Hydraulic additives

[jd4310man]

Does anyone use an additive to there hydraulic oil? Is there a product that you could add to the oil to extend life of the pump, motors and other system components? I had a mechanic at my local John Deere dealer, he said to add a friction modifier to the hydro oil. I believe its the same stuff you add to posi rear ends. Has anyone heard of this?

 

[Fallon]

Get the right fluid for your machine according to the manual your done. The only additive I've used is some John Deere red hydraulic oil dye. That's because Kubota super UDT2 is crystal clear & my L3200 has a sight glass not a dipstick.

 

[Ehanson]

Does anyone use an additive to there hydraulic oil? Is there a product that you could add to the oil to extend life of the pump, motors and other system components? I had a mechanic at my local John Deere dealer, he said to add a friction modifier to the hydro oil. I believe its the same stuff you add to posi rear ends. Has anyone heard of this?

I know Cat has used a friction modifier in Hydraulic systems and axles with inboard brakes for years. The 1U-9891 Hydraulic Oil Additive minimizes normal vibration/chatter. I have seen hydraulic cylinders, new and or freshly rebuilt "stick/slip", which the additive reduces to make operation smooth.
Cheers,

 

[Soundguy]

Does anyone use an additive to there hydraulic oil? Is there a product that you could add to the oil to extend life of the pump, motors and other system components? I had a mechanic at my local John Deere dealer, he said to add a friction modifier to the hydro oil. I believe its the same stuff you add to posi rear ends. Has anyone heard of this?

just spend the money you would spend for your regular oil plus the snake oil, and invest both those $$ and get a premium oil spec'd for your machine.

 

[CJONE]

Lucas hyd oil conditioner. The only reason I use it is to help shifting of the trans. You want to help your pumps / hydrostats last, keep stuff CLEAN. Oil does not wear out. It gets dirty and looses it's additive package. If your oil is 2000 hour rated than barring it gets contaminated change it at 2000 hours. I have customers with large cranes that have never changed hydraulic oil in their systems. They filter with a off line system to 3 micron and have the oil tested and replace the additives as needed. 10's of thousands of hours on these units. I have 1 drilling rig with over 20k hours. It has had 1 main pump replaced at 12k hours and has had 1 oil change. Been doing all the hydraulics on this rig from new, so I know the history. Bottom line, KEEP THINGS CLEAN and use good quality oil. CJ

 

[IceStationZebra]

If you run the correct viscosity oil there is very little metal to metal contact. Friction modifiers are mainly for seals and wet clutches/brakes like Ehanson and Cjone said. If you add additives to oil you run the risk of foam, poor air release or water absorption issues due to incompatibilities. Some addities will eat the yellow metals in piston pumps. And friction modifiers specifically are long chain molecules that get chopped into little molecules by hydraulic pumps, which diminishes their effectiveness.

If you really want to baby the machine keep it in a heated shed, run full synthetic oil, and/or run lower viscosity in the winter. ISZ

 

[roadhunter]

I have used the Lucas hydraulic oil booster in the past but it is extremely thick and I live in a fairly cool area during certain times of the year so I decided to try the Amsoil hydraulic oil last winter.

 

[muddstopper]

Most of our equipment runs dextron 3 as a hydraulic oil. About twice a year the company sends out a big suck truck that sucks all the oil out of the machine. The suck truck filters the oil and heats it to remove any water. I am not sure to what micron the oil is filtered, but it is fine enough that it will take the red out of the dextron. Once filtered, the oil is pumped back into the machine and then topped off with new fluid. I have never know of any additive being added back to the refiltered oil other than just more new fluid. Since this equipment, (30+ pieces), runs 10-12 hrs every day for several years before rebuild, and we seldom ever loose a hyd pump. I am not convinced that all of these extra additives are really needed.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would use the money for additives on replacement hydraulic filters instead. Keeping the system clean is the best way to preserve the components imo.