Oil & Fuel Motor Oil as the Hydraulic Oil in Power Trac

[smartguyz]

Wow. This is a pretty long thread, but I enjoyed reading it. DieselPower, were you offering to sell UTF Red to members of this group? Can you point us to local retailers? I'm in the 97007 ZIP area.

Sincerely,

Rob

 

[SpringHollow]

I have found Diesel Power to be very helpful. The web site to have it shipped directly to you is:

Texas Refinery Corp. Specialty Lubricants and Greases TRC

All of the contact information is there.

Ken

 

[DieselPower]

Like Ken said all the contact info can be found on the above posted website link. There are a few stores that sell TRC products but they are few and far between. I have seen them in a couple of NAPA stores before and repair shops parts counters. The majority of TRC products manufactured and sold from their headquarters in Ft. Worth, TX.

Mike

 

[tracdoc]

Long thread, indeed--- but great reading with a lot of thoughtful input. It's very reassuring to see that the (apparent) consensus of the current thread is to opt for multi-viscosity fluids which are formulated for hydraulic use, as opposed to combustion use. This recaps the opinions of previous threads on this lively topic back in '04 and in '05.

I was planning to do a switcheroo to a hydraulic formulation when I hit the 100 hr mark, and this thread certainly reinforces my planning. The "Texas Red" is new to me, and I will give it serious consideration. I was leaning to one of the Schaeffer's products [ Schaeffer Oil | Industrial Lubricants | Diesel Fuel Additive | Synthetic Motor Oils ], but they are not easy to find around here. The redline ester frmulations are also appealing [ Red Line Oil ] but very $$$$! When I posted a query on THE oil forum [ http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums ] awhile back, folks pretty much echoed the sentiments favoring a hydraulic formulation. Interestingly, some opined that ATF was hands down the best hydraulic fluid.

Thanks again everyone...

 

[smartguyz]

When I posted a query on THE oil forum [ http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums ] awhile back, folks pretty much echoed the sentiments favoring a hydraulic formulation. Interestingly, some opined that ATF was hands down the best hydraulic fluid.

Thanks again everyone...

Whoa, pardner!

You can't just drop a nuclear bomb like that and just sign off!

I'd love to hear peoples' opinion on "ATF was hands down the best hydraulic fluid". We're talking Automatic Transmission Fluid, yes? That is certainly a bold statement - and ATF is readily available and quite inexpensive.

What say you oil gurus?

Sincerely,

Rob

 

[DieselPower]

ATF is sometimes used as a hydraulic oil in equipment. Automatic transmissions are after all hydraulic in nature and therefore the fluid is basically a beefed up hydraulic oil. It is often used as a cold weather hydraulic oil since most ATF's have very low pour points and is thiner than the standard ISO 68 used in most equipment hydraulics. ATF makes a good hydraulic oil in equipment that is in continuous operation in ambient temperatures around -30 degrees C. or close to arctic conditions.

"some opined that ATF was hands down the best hydraulic fluid." That's a bold statement to make about anything, especially when comparing hydraulic oil to ATF. ATF comes in only one viscosity while hydraulic oil comes in a very broad range of viscosities and specialty types like fire resistant and biodegradable.

My opinion would be that ATF would NOT make a good replacement for the oil in Power Trac's. Why, because it's to thin. Unless of course you plan on using it at the North Pole.

If I was going to suggest a ATF "type" fluid for the Power Trac it would not be standard ATF fluid like Dex III/Mercon. It would be a something like a SAE 30 equipment fluid meeting Allison C-4, Caterpillar TO-4 spec's. I know what the next question is going to be, what's equipment fluid? This is a example of of what I call equipment fluid. Pro-Tac IV More confused now aren't we, another darn fluid type.

Bottom line. What's best, a motor oil, equipment fluid or a UTF for a Power Trac. My opinion would be a 10W/30 viscosity UTF. Motor oil, I'm not going to go there again, the hydraulic system is not a internal combustion engine. Equipment type fluid, sure it would work but it's a little more expensive than UTF and does not offer the multi-viscosity benefit of the UTF. UTF, is a hydraulic oil, offers good temperature operating ranges and is a little cheaper than the equipment fluid and would be best for the majority of users in the US cont. 48. In extremely hot conditions I would probably go with the equipment type fluid in a SAE 30 viscosity.

 

[tracdoc]

Interestingly,some opined that ATF was hands down the best hydraulic fluid.

You can't just drop a nuclear bomb like that and just sign off!

I certainly did not intend for that to be a nuclear bomb (!!!), or anything of the sort, and my sincere apologies if it came across in that manner. If one searches the site, these are only opinions, as my comment of interest was intended to convey, not authoritative conclusions based on hard science experiments. I myself would/will not switch to ATF in my PT based on this alone. I too, would like to hear pros/cons relative to ATF in lieu of a standard hydraulic formulation.

Whew!

 

[J_J]

I certainly did not intend for that to be a nuclear bomb (!!!), or anything of the sort, and my sincere apologies if it came across in that manner. If one searches the site, these are only opinions, as my comment of interest was intended to convey, not authoritative conclusions based on hard science experiments. I myself would/will not switch to ATF in my PT based on this alone. I too, would like to hear pros/cons relative to ATF in lieu of a standard hydraulic formulation.

Whew!

I would not use ATF fluid in the PT for any reason. It is just to thin. You would never put thick stuff in your auto transmission. It would probably destroy it self very soon. You would only do that to sell a bad transmission to some one you didn't like. Every hydraulic shop that I ask about the motor oil as a hydraulic fluid think is rather stupid. Hydraulic fluid is made for a specific purpose, for hydraulic systems.

 

[J_J]

ATF is sometimes used as a hydraulic oil in equipment. Automatic transmissions are after all hydraulic in nature and therefore the fluid is basically a beefed up hydraulic oil. It is often used as a cold weather hydraulic oil since most ATF's have very low pour points and is thiner than the standard ISO 68 used in most equipment hydraulics. ATF makes a good hydraulic oil in equipment that is in continuous operation in ambient temperatures around -30 degrees C. or close to arctic conditions.

"some opined that ATF was hands down the best hydraulic fluid." That's a bold statement to make about anything, especially when comparing hydraulic oil to ATF. ATF comes in only one viscosity while hydraulic oil comes in a very broad range of viscosities and specialty types like fire resistant and biodegradable.

My opinion would be that ATF would NOT make a good replacement for the oil in Power Trac's. Why, because it's to thin. Unless of course you plan on using it at the North Pole.

If I was going to suggest a ATF "type" fluid for the Power Trac it would not be standard ATF fluid like Dex III/Mercon. It would be a something like a SAE 30 equipment fluid meeting Allison C-4, Caterpillar TO-4 spec's. I know what the next question is going to be, what's equipment fluid? This is a example of of what I call equipment fluid. Pro-Tac IV More confused now aren't we, another darn fluid type.

Bottom line. What's best, a motor oil, equipment fluid or a UTF for a Power Trac. My opinion would be a 10W/30 viscosity UTF. Motor oil, I'm not going to go there again, the hydraulic system is not a internal combustion engine. Equipment type fluid, sure it would work but it's a little more expensive than UTF and does not offer the multi-viscosity benefit of the UTF. UTF, is a hydraulic oil, offers good temperature operating ranges and is a little cheaper than the equipment fluid and would be best for the majority of users in the US cont. 48. In extremely hot conditions I would probably go with the equipment type fluid in a SAE 30 viscosity.

I totally agree. Enough said.

 

[MuncyBob]

I was in our local Sams Club today and saw they have 5 gallon containers of a universal tractor/hydrauilic oil, I think it was around $24. It did not state the viscosity but did have several designations that this oil meets...such as CAT 70-2, Kubota UDT and Allison C-2, C-3. With this information does anybody know if this is a multi viscosity fluid?