CK 20 front axle oil

[grizzlydave]

Hi everyone , In the manual it calls for 90w gear oil in the front axle ! I've been everywhere tsc, napa, autozone, walmart and southern states and no one has 90w oil ! Where do you get it ? Or will 85w-135 work ? I have used utf or 135 in all the other tractors ! Thanks for any help

 

[BTI]

The oil in stores is typically called 80W/90.
TSC should have it in the Traveller and probably other brands.
Most any automotive store will have it.
The old manuals said we could run hydraulic oil or 80W/90 in the front end.
I prefer the UTF myself, I would not run the 85/135 or 85/140

BTI

 

[grizzlydave]

That explains why i couldnt find 90w gear oil . I wonder the reason for
spec'ing 90w vs utf ?

 

[BTI]

The reason given to me was that so many people insist on running 80W/90 that they had to change the manual.
They completely dropped the UTF
I do know that when I used to tell customers they could run UTF they always gave me a weird look.
I would then explain that there's not alot of difference between whats in the front end and in the rear end (parts wise).

One less oil to buy....

BTI

 

[Hoosier Hay Man]

The reason given to me was that so many people insist on running 80W/90 that they had to change the manual.
They completely dropped the UTF
I do know that when I used to tell customers they could run UTF they always gave me a weird look.
I would then explain that there's not alot of difference between whats in the front end and in the rear end (parts wise).

One less oil to buy....

BTI

UTF also will flow and lubricate better in cold weather.

 

[o2batsea]

To speed up the fill process remove one of the top caps on the pivot housing.
It's a much bigger hole than trying to use one of the fill plugs on the axle case.

 

[SSdoxie]

A few months ago I was told by Bobcat that this question was asked of Daedong, customers were noticing that front axle oil drained at the 50 hr. service did not appear to be 80-90w and looke like same as in rear/hydraulic fluid. Daedang said either is OK, they use UTF (transmission/hydraulic fluid) in assembly for commonality. After introducing tractors to the US they added 80-90w to the list per customers request - meant to list it as either is OK, but something got lost in translation of the manual. 80-90w is a little less expensive, but if it is more convinient to use 1 oil in both axles it is OK.
Wish I would have known this before I did my 50 hr. service. Would have been a lot simpler to get extra gallon of hydraulic fluid and keep on hand in case of leak later.

 

[grizzlydave]

I didnt even notice it in the manual until i checked to see how much fluid it took ! I will just run the utf in it always have any other tractor never had an issue ! Best part of it is thats 1 less oil type i have to stock :confused2:

 

[IndyIan]

In the spirit of worrying about nothing, the Shell Spirax UTF I have the 50hr service only has a GL-4 rating. Really I see no reason why you wouldn't want a GL-5 rated oil up there, as the front axle sees lots of low speed and high torque usage.
Here's what lubrizol has to say about the oils:

API Category GL-4 designates the type of service characteristic of spiral-bevel and hypoid gears in automotive axles operated under moderate speeds and loads. These oils may be used in selected manual transmission and transaxle applications.
API Category GL-5 designates the type of service characteristic of gears, particularly hypoids in automotive axles under high-speed and/or low-speed, high-torque conditions. Lubricants qualified under U.S. Military specification MIL-L-2105D (formerly MIL-L-2015C), MIL-PRF-2105E and SAE J2360 satisfy the requirements of the API GL-5 service designation.

API GL-5: Clearing up the Confusion - Automotive Gear Oil Additives - Driveline Additives - The Lubrizol Corporation
The GL-4 description doesn't really sound like a front tractor axle to me... But my dealer says the UTF I have is fine anyways. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to get a GL-5 gear oil for the front or not, maybe if I find some on sale it will be a no brainer.