Traveller Universal Tractor/Hydraulic Fluid

[TSO]

TSO, the question came up because if you have ever been involved in an aircraft incident in the USAF, you would have seen the blame is always put on the mechanic first. I have been on the receiving end of the investigation, and it's not that much fun. That is also why I said I get uneasy, don't just didn't go into detail. Not to mention, I already admitted I am **** about equipment I buy. Here is an example, after every use of the tractor, I clean it, and lube it. Not to mention, I do the inspection in the manual that is recommended prior to use. In my vehicles, I do all routine maintenance at the recommended mileage. For example, at 60,000 miles the timing belt is changed, and while I am in there I change the tensioner, any pulleys and water pump.

My dodge truck has close to 200,000 miles on it and I was going to be hauling a very heavy load. I was concerned about the tranny. Had a buddy that owns a tranny shop look at it, and he said minimal wear. Changed the fluid and filters and said it was good to go. He knew I change the fluid and filters every 36000 miles. I use a high grade synthetic fluid, because I use the truck as a truck. It hauls in close to 6 cords of wood a year, plus other items.

Some my say I am over cautious, maybe crazy, but very few times have I every been broke down and need towed in. But like I said before after 24 years in the USAF, and seeing things, you tend to be cautious. I hope I have made things clear, why I asked the question. I may have a ton of experience on aircraft and vehicles, but I don't know much about tractors. Hence, I joined this site the day I bought it. I love to learn, and this place seemed to have many people that had knowledge.

Roger that ... I certainly wouldn't say "crazy." In a perfect world I'd like to have the time to be that **** with my equipment.

 

[Hitechredneck1]

TSO,

I started my "adult life" at a young age. At 17 I was in the military, married at 18, and retired from the military at 41. At 49, I still work, but it is just me, the wife, and our german shepherd at home. I was fortunate to land a M-F job with the government. I dont like to sit around, and I am up at 4 AM every weekday morning, and up at 6 AM on the weekends. My family wishes I sat still more often, but old habits are hard to break. LOL

By the list of your equipment, it is safe to say you are very busy and work hard everyday. I must admit I like your truck and trailer setup. I hope to soon upgrade my truck to a diesel, and get a trailer that can handle a bigger payload.

 

[Deere Dude]

Interesting thread. I hesitate to take experts word at everything concerning oil even though they are right on most of the time.

One example that happened for me was with my 2002 GMC truck with Allison transmission. The manual says to use Dexron 3. That's what I used when changing oil the first time. Then by the next oil change Dexron 3 stopped being made so the GMC dealer said to use Dexron 6, which is the latest and comparable and supposedly compatible grade. I used it. He should know and I was satisfied.

Then after researching on a truck forum I learned that some seals were changed to nitrile I believe in 2006 models and later that Dexron 6 works as advertised, but in Allison transmissions 2005 and before used some different seals that were susceptible to begin leaking after a period of time with Dexron 6, not sure how long that period is but I didn't want a leaky seal in and old transmission needlessly.

The fix was to drain the Dexron 6 and use a synthetic oil,(Transynd). Run it about 50 miles or so and then drain it again and top it off with the synthetic. I understand quite a bit of oil doesn't drain from the system and that's why the repeat process was to get it deluded way down.

 

[TSO]

TSO,

I started my "adult life" at a young age. At 17 I was in the military, married at 18, and retired from the military at 41. At 49, I still work, but it is just me, the wife, and our german shepherd at home. I was fortunate to land a M-F job with the government. I dont like to sit around, and I am up at 4 AM every weekday morning, and up at 6 AM on the weekends. My family wishes I sat still more often, but old habits are hard to break. LOL

By the list of your equipment, it is safe to say you are very busy and work hard everyday. I must admit I like your truck and trailer setup. I hope to soon upgrade my truck to a diesel, and get a trailer that can handle a bigger payload.

Thanks... Yeah extremely busy, everyone's trying to cram in their landscape projects before year's end, so this time of year especially is a mad scramble, and I'm looking forward to the quiet of winter.

The diesel has its benefits (good power and fuel economy) and I like my truck ... But it's definitely not all roses, especially this engine (6.0 PSD). Diesels have higher up front costs, higher maintenance costs, and especially with this particular motor, higher repair costs. (It's just about done being bulletproof, so should finally be reliable)

I miss my V10 gas engine I had in my F250 ... Great power, towed every bit as well as this diesel does, cheap to maintain, cheap to repair... Only down side was fuel economy. Tried to find a similarly equipped (loaded) F450 V10 and couldn't, so I settled on this truck instead.

F450 is a great setup, but next time, I'd look for a GM 3500 with the Isuzu DuraMax.

 

[AxleHub]

I have to admit that I'm surprised I could go 6 decades with all my vehicles and motorcycles and boat motors and small engines and all my gear head friends and never have known there was such a thing as diesel engine oil.

And there is conventional and synthetic etc besides.

I called up my dealership's service dept. yesterday for my Massey gc1715 and I asked if it was ok for me to use full synthetic 5w40. I thought it would be much better for cold winter use and the break in process. They suggested not but I'm going to use it anyway because the erson I talked to was doing "pass thru informing". But diesel engine oil . . . I'm still learning as fast as I was at 20 but with more purpose now

AxleHub

 

[JWR]

Thanks... Yeah extremely busy, everyone's trying to cram in their landscape projects before year's end, so this time of year especially is a mad scramble, and I'm looking forward to the quiet of winter.

The diesel has its benefits (good power and fuel economy) and I like my truck ... But it's definitely not all roses, especially this engine (6.0 PSD). Diesels have higher up front costs, higher maintenance costs, and especially with this particular motor, higher repair costs. (It's just about done being bulletproof, so should finally be reliable)

I miss my V10 gas engine I had in my F250 ... Great power, towed every bit as well as this diesel does, cheap to maintain, cheap to repair... Only down side was fuel economy. Tried to find a similarly equipped (loaded) F450 V10 and couldn't, so I settled on this truck instead.

F450 is a great setup, but next time, I'd look for a GM 3500 with the Isuzu DuraMax.

I just traded off my F-250 V-10 5 speed stick. Had it 15 years and never a problem except that the brake calipers kept sticking and having to be replaced. Got 50K mi. out of a set of tires, did some hauling of farm tractors,etc. somewhat above the specs for towed weight. Really a solid, strong all around truck. But with 15 years on it and 72 years on me I got the itch to replace it. I am unlikely to do as much heavy towing over the next 10 years and I even caved in and put up with an automatic tranny. The new F-150 (3.5L V6 turbo charged) is quite a surprise. Far more quiet and comfy for trips. Two surprises are 365HP vs the 360 of the V-10 and the same torque figures. And almost twice the gas mileage. My V-10 did as well as most V-8s from 2000 since it was a std trans with 5th gear being overdrive. Still the new aluminum F-150 has noticeably more power and way better mileage. I'm pleased.

 

[oldpilgrim]

FWIW, I just changed out the hydro fluid in my tractor for the first time. I used Travelers Premium.

I had a bottle of Mahindra fluid on the shelf previously and based on the color of the Mahindra vs the Travelers, I couldn't tell the difference, so I doubt the dealer could. Short of a chemical analysis, and that might not even be conclusive, I doubt anyone could tell the difference.

I also used Rotella T6 synth in the engine.

I'm not worried about the fluids violating the warrentee or causing a problem mechanically.

 

[TSO]

I just traded off my F-250 V-10 5 speed stick. Had it 15 years and never a problem except that the brake calipers kept sticking and having to be replaced. Got 50K mi. out of a set of tires, did some hauling of farm tractors,etc. somewhat above the specs for towed weight. Really a solid, strong all around truck. But with 15 years on it and 72 years on me I got the itch to replace it. I am unlikely to do as much heavy towing over the next 10 years and I even caved in and put up with an automatic tranny. The new F-150 (3.5L V6 turbo charged) is quite a surprise. Far more quiet and comfy for trips. Two surprises are 365HP vs the 360 of the V-10 and the same torque figures. And almost twice the gas mileage. My V-10 did as well as most V-8s from 2000 since it was a std trans with 5th gear being overdrive. Still the new aluminum F-150 has noticeably more power and way better mileage. I'm pleased.

What year was your F250 ? Remember in 2005 they changed the V10... From 2 valves to 3, boosted torque up to around 465 if I remember correctly. Gas mileage was certainly terrible, empty around 12 mpg, towing 10k was around 9. With my F450 6.0 PSD (keep in mind the 4.88 gears with the heavy GVW package) I get 15 empty, and around 10.5-11 mpg towing 10k.

I'm very pleased with the mileage considering this is a 9300lb truck, I just don't like dumping money into an engine, but luckily the rest of the truck is tough and reliable.

I'm sure the F150 EcoBoost is a good truck, but it's not built for the heavy duty work that I would require of it. There are times when I load my flatbed with 5000lbs and then pull 10k lbs of trailer weight (or more).

 

[Hitechredneck1]

What year was your F250 ? Remember in 2005 they changed the V10... From 2 valves to 3, boosted torque up to around 465 if I remember correctly. Gas mileage was certainly terrible, empty around 12 mpg, towing 10k was around 9. With my F450 6.0 PSD (keep in mind the 4.88 gears with the heavy GVW package) I get 15 empty, and around 10.5-11 mpg towing 10k.

I'm very pleased with the mileage considering this is a 9300lb truck, I just don't like dumping money into an engine, but luckily the rest of the truck is tough and reliable.

I'm sure the F150 EcoBoost is a good truck, but it's not built for the heavy duty work that I would require of it. There are times when I load my flatbed with 5000lbs and then pull 10k lbs of trailer weight (or more).

TSO, Have you ever considered a RAM 4500? It has 4.44 gears, max payload 6653 pounds and max towing of 24000 pounds. The 5500 has 4.88 gears, max payload of 10670 pounds, and a max towing of 29000 pounds. My Son in-law tows with a 2015 5500 club cab. He loves it, and says he cant believe the power it has.

 

[TSO]

TSO, Have you ever considered a RAM 4500? It has 4.44 gears, max payload 6653 pounds and max towing of 24000 pounds. The 5500 has 4.88 gears, max payload of 10670 pounds, and a max towing of 29000 pounds. My Son in-law tows with a 2015 5500 club cab. He loves it, and says he cant believe the power it has.

I have, and if I was buying another new truck right now I'd consider it. But I'd skip the $8,000 Cummins option most likely and get the 6.4L gasser. I've got about 6750 lbs of payload available as is on this truck, which is more than I need (as of now anyways). I'll probably just finish spending a little more on this engine to complete the bulletproofing, then keep it for another 10 years or so, it's really a great truck overall, and I wouldn't gain anything but more debt going to the dodge