John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found

   / John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found #1  

widetractman

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Many oil Blenders such as, Warren, Davis (multi locations),[ Cross Packaging (Extreme Pure Flow THF, Extreme Ultra Premium THF) AKA UNIMARK (NAPA Premium Universal) both located at 484E. 6th St, Smackrover,AR. (I think) they state they meet or exceed JD20. When looking at many MSDS's, things start looking funny when comparing them to JD's HYGARD or Chevron Ursa MSDS which appears to be who mfg's HYGARD. HY and Chev are highly refined mineral oil (c15-c50), Chev= 75-95%, HY= 80-100% weight mixture, AND HERES THE BIGGIE both have 3.6% Zinc alkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) the BEST Anti Wear additive (See Valvoline Racing Oil). The others show no Zinc,? <.5%, ) 0 -10% and etc. on the componets line which could be as little as 0%. Now here is the catch, IF ANY ZDDP is present I think it must be listed under Section 15, of the Regulatory List, which they did not. Other than Deere or Chevron none of the above have Zinc based on the assumption, it is not listed in their Section 15. NAPA Prem.($46) states 5-15% Proprietary additives and list no Zinc, so whats that mean, try and find out LOL. Trying to keep this simple, it is my opinion that most of the low cost blendings are of a lesser quality distillate and refinement with a less high quality anti wear componet, but suspect they have anti foam, rust inhibitors and seal protection. What I want in my Dozers and Tractors is wear protection, seals/O rings are cheap compared to gears,shafts and bearings. I was told that Chevron is about $75 per pail compared to $55 for HYGARD. I'll stick with HYGARD for now as anybody can state (Meets or Exceeds) I trust Deere/Chevron, Google or request MSDS's and decide for yourself.
 
   / John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found #2  
Very interesting post. Thank you.

I don't hold back on cost when it comes to my tractors and vehicle maintenance. So you can save $10 and ruin a $30,000 machine. That makes no sense. I buy the best tires I can get my hands on, too. Yep. I can save $80 and crash a $30,000 car.
 
   / John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Many oil Blenders such as, Warren, Davis (multi locations),[ Cross Packaging (Extreme Pure Flow THF, Extreme Ultra Premium THF) AKA UNIMARK (NAPA Premium Universal) both located at 484E. 6th St, Smackrover,AR. (I think) they state they meet or exceed JD20. When looking at many MSDS's, things start looking funny when comparing them to JD's HYGARD or Chevron Ursa MSDS which appears to be who mfg's HYGARD. HY and Chev are highly refined mineral oil (c15-c50), Chev= 75-95%, HY= 80-100% weight mixture, AND HERES THE BIGGIE both have 3.6% Zinc alkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) the BEST Anti Wear additive (See Valvoline Racing Oil). The others show no Zinc,? <.5%, ) 0 -10% and etc. on the componets line which could be as little as 0%. Now here is the catch, IF ANY ZDDP is present I think it must be listed under Section 15, of the Regulatory List, which they did not. Other than Deere or Chevron none of the above have Zinc based on the assumption, it is not listed in their Section 15. NAPA Prem.($46) states 5-15% Proprietary additives and list no Zinc, so whats that mean, try and find out LOL. Trying to keep this simple, it is my opinion that most of the low cost blendings are of a lesser quality distillate and refinement with a less high quality anti wear componet, but suspect they have anti foam, rust inhibitors and seal protection. What I want in my Dozers and Tractors is wear protection, seals/O rings are cheap compared to gears,shafts and bearings. I was told that Chevron is about $75 per pail compared to $55 for HYGARD. I'll stick with HYGARD for now as anybody can state (Meets or Exceeds) I trust Deere/Chevron, Google or request MSDS's and decide for yourself.
CORRECTION: The above statement that HYGARD and Chevron URSA contain 3.6% Zinc is in error. It should state 1-5% Zinc per weight for both. It also appears Chevron 1000 is the same, theres only a slight difference in viscosity between the three, however the cost for any of these is $60-$70 a pail. Ouch!!
 
   / John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found #4  
You might have the name of the Chevron product wrong. Chevron began marketing Texaco's product line awhile back now, the Texaco Ursa was motor oil, and Chevron still calls it Ursa. It is similar to Delo or Delvac or Rotella. Texaco's Tractor fluid was called TDH Fluid. (Transmission, Differential, Hydaraulic), and Chevron still has that name on one of their THF products. The old Chevron tractor fluid was called appropriately "Chevron Tractor Hydraulic Fluid". But then a change---Chevron bought out Amoco's lube line several years ago, and took their name for this oil. It is now Chevron 1000 THF.

As a lube distributor, I pay over 50 bucks for a pail of name brand THF. Conoco Powertran, Mobil 424, Chevron 1000 THF, or Shell Donax. Those pails are about 5 bucks or more in cost now, and that is for an empty one. The distributors pay about 40 or 50 cents just for the label, plus the labor to pay a guy to fill the pails and handle them. The cost of a 5 gallon pail of brand name stuff is going to be up there. But in my opinion only, I would far sooner pay the difference, to get some Chevron or Mobil, or Conoco, rather than a bargain store brand of this critical oil. I'd rather run it many, many longer hours and have the brand name, than have a cheapy oil working for me. The high quality base oil, the quality additive package in the name brand, all that is working in my machine, and in my mind I believe that I gave my tractor the best. Why change a cheap oil in half the time on the theory that it is cheap so I can change more often?
I reason back to the fact that Corvette uses Mobil One as factory fill. Kenworth and Peterbilt use Delo 400 as factory fill. Those examples did not seek a bargain store brand just to get them by, they spent more and put in the best. Corvettes and Peterbilts arn't cheap, neither is your tractor to repair and replace parts.
 
   / John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found #6  
Castrol Universal Hyd Fluid is almost identical. Cenex brand hyd oils have zinc in them.

We should note that basing your purchase of hydro fluid off an MSDS is like buying a car because of the brochure. Oil analysis will tell you all about the oils an MSDS will not. ZDDP is listed in MSDS sheet because it is a hazardous material. It's primary purpose is antioxidation, anticorrosion, and antiwear.

Most oils are using proprietary additives and amounts to make up for the lack of zinc (EPA restrictions) and these amounts/names are not listed. Amsoil is probably the most recognized synthetic oil and they do not add ZDDP to any of their oils that I can find.
 
   / John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found #7  
I change some oil every time a hose blows.:)
 
   / John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found #8  
Zinc is used as an antiwear additive because it is very good and it is relatively inexpensive. Lack of zinc doesn't mean the oil is bad. If you look at Caterpillar's site, they have 2 hydraulic oils. Their standard hydraulic oil has 900 ppm zinc. Their bio hydraulic oil has no zinc - not allowed in a bio oil - but it does have other anti-wear additives. In the wear test results the bio oil is better. Also CNH Hy-Tran advertises anti-wear additives that have no zinc. They advertise their formulation as an improvement over oils containing zinc. So whether or not the oil has zinc should not determine your purchase decision. You are right, though, to look for anti-wear properties. This picture is from the rotating group of a hydro transmission from a machine that was filled with a commercial grade AW46 hydraulic oil. Pay me now or pay me later.
 

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   / John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found #9  
You might have the name of the Chevron product wrong. Chevron began marketing Texaco's product line awhile back now, the Texaco Ursa was motor oil, and Chevron still calls it Ursa. It is similar to Delo or Delvac or Rotella. Texaco's Tractor fluid was called TDH Fluid. (Transmission, Differential, Hydaraulic), and Chevron still has that name on one of their THF products. The old Chevron tractor fluid was called appropriately "Chevron Tractor Hydraulic Fluid". But then a change---Chevron bought out Amoco's lube line several years ago, and took their name for this oil. It is now Chevron 1000 THF.

As a lube distributor, I pay over 50 bucks for a pail of name brand THF. Conoco Powertran, Mobil 424, Chevron 1000 THF, or Shell Donax. Those pails are about 5 bucks or more in cost now, and that is for an empty one. The distributors pay about 40 or 50 cents just for the label, plus the labor to pay a guy to fill the pails and handle them. The cost of a 5 gallon pail of brand name stuff is going to be up there. But in my opinion only, I would far sooner pay the difference, to get some Chevron or Mobil, or Conoco, rather than a bargain store brand of this critical oil. I'd rather run it many, many longer hours and have the brand name, than have a cheapy oil working for me. The high quality base oil, the quality additive package in the name brand, all that is working in my machine, and in my mind I believe that I gave my tractor the best. Why change a cheap oil in half the time on the theory that it is cheap so I can change more often?
I reason back to the fact that Corvette uses Mobil One as factory fill. Kenworth and Peterbilt use Delo 400 as factory fill. Those examples did not seek a bargain store brand just to get them by, they spent more and put in the best. Corvettes and Peterbilts arn't cheap, neither is your tractor to repair and replace parts.

x2 on the above. I am also a lube distributor and will use nothing less than name branded product. The private labels tend to "over advertise" some of their abilities. Getting ready for 50 hour service on my B2920 and will go with either the Conoco Powertran and Guardol 15.40 or Mobil Fluid 424 and Delvac 1. Still deciding :)
 
   / John Deere HYGARD vs Others, what I Found #10  
Have any of you guys ever researched Schaeffer Oil? The TD Sheets are accessed off the home page so you can see all the test results. There were a lot of brands named in this string, I think a company with 172 years of history might know a thing or two about building a lubricant that can offer some protection to a piece of equipment. Catepillar commissioned research on Schaeffer's technology through the Society of Tribologist and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) and found a reduction in coefficient of friction as high as 75%. ZDDP is great but what do you think that would do for the life of your equipment?
 
 
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