Transmission fluid

[Deere Dude]

The L3940 here gets used 365 days a year regardless of the weather for feeding the herd. They made the mistake of going with Kubota Universal UDT. It was ok when it was changed out in the Summer but come Winter it was like a bucking bronco. It was a costly mistake as it was changed again to Super UDT2. Not trying to start an oil war but that's first hand experience. If it were a gear drive I wouldn't worry about it but being an HST I'd go with Super UDT2. The L3940 HST here has still never been as smooth as it was before the change to UDT and back again.

I was told by the dealer I could use the thicker regular hydraulic JD oil in my JD tractor instead of Lo Viscosity hydraulic oil. I heard similar stories as yours by people who tried something other than a sure thinhg. I was considering it until I looked on the dipstick and it plainly says "Lo-Vis".

I could cut corners and cost like some Kubota owners but what would be the ramifications if it didn't operate right after the change. I would have to change it again prematurely. Like yours if it still didn't clear the problem another oil change might be in the near future to get the thicker stuff diluted.

That happened with my truck. I changed the trans oil but found it was an oil that may cause premature O-ring leakage. So I drained the oil and put the recommended oil in, drove it a couple hundred miles and drained it again and refilled. By then the bad oil should have been diluted to within specs.

Put the sure think in and don't put yourself in a position to need to defend some odd oil against someone with deeper pockets than you. The company always has the upper hand..

 

[Grateful11]

I know a Kubota dealer a county over that sold a contractor highway mowing company 11 M5's. They changed the hydraulic fluid in them with TSC yellow bucket hydraulic fluid. They began to have hydraulic problems. Kubota tested the oil and it didn't meet spec. they wouldn't cover the hydraulic warranty work on the tractors. Probably a bad move Kubota's behalf. Someone buys around $600K worth of tractors and even though it was the mowing companies fault for going cheap on oil they probably lost a customer. I wouldn't put that yellow bucket stuff in my wood splitter. I saw the other day for $20/5 gallons. How much quality could possibly be in it at $1/quart? I know the guy that works there well enough to know he didn't make this up. I've read the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act only applies when your talking apples to apples, the item has to meet the spec. of the manufacturer otherwise it means nothing.

 

[moship]

Found this on Kubota's website.

If I'm reading it correctly UDT and Super UDT2 can be used.
Link: https://www.kubotausa.com/service-support/maintenance-schedules/lubricant-maintenance-schedule

For everyone worried about meeting Kubota's stringent specifications, how many of you are able to purchase diesel with a minimum cetane rating 45. I haven't seen a pump with this high of a rating in the past 10 years. I only see 40 available in PA and surrounding area.

 

[marchanna]

For your reference, Kubota Super UDT is a specification not a particular oil or product. Here is the SAE paper - unfortunately you do have to buy it to view it.

Development of High Performance Transmission/Hydraulic Fluid (KUBOTA Super-UDT) Establishing the Specification and New Test Method

Any oil passing the test would be a Super UTD oil. Like any specification, a manufacturer will decide which ones they want to test their products against or blend to achieve the specification, based on marketing objectives. This paper cites the reason for this new spec and method.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Find it odd that enough people think that Kubota is a leader in tractors and hydrostatic drives and then want to use cheaper fluid or filters in their machines.

I have always noticed improvements after changing fluid that was mixed with either other non Kubota fluids or moisture from being in the wet environment here for both the HST transmissions (stall point under load and cold weather) and the shifting speed of the GST and having the wet clutches chirping when starting in a high gear, fresh fluid will start in gear 8 when fresh and 7 when old on my L3130GST.

Somebody on TBN actually had that paper from SAE at one time and Kubota did their homework on it.

As some people have found out that there are fluids comparable to Super UDT but they are not usually and cheaper.

SkyPup read the paper.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...g/45650-kubota-super-udt-hydraulic-fluid.html

David

 

[marchanna]

I think a lot of people realize that, just like with their cars and trucks, Kubota doesn稚 manufacture oils and filters, and they think its unreasonable when they seem the same products for significantly cheaper under a different brand name.

 

[bdhsfz6]

You are Absolutely Correct ... here it is 2018 and there are Still some that don't care enough to check into law before they make claims about it...
the one you are referring to is :Magnuson邦oss Warranty Act, and it Clearly states that a warranty can NOT be denied because of a failure to use any particular brand of lube or other expendable.
also the idea that Kubota brand UDT or SUDT is somehow 'superior to any other oil meeting the same spec has been talked to death on this and other sites. For some time the idea that SUDT was synthetic based on it's price was the common misinformation, then after some time it discovered that it was infact just a multi viscosity blend Priced like a synthetic...
Kubota has since came out with a SUDT2 that seems to be a synthetic blend, (semi synthetic) still priced like a full synthetic.
You will be Fine using Travelers Premium from Your local Tractor Supply Many on these forums have used it for decades, and yes there is always going to be someone that will claim that using an over priced oil is somehow a type of "insurance" against a possibility that can not legally happen.
Happy Tractor'ing KennyV

Where in this post does it say that Kubota denied a warranty claim because their brand of oil wasn't used? The claim was denied because the oil used didn't meet their specs. This IS legal and Kubota is entirely within their rights to do so. If you read the whole post, you will see this was stated twice. No laws were violated.

 

[marchanna]

Both examples do state the Kubota tested the oil and it didn’t meet spec. Interesting that Kubota goes to this effort.

Out of curiousity, seeing as in these cases they would have tested used oil, I wonder if Kubota’s own branded oil would still meet spec after 400hrs in service.

I think you’ll find the tendency is to only test the oil in the event of a failure when another brand of oil is being used, so unless owners voluntarily test their Kubota branded oil, we’ll never have a fair comparison. Until then, only speculation.

A lot of good points though on both sides of the argument.

For me, if the Kubota oil was competitively priced, then I would like buy it, unless of course my operating conditions required a higher spec’ed oil. But I don’t live in sub-arctic conditions and I don’t own a Kubota, so it’s somewhat moot in the end.

 

[KennyV]

Where in this post does it say that Kubota denied a warranty claim because their brand of oil wasn't used? The claim was denied because the oil used didn't meet their specs. This IS legal and Kubota is entirely within their rights to do so. If you read the whole post, you will see this was stated twice. No laws were violated.

Exactly my point... The Law states that a manufacturer can not require a particular brand of oil... But yet there are always those 'claiming' that you must or you should always use a manufacturers brand or labeled oil in order to keep your warranty. All manufacturers do have minimum specifications for their components and that is what they strive to exceed, (as production budget dictates)...

Among the various reasons to use any after market part or liquid is the fact that it is well within most peoples ability to find specifications that Greatly Exceed the minimum specifications set by the manufacturer, and this can actually be done at a cost Less than or equal to the manufacturers brand... It is not Always about saving a 'few dollars' there are times when you can actually get a superior product. You just have to be able to pay attention. KennyV

 

[hmeadowsjr]

I would like to think everyone for their opinions. That's a lot of good information. It's good to know that I can use a different oil as long as it meets the specs of the Super-UDT. The reason I mention TSC wasn't because of the price (even thought it is $63 per 5 gals. cheaper), it was because TSC is a lot closer to my location and also I took my tractor to the dealer because the PTO level wasn't working with only 180 hours on it and they recommend that I have it greased since they had it in their shop. I said ok thinking that a few fittings being greased wouldn't cost to much. They charged me $142. I thought that was an over charge and I try to avoid taking it to the dealer to have anything done. A little information about how I use my tractor. I have nine acres and about have of that is wooded. I use my tractor mainly to thin out the woods. If it is colder than 50 degree out I don't climb on my tractor. I'm retired and I work when I want to. Again thanks everyone.