New(ish) Kubota M62 With Filthy Hydraulic Oil

[5030]

The biggest issue (I've found at least) with buying ANY used machine is the one, lack of owners manuals (for some reason unknown to me), the owners manuals seem to vanish and are never supplied with a used machine and two, the total lack of a comprehensive maintenance record / incident repair record.

When I sell a piece of equipment, I always provide the owners manual and shop manual if I have it, plus a maintenance / repair record to the next owner.

Common courtesy far as I'm concerned.

Buying used with no records or manuals is a shot in the dark and not something I do either way. Last used tractor I bought (Kubota), I got the manuals and service records so I knew what I had to deal with going in and what the unit was actually worth (which is what I paid btw) I still put a couple grand into it (had a weeping front main seal and a left outboard front needed rebuilt, neither of which were deal breakers. In the end I got a unit that was worth more than I invested.

With any used unit, there will always be issues to address, it is, after all used and used machines do wear.

 

[mtputney]

mtputney,

If you bought the M62 new from a dealer then I would be returning the machine to them and have them flush the system, extend the warranty and explain why the system is contaminated.

If you bought the machine used then prior owner may have sold machine to get rid a problem. I can think of no good reason why there is so much calcium in the hydraulic fluid and points to outside contamination ( possibly intentional ). The phosphorus is also high and would point to either outside contamination or wear of bushings of nickel plated items.

Both calcium and phosphorus may point to someone dumped another INCOMPATIBLE lubricant into the hydraulic storage tank either in error or intentionally

Either way, I would flush the hydraulics 3 times and then retest and then again after six months.

Link to useful web site on lubricant analysis

Oil additives – functions & typical concentrations. What do calcium, phosphorus, zinc, molybdenum and oil additives do in your lube oil? - LEARN OIL ANALYSIS

The below list is a general guide for additive concentrations in lubricating oils. This list is not definitive and with the recent emergence of Nano-technology and ashless additives that are not metal based the variation between different additive packages formulations will change greatly. The...

learnoilanalysis.com

Good luck

Thanks - seems like solid advice.

 

[mtputney]

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice. Please excuse the delay responding – I’ve been busy changing the fluid.

Additional Information:

Tractor was purchased new from dealer– no previous owners. Unfortunately it looks like we chose a bad dealership. He is refusing to help. Called Kubota - they say its between use and the dealer.

All maintenance done at the suggested hours.

No use of hydraulically driven attachments.

We’re very careful with the cleanliness of the hydraulic connectors when taking the backhoe off/on.

Tractor get used every other day or so – always to recommended temperature.

Tractor is housed in a barn – but we do wash it frequently.

Sizzle test for water is between negative and 0.05 - 0.1% 500-1000 ppm. It was zero with Blackstone.

Again – thanks for the help.

 

[5030]

It is entirely possible that when it was built, Kubota for some reason didn't flush out the gearbox after assembly, something I believe they do.

 

[jonsstihl]

first thing I would do is stop washing it so often and look for a path for water to get into the case. Sucks about the dealer not wanting to do anything. maybe another dealer close by is looking for some business. don't give up yet with Kubota.

I signed a purchase agreement with a dealer once with conditions based on an inspection by me and I found lots of little things wrong and turns out they painted the 3 pt hitch parts on top of the grease between the time I saw the pictures on the web and when I went to see it. Told them the deal was off and they started threatening that they had a signed contract. One call to kubota and they were off my back.

 

[rScotty]

SNIP.....

Sizzle test for water is between negative and 0.05 - 0.1% 500-1000 ppm. It was zero with Blackstone.

Again – thanks for the help.

Sizzle Test?

 

[crashz]

They heat the sample to determine moisture content.

 

[crashz]

OP - not sure who your dealer is, but try contacting Chappell Tractor in NH. That is where I bought my machine and they have been excellent to me. Maybe they can help in some way?

I see nothing wrong with washing your equipment unless you are hitting sensitive seals with a pressure washer at a close distance.

 

[BeezFun]

... but we do wash it frequently.

Check where the vents are on your axles and transmission to be sure you're not sending a spray of water in the vent when you wash it.

 

[rScotty]

Check where the vents are on your axles and transmission to be sure you're not sending a spray of water in the vent when you wash it.

Very good advice - but hard to do on the M59 & possibly the M62 is the same. The floorboards are not easily removed. Grinding is required. And near impossible to access. I never have found a way to easily check the vents on our similar M59.
IF YOU FIND THE VENTS PLEASE POST THE INFO.

To the OP. As I metioned before, it looks like water in the oil. A visual eyeball test also has weight.
The "Sizzle Test" is ancient, subjective, and developed for non-detergent oils. Basically it is dropping oil onto a hot plate and rating the sound because water boils at a lower temperature than oil. Like french fries dropped into a skillet..... I think that the sizzle test has questionable validity when used for modern oils with dispersants and emulsifiers. That's just an opinion and of course the visual is also subjective - but consider how much visual knowledge that we have available for comparison.

IMHO, you would be better off to buy an inexpensive blotter paper oil test kit & do your own water eval. Chromatography testing has been around a long time & follows ASTM standards. Get a kit and read up on ASTM D test for using it. Kits are inexpensive; Amazon even sells them. Lots on info online. Blotter tests (like most oil tests) are more for engine oil than transmission fluid, but the same principles apply. There may also be more speciaized blotter type tests that I don't know about. So Read the ASTM document & any amendments. Look for blotter articles in machinery and petroleum journals (online).

If it were my tractor I would use a sample of the same oil but new and unused. mix in half a percent water max, heat and blend, then do the ASTM blotter test using their suggestions. Repeat with your sample. Compare them against several different chromatography keys. You can also do your own sizzle test.

But with a newish tractor and only a little bit of water, chances are good that the emulsifiers/dispersants that confound the sizzle test may have enabled you to catch it in time. I still wonder about the particles.
rScotty