (#08-0638-3) meets the 134A specification. I use that stuff in my 2008 Mahindra 5525 since it meets the John Deere 303 spec, which Mahindra says is OK for the 5525.

I have a 1964 Massey Ferguson 135 diesel that has 80W gear oil in the trans/hydraulics unit. I bought that tractor in Jul06 from a neighbor who manages a NAPA auto store. He owned the tractor for over 20 years and never used anything but 80W gear oil. He was the second owner and said that the first owner also used 80W gear oil in that 135.

I'd use either 80W gear oil or that TSC stuff in your 1700, take your choice.

 

[Isoroku]

Thanks for the replies. I understand that some of the older Ford tractors used 80W gear oil in the transmission/hydraulic reservoir but with my rudimentary knowledge of oil characteristics it seemed like there was a lot of difference between the 80W recommended in the Ford service manual and the M2C134A recommended in the owner's manual. As it turns out the nearest TSC is three hours drive from here however I'll be driving to that city in a week for a family function so I'll check it out and will also recheck my Walmart shelves - maybe I missed the suggested fluid the last time I checked. Thanks again.

 

[California]

I think generic 'Universal Tractor Fluid' from any of the suppliers should be sufficient. Autozone's 'Coastal Multitrac' is one example that is claimed to meet a long list of tractor manufacturers specifications. For comparison here is Autozone's list of similar fluids: Autozone Tractor Fluids
I expect Walmart has a similar selection, and it probably all comes out of the same refinery.

 

[stevem5215]

I have a Ford 1900 and noticed this same thing. My guess was that they probably used something that was like SAE80 a long time ago but when these new fangled machines came out with tighter specs around 1980 then the fluids started getting more sophisticated. In any case I went to the local Auto supply store and checked their Coastal tractor fluid (in a 5 gallon bucket) for the spec and sure enough it was right on the label. Must be a lot of us Ford owners looking for this stuff. As for what is in yours now I'd be leary it's the right thing. A lot of people never follow the guidelines (especially if they don't have the manual) so you might consider changing it and cleaning the intake screen (on the bottom in the middle of the tractor at the end of the suction line with 4 bolts holding it on). It might never have been cleaned either.

Steve

Ps. An even bigger concern is if you have 4 wd and the front axle and hubs have been changed and or checked lately. Those are even less likely to get serviced. Mine were low and very, very dirty.

I'm a newbie to this forum and owning tractors although I've been browsing this site for about six months since acquiring an old Ford 1700 farm tractor. I'm pretty much a neophyte when it comes to matters of tractor mechanics, hydraulics, and lubrication although I've been trying to educate myself through this forum. That being said, I have a very basic question that seems to me should be very simple but the more I read on this forum and the service manuals the more confused I get. I want to top off the transmission/hydraulic fluid in my tractor - the original owner's pamphlet says to use M2C134A, the Ford service manual for this model says to use SAE 80 - obviously neither are available at your local Walmart. An Internet search of M2C134A produces a lot of technical sites but also an ad from TSC which it sounds like quite a few of those on this forum buy from - they have "Traveller Universal Tractor Transmission/Hydraulic Fluid" on sale but no specifications assuring me that this is really what I want. Also on the Internet is "Lucas Universal Hydraulic Fluid" advertised, "compatible to Ford/New Holland M2C134A", but it sounds more like straight hydraulic fluid by description and they talk of its use with automatic transmissions. Help! Surely it can't be this difficult to top off some fluid! My apologies to the fact that I am sure that this question has been addressed multiple times - I really have been studying the Lubricants and Hydraulics Forums so as not to be so redundant. Thanks for any help.

 

[newbury]

Something just doesn't sound right. Hydraulic fluid vs. SAE 80?

I agree - however that's exactly what they say for my B7610 FRONT AXLE CASE, not the transmission

 

[Bird]

I agree - however that's exactly what they say for my B7610 FRONT AXLE CASE, not the transmission

Yep, so did the manual for my B2710, as you said, in the FRONT AXLE CASE, but he said he wanted to "top off the transmission/hydraulic fluid" and that's what surprised me.