Oil & Fuel HST Oil

[LBrown59]

There is a thread on here where a guy used the wrong HST fluid .
Ruined the tranny and the tractor manufacturer refused to repair the tractor under the warranty.

 

[TripleR]

I agree - I use $11/gallon Rotella T 15W-40 dino oil in every piece of equipment I own (15ish tractors/dirbikes/ATVs/mowers/snowblowers/etc). I use generic Tractor Transmission/Hydraulic Fluid (UDT compatible) from Sam's Club in my 2400-hour L4200 tranny.

And I was wrong once too - but that was when I thought I was wrong, but I was actually right.

JayC

My brothers have three 600 Series Fords made in the 50's one bought new by our father, a 62 Case and a mid 60 Case backhoe, two dump trucks, five pickups, two one tons, five cars, two motorcycles, three ATV'S, Mule and several lawn mowers. The high price synthetics were abandoned long ago and Rotella is used in most of the equipment. They are in their sixties, so maybe they haven't been around long enough to learn better.

I don't honestly know which is "acceptable" and I don't mind paying for Kubota oil in my 2660, but when my son charged a couple of 5 gallon buckets at the Case dealer for one of our tractors, I about had a stroke; won't happen again.

Now that you mention it, I may have been mistaken about being wrong too...

 

[Volfandt]

And a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Tom.

What? A disagreement on an internet forum? why I'd think there would be something wrong if there wasn't differing opinions on just about everything. I recall my Mrs and MIL would argue about what shade of blue the sky was

I've heard the same as you from a couple different Kubota dealers. Except they both insisted on SUDT in the BX's no matter what they recommended in the other Kubota models.
I don't think it was because of the $$$'s but who knows.

MHO on the UDT and SUDT saga comes from a couple different emails that I and a few other folks recieved from Kubota USA seeking info/breakdowns of UDT and SUDT.

Basically they (Kubota) HIGHLY recommended SUDT in all BX's but also indicated that UDT will work fine also, only SUDT would work better
Since SUDT hits that ISO 46 spec, they claim it'll hold it's properties better and longer under extreme heat, such as when operating in high temps under a load for extended times, than UDT will. Even though they're not about to say that theres anything wrong w/UDT
SUDT and UDT can also be mixed in a pinch but they recommend no more than a qt.

The thinner viscosity of SUDT (10w20) also circulates faster than UDT (straight 20w) when cold, such as on the 1st start of the day, which is a huge benefit for those off peak times of usage when the tractor sits for extended times and the protective coating of the hydraulic oil is about drained away.
Of course it's most common claim to fame is cold weather operation......

In any case, running UDT won't void the warranty nor cause HST failure. And unless you drain it and change to SUDT you'll probably never know the difference, if any, in your tractor

 

[rdsaustintx]

Happy Thankgiving everybody!

I agree with Volfandt. Yeah any UDT will work, but SUDT is super duper nifty stuff. There have been lots of reports of quieter operation and better cold weather running (less jerk) with SUDT in BX's here. I am too lazy to look them up, so maybe I'm bluffing.

From my own experience in Texas where it gets 105 and rarely freezes: My dealer tore into my transaxle to fix the diff lock. They refilled it with UDT (which is all they stock). I could hear and feel the difference. More whine and a little jerky at slow speeds when cold. Still usable though.

Next service interval SUDT went back in and it got quieter and smoother.

<shrug>

 

[nh DRAGON]

Yep, Agree, I had tried udt and it did work fine. -30F and 2 minute warm up (If you want to call two runs of full loaded buckets of snow thrown out A warm up) Any way it did fine! Then I change back to the sudt. Their may be a little bit of less whine, but I"m still not sure. Please teach me Volfandt-1!

 

[FSE]

Ok. I am the OP and if I have started another war I am sorry but my intention was to find out from experience users what would be the best motor oil and HST oil to use at the 50 hour service. I have read that UDT in hot climate is better than SUDT and SUDT made jerking in steering and starting when the outside temps are hot and even read where they were checking oil temps when it was hot to compare. (I can not find the thread). I live in NC and it does get hot here and although it gets cold it rarely gets below freezing in the day time for weeks at a time. I will be using my tractor more in the summer than winter and I don't want the steering drift or jerking when working extended times in 90 plus temp. If the SUDT is better then I don't mind using it. No more hours than I will be putting on the tractor I don't mind spending the extra money at the oil change. I don't think the BX2660 takes thats much oil anyway. So thinking about my location and usage what should it be? UDT or SUDT. I don't mind paying for synthetic if it will make my tractor last longer. I would like for this to be the last one I buy so I want to do it right from the beginning. Also I have never had a diesel so I use Valvoline oil for my gas motors and Motor Craft in my truck. Need advice on that also.

I would like to wish all and your families a safe and Happy Thanksgiving

 

[gwdixon]

1. This will not be you last tractor - trust me. I thought identically when I got my first one. Heroin addicts probably said the same thing about their first hit.

2. Use a motor oil designed for diesel use. It is heavier duty and has more additives. Shell Rotella T is my choice but there are others such as Chevron Delo.

3. It is not a war - just a friendly discussion among tractor owners about their opinions with maybe a fact sprinkled in here and there.

 

[jimmer2880]

I have to toss my $.02 in the pot.

This summer, changed the HST fluid (not sure what it was, it was installed by the PO) with UDT. Over the course of the summer, HST whine & slippage was getting worse. Even though it wasn't time for another change, I just swapped it out with SUDT this weekend.

In my tractor, yes, there is a difference. The SUDT absolutely made a difference in both whine noise and slip.

 

[sw03]

I am using Amsoil fluid and works fine. Also have used SUDT and outcome would be you could not tell.

Use any fluid that is UDT approved and be fine. It is not like the world will end if you do not..Super UDT was made for diff functions unlike UDT..This topic I think is like 6 to 7 years old.

 

[jimmer2880]

I am using Amsoil fluid and works fine. Also have used SUDT and outcome would be you could not tell.

Use any fluid that is UDT approved and be fine. It is not like the world will end if you do not..Super UDT was made for diff functions unlike UDT..This topic I think is like 6 to 7 years old.

I'm sure that many are honest when they say they don't notice a difference. The point to my post was just saying that it did make a difference in my tractor. I have no idea why it help, but it absolutely does. Personally, I'm not a synthetic "cool-aide drinker". But, from now on, that's all that will be used in my trans (but not in my engine) on my 1830.