50 hr service

[FF117]

Got my oil changed yesterday. Very easy, but seemed like it took forever to fill it up. I emailed Branson about using a fluid that wasn't recommended in the manual. They replied that as long as you use a premium grade fluid with an anti-foaming agent, it should be fine. I ended up getting Carquest premium grade hydraulic fluid (made by Warren), because it was $38/5 gal and $8/1 gal. I only needed 12 gallons and it saved me from buying three 5 gallon buckets from Sam's Club.

 

[Kildare Bill]

I just changed my hydraulic fluids on my Branson 4720h today for the first time and have a some questions:

1) Is there more than one drain plug for the transmission fluid? The poorly written service manual indicates there are "drain holes under the rear axle case and rear axle housing." After extensive searching, I could only find one drain hole located on the end of the filter screen cap. It seemed to drain most of the fluid but likely not all of it. Please help.

2) Is there supposed to be some type of dipstick for the front axle fluid? The manual says that there is and even has a picture of one, apparently on the end of the fill cap...but i don't see it. My fill cap is red plastic and there are two small holed in the bottom of it...maybe there was something on there that came off. Please help again.

3) The last one is more of a rant. The oil drain plus on this tractor is located directly above the main frame. The oil pan has about a foot long flat spot on the bottom to accommodate any drain location. They chose to put it right above the only 2-inch wide obstruction. You can unscrew the plug but it will not come out completely, so the oil drains very slowly....and of course it drains over and around the frame and makes a big mess! Argh!!

Thanks for any help.

 

[FF117]

I just changed my hydraulic fluids on my Branson 4720h today for the first time and have a some questions:

1) Is there more than one drain plug for the transmission fluid? The poorly written service manual indicates there are "drain holes under the rear axle case and rear axle housing." After extensive searching, I could only find one drain hole located on the end of the filter screen cap. It seemed to drain most of the fluid but likely not all of it. Please help.

2) Is there supposed to be some type of dipstick for the front axle fluid? The manual says that there is and even has a picture of one, apparently on the end of the fill cap...but i don't see it. My fill cap is red plastic and there are two small holed in the bottom of it...maybe there was something on there that came off. Please help again.

3) The last one is more of a rant. The oil drain plus on this tractor is located directly above the main frame. The oil pan has about a foot long flat spot on the bottom to accommodate any drain location. They chose to put it right above the only 2-inch wide obstruction. You can unscrew the plug but it will not come out completely, so the oil drains very slowly....and of course it drains over and around the frame and makes a big mess! Argh!!

Thanks for any help.

1) Yes, the manual is poorly written. It seems that the manual was written for the gear transmission tractors and then adapted for the hydros. I hope that Branson is working on this. The main drain is where the drive shaft for the front wheels leaves the transmission. It is more centrally located on the tractor (directly under the steering wheel maybe?). I am writing this from memory. If your tractor is new it will have some yellow paint on all of the drain plugs.

2) The dipstick for the front axle is on the opposite side in the exact same place as the fill cap. If I remember correctly, my plastic fill cap was on the right and there is a metal plug that looks like a large hex bolt on the left. The dipstick is attached to the metal plug. Don't forget to drain both sides of the axle. There are two drain plugs, one on each side.

3) I haven't changed my engine oil yet. So if you are referring to the engine oil drain plug that sucks. I don't like making a mess.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions. I can take pictures next time I'm at the farm if needed.

 

[Kildare Bill]

Thanks for your input. The transmission drain is in the very front of the transmission....very easy to get at....not like the side plug that I used....not anywhere near the rear axle like the manual said.

I assume that there are only two drains on the front axle....not three as the manual states. Found the dipstick on the left where you said, not the right where the manual said.

The manual says to change the transmission filter; whereas there are actually two of them. Of course, you can see a definite trend here with the manual....not just one or two minor mistakes, but a bunch of them. This really concerns me....should I believe anything in it???? Are the lubricants listed accurate? How hard would it be for them to have an American write an accurate, understandable manual? For $20,000+, I expect more.