front axle lubricant question

bellweather · Oct 16, 2012

I'm changing the front axle lubricant on my BX22 for the first time. According to Kubota I can use either UDT (Super UDT2) or 80w-90 gear oil. My question is, what's in the axle from the factory?

thavil · Oct 16, 2012

Your BX22 would have been filled with UDT or SUDT from factory.

Danner · Oct 16, 2012

Go with the gear oil. It's better at high pressure lubrication, and thicker, so there is less likelihood of leaking down the road.

bx2670 · Oct 16, 2012

I put Lucas 75-90w in mine at 50hr and still have about a 1/4 of the 5th qt left to put in and I have 97 hrs on it now.I pull out the axle dipstick after each use to release pressure , it is slowly going down but it looks like new.

namesray · Oct 16, 2012

had a front axel leak on my b7800 at around 1000hrs. changed all fluids by the book. asked dealer about switching from the sudt in the front axel to the 80-90 gear oil. dealer said stick with the sudt as it is used in the hst pump and trans gears where there is high pressure just like the front axel. it would be the same as the gear oil but would be easier to just buy bulk sudt and keep all the oils the same and not have to worry about making sure i have 80-90 gear oil for the front axel. dealer said that he had 80-90 gear oil if i wanted it, but so far i have stuck with the sudt2 oil up front. for some reason danner's post above makes sence to me though. dealers advice makes sence too. i will ask dealer again. just posting my experiences so far.

MHarryE · Oct 16, 2012

SUDT is used to keep common fluids. Many gear oils are not compatible with brass in the hydro portion - EP or Extra Pressure additives. This isn't a problem in the front axle - no brass. Kubota must feel the SUDT provides enough lubricious for the front so they go with a common fluid across the board, but to a gear guy the EP additives in these bevel gear sets makes sense. I changed my L3710 to a synthetic 75W-90 at first change. I haven't changed fluid on my L5740 yet but plan to use a synthetic gear lube. It should provide extra protection and since Kubota lists it as acceptable in the manual, it appears there are no materials the EP additives will harm.

johnk · Oct 16, 2012

I had straight UDT in my front axle and changed to 80-90 gear oil when the change was due. You have to use the udt if you are under warranty though..

Jay4200 · Oct 17, 2012

I changed to 80W90 in the front axle of my L4200 after one of my bezel seals started leaking at ~2100 hours. After about another 500 hours, the leak got worse, so I've bumped up to 90W140 in the front axle. I have to pour another pint in every month or two. I'll fix it someday...maybe to celebrate after I get to 3000 hours

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JayC

bellweather · Oct 18, 2012

Thanks for the replies. I have no leak issues, touch wood, so I'll stick with the SUDT for now since it's what I have on the shelf.

JOHNTHOMAS · Oct 18, 2012

Danner said:
Go with the gear oil. It's better at high pressure lubrication, and thicker, so there is less likelihood of leaking down the road.

bx2360 said:
I put Lucas 75-90w in mine at 50hr and still have about a 1/4 of the 5th qt left to put in and I have 97 hrs on it now.I pull out the axle dipstick after each use to release pressure , it is slowly going down but it looks like new.

What kind of high pressure would you have in a front axle and where would it be coming from?