When to change hydraulic fluid?

[ovrszd]

My new M9540 Kubota manual says to change the hydraulic filters at 300 hours and the fluid at 600 hours. Not sure how you can change the filters without changing the oil because most of will run out when filters are removed. But I agree with the theory. If not contaminated, the oil has a long lifespan. My personal concern is the filtration. especially when I borrow hydraulic equipment or hook to a tool that's not been used for a long time. I just contaminated my system with whatever is in those. So I want good filtration.

Lastly, if your tractor is living in a non temperature controlled environment it is condensing moisture in the gear cases. By doing the drain plug trick you'll get rid of that moisture as it collects near the plug. In the old days I've saw tractors that had so much moisture in the gear cases they would freeze up and have to be yanked or dump the clutch in gear to break it all loose. Not recommending that, just saying the gear cases will get contaminated with moisture over time.

 

[D7E]

I remember from the 60's and 70s that IH tractors required Hy-Tran fluid and it was red in color, JD had their own fluid (cant recall what they called it) but it was green, Fords was clear but if you had different brand tractors it all go mixed when swapping remote cylinder operated equipment and no one ever had any issue with hydraulic pumps or brakes.

I agree ,We have 13 tractors of 6 different brands that are swapping attachments daily and we rent some big attachments at peak times so you have a real cocktail of oil in there anyway .we stopped using individual manufacturers oil decades ago . I probably buy more wal-mart TDH than any other these days ! Back in the 80's most tractor dealers sold a universal oil that did everything end to end( even JD) .

 

[gwdixon]

To all cheap oil proponents:

It seems to work fine in many situations. However.....

My experience is that in a BX2200 the cheap oil tends to make the HST transmission whine and it seems to "slip" when the transmission gets hot. The oil was changed out to New Holland Ambra and the problems disappeared.

With a L48 TLB on a hot day the boom operation will stutter quite violently after things get hot. It had to be let rest for a while. Changing out with Case Hy-Tran reduced the occurrences but did not completely eliminate it.

The M7040 with the Syncro Shuttle clutch did not like cheap oil at all. Smooth shifting was gone...once again, especially when hot. Kubota UDT was used and all was back to normal.

Incidentally, the oil replaced in all three tractors was Traveler Premium from Tractor Supply.

The common factor seem to be thinning, or lack of lubrication, when hot. I think there are studies out there dealing with flow characteristics when hydraulic oil is hot but I'll leave it to others to find the information.

Edit: Here is an article on the issue. No specific oil is named.

http://www.hydraulicfacts.com/Hydraulics-101/Characteristics-Good-Hydraulic-Fluid.html

 

[case580c]

My new M9540 Kubota manual says to change the hydraulic filters at 300 hours and the fluid at 600 hours. Not sure how you can change the filters without changing the oil because most of will run out when filters are removed. But I agree with the theory. If not contaminated, the oil has a long lifespan. My personal concern is the filtration. especially when I borrow hydraulic equipment or hook to a tool that's not been used for a long time. I just contaminated my system with whatever is in those. So I want good filtration.

Lastly, if your tractor is living in a non temperature controlled environment it is condensing moisture in the gear cases. By doing the drain plug trick you'll get rid of that moisture as it collects near the plug. In the old days I've saw tractors that had so much moisture in the gear cases they would freeze up and have to be yanked or dump the clutch in gear to break it all loose. Not recommending that, just saying the gear cases will get contaminated with moisture over time.

What is the DRAIN PLUG TRICK thanks

 

[ovrszd]

What is the DRAIN PLUG TRICK thanks

Water is heavier than oil. So it sinks to the bottom. After the tractor has sat for a day or more whatever water is in the system will sink to the bottom. Removing the drain plug for a couple seconds will let that water out. Old trick from fifty years ago draining water from gearboxes that sat outside so they don't freeze and lock up in Winter.