Compatible Hydraulic Fluid ?

[bocash3]

Howdy

In replacing a bent hydraulic cylinder this week on a BH-76 backhoe , I lost a bit of hydraulic fluid.

I picked up a gallon of "Coastal AW-32 Hydraulic and Jack Oil."

My tractor is 6 years old, so out of warranty and I did not want to pay for "genuine Kubota hydraulic fluid."

Tractor is a L2800 manual shift.

Is this fluid compatible? IF not, what should I purchase from either Auto Zone or Tractor Supply?

Thanking you in advance, Bo

 

[Soundguy]

Not knowing if you have a separate sump or not, I would opt on the safe side and go with a utf/utd generic house brand fluid that meets Kubota specs. Lotsa generic brands around, way cheaper than oe branded oil.

That aw32 oil is good for exactly what it says
... Jacks!

 

[davesl708]

Hi. welcome. The cost difference between OEM and the other brands is usually not that much and with OEM you know you have the right fluid. Mixing fluids in hydraulics is not always the best plan.

 

[mikesee]

Wait a second, I am almost positive that the fluid used to operate the backhoe is UDT and not hydraulic oil. The least expensive way to go is Uneversal tractor fluid. Do not use plain hydraulic fluid. Many folks are going to recommed sticking with UDT

 

[Soundguy]

Hi. welcome. The cost difference between OEM and the other brands is usually not that much and with OEM you know you have the right fluid. Mixing fluids in hydraulics is not always the best plan.

You must not get out much, a premium generic utd/utf can be had for 50$, oe brands can be over 80$. ( prices for 5g pails ).

30$ is a significant difference!

 

[mapper]

When I purchased my Massey Ferguson, it required a fluid change after a 50 hour break in period, according to the owners manual it could only be MF fluid. The dealer however said that was not necessary and any rated oil would work got mine from local NAPA store, rated for permatron (MF type) and a lot of other brands. As stated in previous post saved about $30/5 gallon drum.

 

[IslandTractor]

Wait a second, I am almost positive that the fluid used to operate the backhoe is UDT and not hydraulic oil. The least expensive way to go is Uneversal tractor fluid. Do not use plain hydraulic fluid. Many folks are going to recommed sticking with UDT

UDT is hydraulic oil. It's just what Kubota calls it so they can charge higher prices. Do you think Kubota makes it themselves? Marketing baloney.

 

[Soundguy]

When I purchased my Massey Ferguson, it required a fluid change after a 50 hour break in period, according to the owners manual it could only be MF fluid. The dealer however said that was not necessary and any rated oil would work got mine from local NAPA store, rated for permatron (MF type) and a lot of other brands. As stated in previous post saved about $30/5 gallon drum.

Additionally, if they said you had to use their oil, by law, they would have to provide it, unless they had applied for an exemption to the magnusson-moss warranty act.

 

[Silvic]

I recently acquired a Terex CTL that specifies Mobile DTE10 EXCEL 46 hydraulic fluid or equivalent as the only acceptable fluid. None of the dealers locally carried it so I got to looking at the spec and equivalent oils. Surprise there aren't any,at least that I could find. They did not state that I had to use their (Terex) oil they merely stated that I had to use a specific Mobile oil or its equivalent. Is Terex in bed with Mobile since there is no equivalent? By the way Buy Transmission Fluid, Oil & Lubricant | TheLubricantStore.com is a pretty good deal and if you purchase enough it has free shipping (yes I know it is rolled into the price technically)

 

[rbargeron]

Some people think Kubota's UDT is regular 10w hydraulic oil with additives that quiet down the whining and chattering - which are mostly customer complaints and don't threaten the life of the machine. Honda Motor Co. has done this many times as they have redesigned limited slip differentials - there must be 10 different part numbers for Honda/Acura differential fluid. Wet clutch boundary layer design has always been illusive - one solution to a new and noisey design is to try some additives and see what works. Then get it blended, labeled, promoted by dealers as essential, and get paid extra for a remedy to an inherent design defect. Neat trick, huh?

 

[LD1]

I use the traveller universal stuff from tsc. Never had any issues in any of the equipment it gets ran in.

Only thing I source from kubota is the air filter and the hydraulic oil filter. Everything else is aftermarket.

 

[bocash3]

Today, I found that both Tractor Supply and Auto Zone had UDT compatible hydraulic fluid. Each had on the back of the container that they were OK for Kubota. I bought a gallon at AZ because TS only had 2-gallon containers.

 

[Soundguy]

As said, Kubota doesn't pump or refine any oil.. Its all thru custom bottelers that they have a Kubota brand oil.

 

[KYKub]

I, too, have grudgingly purchased Kubota hydraulic fluid after longingly studying the cheaper stuff in TSC and Rural King. I noticed that their "premium" fluid is advertised as comparable with Kubota UDT; however, my G1900 calls for "Super" UDT. Is there any difference? I don't buy it by the drum like some of you guys, but I still resent being coerced unnecessarily to buy branded anything.

Thanks. Jeff

 

[rScotty]

As I read it, the original question was whether different brands of hydraulic oil are compatible with each other.

We oughta be able to answer that. Think about it.....lots of tractors have hydraulic outlets so that they can power attachments - attachments which can be rented at rental shops just about anywhere. Every one of those attachments has mystery oil in it when it comes to you, so nobody who uses these implements has the slightest idea of what kind of oil is getting mixed their tractor's hydraulic oil. You just hope it's at the least oil of some kind....and not too much water and not too dirty. Probably most of it is engine oil. BTW, for lots of years the John Deere commercial equipment specified 10w-30 engine oil as their preferred hydro/transmission oil. That's what the manual for my 2006 JD310SG calls for.

I'm thinking that if mixing hydraulic oils was a problem we would have no doubt about it by now. With all the people renting equipment and mixing this and that and who knows what into their common hydraulic oil by now any downside would be common mechanical knowledge. Instead,what we have are lots of opinions on oil but very little or no repeatable examples where oil incompatibility has caused a problem. Maybe the oil companies are right and their products really are compatible. It looks to be true.

My opinons - Are some oils better than others? Well....., probably yes. Does mixing one kind of hydro/transmission oil with another or with motor oil cause a problem? Probably not......at least there's no hard evidence that it does and lots that it doesn't.
Do I mix oils in my own machines? Certainly not! I intend to keep my machines for 10,000 hrs, so we buy premium hydraulic/transmission oils, keep them clean, and figure the cost is cheap enough if all it does if it postpones wear by a thousand hours. But then I also buy the occassional lottery ticket.

Good Luck beats Good Planning,
rScotty

 

[Soundguy]

I'm sure dilution ratio plays a big part if you mixed a watery engine oil into a premium UDT system. IE. whats 20 oz oil in a 13g system.. etc.

all depends on how much..


I agree though.. limited mixing from implements will be just that.. and heck.. if lucky.. you can keep most of it int he lines anyway.

 

[Silvic]

I am against mixing types. In another industry, aviation, back in the late 70's there was a failure of grease when two non-compatible greases were mixed and lost all structure that made it grease. Lost an aircraft as a result.

I know this is a tractor not an airplane but the possibility of loss of properties due to non compatible fluids is the same. Of course you are talking to someone that when he changes the hyd fluid in his machines he changes the remnants of the fluid that is in the attachments by flushing them as well. It took a bit over 33 percent more fluid to do that but that would have been 33% dirty fluid that would have circulated if it had not been done.
Your choice but ...................:thumbdown:

 

[IslandTractor]

I am against mixing types. In another industry, aviation, back in the late 70's there was a failure of grease when two non-compatible greases were mixed and lost all structure that made it grease. Lost an aircraft as a result.

I know this is a tractor not an airplane but the possibility of loss of properties due to non compatible fluids is the same. Of course you are talking to someone that when he changes the hyd fluid in his machines he changes the remnants of the fluid that is in the attachments by flushing them as well. It took a bit over 33 percent more fluid to do that but that would have been 33% dirty fluid that would have circulated if it had not been done.
Your choice but ...................:thumbdown:

You must have a lot of attachments. I use close to 15 gallons to change hydraulic fluid in my tractor. I've got a BH and grapple and topping lift cylinder but cannot imagine there is more than a gallon or two combined in the hoses and cylinders of the attachments. 10% used fluid that doesn't appear dirty at all seems no big deal especially with a new filter. I have always thought the purpose of fluid changes was simply to replace additives as the filter is supposed to keep the fluid clean. In my case even close to time of fluid change (200 plus hours) the fluid is so clear that it is hard to read on the dipstick.

 

[Silvic]

You must have a lot of attachments. I use close to 15 gallons to change hydraulic fluid in my tractor. I've got a BH and grapple and topping lift cylinder but cannot imagine there is more than a gallon or two combined in the hoses and cylinders of the attachments. 10% used fluid that doesn't appear dirty at all seems no big deal especially with a new filter. I have always thought the purpose of fluid changes was simply to replace additives as the filter is supposed to keep the fluid clean. In my case even close to time of fluid change (200 plus hours) the fluid is so clear that it is hard to read on the dipstick.

Don't know what a bunch is but I could be accused of having that. :laughing:

The interesting thing was the implements that have cylinders on the ends of hoses (no or little return flowback to the sump) had what to me was an amazing amount of moisture in the fluid (milky like). Of course the implements that have open flow, (motors and the like) have the fluid circulating all the time and any fluid that was in the system is gone in several seconds after it is turned on as it returns to the tractor sump. The oil analysis that was done on the main sump sample showed very good quality with no moisture issues. The fluid just never got a chance to circulate and be heated and expunge the moisture that accumulates over time. Some of the fluid in your BH cylinders is probable as old as the cylinder if you have made no effort to drain and clean on some periodic cycle. My three way blade had almost 2 gallons in it. The chipper a lot more. BH probably had the least of all of them even with all of its cylinders.

 

[100 td]

For general use of implements, every time a cylinder is extended, the cylinder is filled with new oil from the valve block (including existing oil in the hose/pipe), and the oil on the other side of the cylinder is returned to the sump. Then the same happens when it's retracted. The only way a cylinder has old oil in it, is if the volume contained in the long lines to the cylinder is greater than the volume of the cylinder. I'll take a punt on saying the volume of the cylinders will hold more than the hoses on most loaders & hoes, perhaps an extender hoe bucket ram may be less, but unless it's measured, then I'm just guessing for the lot, but I'll take the punt anyway. I will have to measure mine some day!