Mix JD and Kubota hydraulic fluids?

[JimS]

I have a Kubota L3600 with low hours I got recently. A friend has offered to loan me a log splitter he has with his small JD tractor that runs off the tractor hydraulics. I have lots of wood to split but am a bit hesitant because his splitter hasn't been used for a year or two, might have crud in it, and also because it has different fluid in it. Would rather rent a stand alone splitter for a few days than risk problems with the tractor.

If he isn't going to use it much I wondered how I could drain/clean out the splitter cylinder for use with my tractor. Hook up a pressure line to one end and push the fluid out the other line, then reverse the hookup?

Another option is just to hook it up and use it. I am due for a fluid change anyway so I could change the fluid after I use it.

If we swap it back and forth this will be an ongoing issue. Does it need to be flushed each time? Am I being overly cautious? What would you do?

 

[RichNJKubota]

This is a big concern for me also. My neighbor and I share some hay equipment that uses tractor hydraulics. His tractor has not had a hydraulic oil change for at least 20 years but the oil looks clean and clear and my tractor has synthetic fluid.
I try and drain the hoses on the equipment for a few minutes before I use it. That's all I have time to do.
So far no harm.

 

[Soundguy]

If you are worried.. pop an end off and look at the fluid.. if it aint great.. flush it by pressuriving the colapsed side after draining hose, then do the other ( into a bucket ).. if it looks ok.. use it as is and do your flush later. when you planned to. Clean those QD ends.

Soundguy

I have a Kubota L3600 with low hours I got recently. A friend has offered to loan me a log splitter he has with his small JD tractor that runs off the tractor hydraulics. I have lots of wood to split but am a bit hesitant because his splitter hasn't been used for a year or two, might have crud in it, and also because it has different fluid in it. Would rather rent a stand alone splitter for a few days than risk problems with the tractor.

If he isn't going to use it much I wondered how I could drain/clean out the splitter cylinder for use with my tractor. Hook up a pressure line to one end and push the fluid out the other line, then reverse the hookup?

Another option is just to hook it up and use it. I am due for a fluid change anyway so I could change the fluid after I use it.

If we swap it back and forth this will be an ongoing issue. Does it need to be flushed each time? Am I being overly cautious? What would you do?

 

[art]

Sounds good to me!!! Remove the ends and pull the cylinder back and forth to romove the oil in the system. Your only going to loose about a half a gallon at tops but recheck your oil level after operating the unit to fill it.

 

[radman1]

I have a 2 Jd tractors (3720 hydro and 5300), bobcat skid steer and Case-IH Dx29 hydro also 3 other larger Case-IH farm tractors. All 3 groups use different hydraulic oils. I sometimes have to use similar attachments between the 3 different groups. I know the oils are not the same but I can't just flush out the cylinders/equipment when I switch over. I would be wasting a lot of time and oil. Oils get mixed but the amounts are relatively small. I just changes the oil at routine maintenance intervals. Even if the splitter hasn't been used for a couple of years, I would just go ahead and use it, especially if you are going to be changing your hydraulic oil anyway. If you want to bleed out the old oil, I have no problems, especially if the oil is old or dirty. I previously owned a Kubota 3710 GST, and the kubota dealer said to just use the JD transmission oil and I did. Not enough difference to be of big concern.

 

[mopacman]

I dont know about hydrostat but JD and kubota use the same speck oil in the manual transmision. Larry

 

[jrschremser]

I share a similar concern. Although it wouldn't do much to address the different brand oil issue would installing a filter in the return to tractor line cause too much resistance in the system, if the owner is agreeable?

 

[Soundguy]

If it's DA.. both sides will be pressureized at different tims.. with little oil flowing each way on each stroke.. I don't think slapping a filter on each pressurized line is going to be the thing to do here.

If it was an implement with a circulating system.. like a motor.. then perhaps..

Soundguy

 

[jrschremser]

I need some hydrauics 101. Am I wrong thinking fluid is constantly circulating under high pressure out through the PB to a log splitter and back in to the tractor no matter what the position the splitter valve is in?

 

[Soundguy]

I wasn't sure what type of implement we were talking about. For some reason i was not thinking about an implement with it's own valve.. but rather an implement just with a sa or DA cyl that was controlle d off the tractors hyd remote spools directly.. like lift and fold cyls on a batwing mower or lift cyls / angle cyls on a transport mower or disc. In those cases. there is only a little bit of oil that makes a back and forth journey.

In your scenerio with a log splitter with it's own valve.. then yes.. if it's getting power from tractor hyds.. then your spool is in detent and supplying constant flow to the splitter valve and unless the oil is being diverted by one of the spools to actuate a cyl... then it would be dumped back to the return line. Many of those type implements.. at least the ones I see at TSC.. etc.. DO have their own hyd filter..

Soundguy