2538 50hr not changing trans fluid.

[e5wd6114]

For engine oil, that is true, because of the way the oil is contaminated and degraded. But for hydraulic fluid, there is no equivalent problem, and it's perfectly fine to change the filters only at 50 hours. Hydraulic fluid can go many hundreds of hours before it needs replacing, and at 50 hours it's practically new. You'll just be wasting fluid and money changing it out so soon.

In a tractor your hydraulic tank is the transmission case, even though the fluid and its additives are new the debris from gear break in has contaminated it, making changing it at 50 hour highly recommended.

 

[Neversosure]

I think a lot of the problem is $$$$$$

If any of you have changed your own fluids on a 2538 then you know what I am talking about......

Price of fluids
LABOR!!!!
( you have to remove the right sub frame arm to remove the trans screen!)
I know this because I ran into this problem.......

Hence part of the reason for not changing everything .... labor === $$$$$$

I personally changed the fluids and the filter and will continue to do so, peace of mind for me and my 2538.

 

[s219]

At 50 hrs, every bit of milling, grinder dust, casting sand, filings or whatever is floating thru your fluid systems... One complete changeout is cheap insurance against early wear.... IMHO...

If that is the case then your filters should catch it. If it's capable of being carried by the fluid then it will be flowing and it will go through a filter. The fluid can't magically hold contaminants that would evade filtration.

 

[s219]

In a tractor your hydraulic tank is the transmission case, even though the fluid and its additives are new the debris from gear break in has contaminated it, making changing it at 50 hour highly recommended.

Highly recommended by who?? The maintenance schedule on the last several HST tractors I have operated all call for a filter change at 50 hours but not a fluid change. Construction equipment (which may contain hundreds of gallons of fluid) gets filter changes for break-in but not fluid changes (it's neither practical or productive on construction equipment). The only people I see "recommending" it are the paranoid types here on TBN with no real experience. This is not a new topic, and there are a lot of posts about it. If it makes you feel good, then go ahead, but there have never been legitimate recommendations.

 

[e5wd6114]

If that is the case then your filters should catch it. If it's capable of being carried by the fluid then it will be flowing and it will go through a filter. The fluid can't magically hold contaminants that would evade filtration.

The filter is a RETURN filter and the feed to the pump only has a screen to protect it, so the only stuff that gets filtered has already traveled through the system, the big stuff is still in the transmission case and can only be removed by a drain and fill.

 

[s219]

The filter is a RETURN filter and the feed to the pump only has a screen to protect it, so the only stuff that gets filtered has already traveled through the system, the big stuff is still in the transmission case and can only be removed by a drain and fill.

That is not universally true. If your tractor shares a common reservoir between transmission and hydraulics, there could be two filters, and both will call for changing at 50 hours, independent of the fluid. At least one of the filters probably has a magnetic ring. If for some reason that had a lot of chips I would consider draining the case and running the fluid through a screen or strainer before returning it to the tractor. But regardless of how you want to do it, or if you want to drain the case no matter what and then put the fluid back into the tractor, the fluid itself does not need to be replaced. At 50 hours it is practically new and doesn't have any of the contamination or breakdown issues that normally justify replacing fluid. Don't think that the fluid is bad just because there could be manifacturing chips/debris in the case. In reality that has zero impact on the fluid itself. It isn't capable of breaking down or getting contaminated at 50 hours -- if that were true it would need to be replaced every 50 hours, not just the first 50.

There are some tractors that, as part of the procedure for replacing only the filters at 50 hours, call for the fluid to be drained and then put back in the machine. If you don't, you're likely going to lose a lot of fluid on the ground by skipping that step anyhow. In those cases however, they are calling for the fluid to be captured and then returned back into the machine, not thrown away or replaced.

Do it however you like, but hydraulic fluid at 50 hours, with no complications like water infiltration, is still very good fluid. Either leave it be or capture, filter, and put back in the machine. Replacing it is a complete waste.

 

[s219]

BTW, there have been several posts over the years where someone found serious amounts of metal shavings in their transmission, and these things were not going to drain out with the fluid through a drain plug hole -- they were large enough that they wouldn't come out without dropping a pan or splitting a case. Normally you hope the manufacturer blows that stuff out before putting the transmission together, but some of the pictures we've seen show wads of spiral shavings the size of a fist.

 

[e5wd6114]

BTW, there have been several posts over the years where someone found serious amounts of metal shavings in their transmission, and these things were not going to drain out with the fluid through a drain plug hole -- they were large enough that they wouldn't come out without dropping a pan or splitting a case. Normally you hope the manufacturer blows that stuff out before putting the transmission together, but some of the pictures we've seen show wads of spiral shavings the size of a fist.

You're absolutely correct, usually you have to take the 3 point cover off to get them out(for stuff further forward you can run a magnet through the rear case forward usually), but you're not going to find that with out a drain and fill. I've seen cases of bolts coming out with the oil and other wonderful things. The recommendation is a personal one as I prefer to find bad things sooner rather than wait for the warranty to expire or other damage to occur. I'm merely pointing out the advantages of doing an initial drain and fill at 50 hours, I can't count how many times home owners have finally reached the 500 hour mark but the its in year 6, 7, or 8 and the power train warranty is up then something ugly turns up. Again it's just a personal opinion because I've seen too many of the previous scenarios play out.

 

[JerryK]

I, for one, recommend that you clean any sump screen at the 50 hour mark, to heck with what the dealer or manufacturer says..... My 5035 had tons of grey sludge and some metal shavings in the sump screen at the 50 hour mark. By 50 hours, if you have any krap in the bottom of your sump, you want to get it out.... Same with putting in new hyd filters, it's my tractor, and I want the thing cleaned out. All my HST tractors get new filters and hyd/engine oil change at the 50.

 

[Eddievalleytrailer]

I am sure glad I changed all my hydraulic fluid. There was tons of metal on the magnetic plug and in the screen. So, all the grumbling about not changing the fluid at the 50 hr service is kinda silly. This is a 20+ thousand dollar tractor and we are whining about 50 bucks of fluid? Now, you might catch the old fluid in a clean bucket, or series of buckets, allow it to settle for a few days then strain it through an old t shirt or something then put most of it back in. Some people say the dealer doesn't want to change all the fluid. Well, If you don't drain all the fluid, you can't change the screen. So I guess they aren't changing the screen either? I can tell you for sure, my screen NEEDED to be changed.