Oil & Fuel HST transmission fluid does anyone use a non Kubota brand? Recommendations?

kootenai · May 4, 2013

I am a new owner to an '07 L3400 with 163 hours. I noticed I do not have a visible line of tranny fluid. Not sure how much I will need to bring it back up and not sure what was in there prior. My Kubota dealer is an hour away and I would like to take care of leveling off the fluid before I make a trip to the dealer. Does anyone have a HST fluid they recommend, and is it ok to top off with a different kind than what is in there?

nybirdman · May 4, 2013

Just me be I wouldn't use anything but Kubota's.My dealer is an hour away also,but I'd make the trip.The problem with this oil is it's clear and difficult to see.

gwdixon · May 4, 2013

First - make sure the fluid is low in the sight glass. The background is very BRIGHT white. Park the tractor an angle with the sight glass higher. Check the condition of the sight glass. Most transmissions are overfilled unless there is a leak somewhere. The fluid doesn't burn up.

Second - do a search for "HST fluid" or "hydraulic oil". There are lots of options. Use a quality brand and there is no problem with topping off.

Wolfy · May 4, 2013

You can't go wrong with Valvoline. If you put a tiny bit of 15W40 in the HST, it will darken the oil enough so that it can be read much easier.

kootenai · May 4, 2013

GW you nailed it. As a new owner I am hyper-vigilant. After hooking into my wood splitter I began to worry about the level. But indeed, I am over full. Need I worry about blowing seals with over full? I had to get on a fairly steep side hill to see the bright white.....

sandyc · May 5, 2013

The only non-Kubota fluid I use is Mobil one for diesel in my engine. The HST fluid is super udt-2 and the filters are Kubota. Even though Kubota doesn't have their own refinery I think their specs may be different from the off-the-shelf stuff. With the high cost of the machine I don't want to be penny wise and pound foolish, as they say!

JOHNTHOMAS · May 5, 2013

HST transmission fluid does anyone use a non Kubota brand?
I don't.

gwdixon · May 5, 2013

kootenai said:
GW you nailed it. As a new owner I am hyper-vigilant. After hooking into my wood splitter I began to worry about the level. But indeed, I am over full. Need I worry about blowing seals with over full? I had to get on a fairly steep side hill to see the bright white.....

You HST will very likely be fine just as it is. There is a lot of leeway for the amount of fluid in the reservoir.

If it bothers you in the slightest then you can do the messy job of draining a quart, or so, at a time until it is perfect. My opinion is that doing that is totally unnecessary.

Steve in MT · May 5, 2013

I researched this some time ago and found out that Ashland oil (Valvoline) makes the oil for Kubota. I lost the web address for the Kubota MSDS sheets, but thats where I found the info. Maybe do a google search on that. Funny thing, when I was pricing out oil, the Kubota dealer had it cheaper then anyone else, go figure.
Steve

tomf · May 5, 2013

If I use anything but AMSOIL, my B2400 loses power steering after about an hour of hard mowing. After switching to AMSOIL the power steering works like new. If you want the best use AMSOIL. It took me many years before I tried AMSOIL because of the expense. I must say, having working power steering it is worth it.

crazyal · May 5, 2013

Chevron synthetic THF meets all the requirements of SUDT2. I've been told it's a full synthetic so it's probably even a little bit better than SUDT2. You may have luck finding it locally or find someone locally who can get you it. If they have to order it then you might be stuck buying a case or a 5 gallon bucket.

RFB · May 5, 2013

I have used Chevron Synthetic All-Weather THF in all of my Kubotas for the last 7 years.

It meets or exceeds all the specs, and works very well in -0F and +100F temps. It also significantly reduces HST whine.

RFB · May 5, 2013

RFB said:
I have used Chevron Synthetic All-Weather THF in all of my Kubotas for the last 7 years.

It meets or exceeds all the specs, and works very well in -0F and +100F temps. It also significantly reduces HST whine.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...00706-l5740-hst-filter-change-chevron-thf.pdf

Dirtgrazer · Jan 13, 2022

I too am a big fan of Amsoil products. I started using their 2 stroke oil years ago. Although I am reluctant to use anything other than Kubota products at this time because my L3560 was bought new and under warranty. My wife and I bought a new Subaru WRX awhile back. I have always done my own oil service. Big mistake !! The Motor broke a rod at 36k miles. Still under warranty but the Dicks at Subaru said that the oil changes were too far apart. I changed the oil every 5000 miles. Manual states 7500 Since I admitted to driving the car off the paved roads Subaru considered this severe use which required oil changes at 3750 miles. What a bunch of bull....The Dip****s at Subaru opted to not cover the new engine. A 6800 dollar gotcha. The fine print in the OEM manual states that off hi way use will void any warranty. I bet you a nickel Kubota has something up there sleeve as well.

sandman2234 · Jan 13, 2022

Dirtgrazer said:
I too am a big fan of Amsoil products. I started using their 2 stroke oil years ago. Although I am reluctant to use anything other than Kubota products at this time because my L3560 was bought new and under warranty. My wife and I bought a new Subaru WRX awhile back. I have always done my own oil service. Big mistake !! The Motor broke a rod at 36k miles. Still under warranty but the Dicks at Subaru said that the oil changes were too far apart. I changed the oil every 5000 miles. Manual states 7500 Since I admitted to driving the car off the paved roads Subaru considered this severe use which required oil changes at 3750 miles. What a bunch of bull....The Dip****s at Subaru opted to not cover the new engine. A 6800 dollar gotcha. The fine print in the OEM manual states that off hi way use will void any warranty. I bet you a nickel Kubota has something up there sleeve as well.

Noce to know, since my daughter was looking at one! She was looking at a 2020 Forester, liked the "all wheel drive" since her aunt lives on a dirt road!
Vetoed that just now!!
David from Jax

sixdogs · Jan 13, 2022

This is an ancient thread but I have tried other brands of fluid in different Kubotas. In an HST model like my B7800, SUDT2 outperformed the other high quality brand I tried. The SUDT2 had way less whine in the trans. So, after just a few hours of use, I took out what I put in to save a buck and put new SUDT2 back in. I think I did a thread on this. For a gear drive trans there was no difference in performance.

Kubota must add something to their SUDT2 that makes it a little bit different. So, if you're new to this topic, my free advice is to go with the SUDT2 if you have an HST trans and skip everything else.

jigs_n_fixtures · Jan 13, 2022

Here is the recommendations of Shell:

Oil Selector | Business

Find the right oil for you

www.shell.us

rScotty · Jan 13, 2022

sandman2234 said:
Noce to know, since my daughter was looking at one! She was looking at a 2020 Forester, liked the "all wheel drive" since her aunt lives on a dirt road!
Vetoed that just now!!
David from Jax

We have a lot of 4wd and back roads here in Colorado. I've never owned a Subaru, but lots of friends have them. Very popular cars out here. They are considered to be exceptionally reliable.

Come to think of it, I do have recent Subaru experience. Almost forgot, but a friend did loan us her 3 year old Subaru for a month's vacation last January. Nice car. Very tight & solid feeling and handled snow and dirt roads well. Seemed like any other newish car..... lacking soul, but troublefree & not lacking in abiilty.
If anything, it felt a little safer than other similar cars. Better visibility and really great mirrors.

I'll not be buying one. One of the reasons for Subaru popularity is they are economical. Although I enjoyed driving it, when I buy I like a larger size car.
rScotty

jyoutz · Jan 14, 2022

sandman2234 said:
Noce to know, since my daughter was looking at one! She was looking at a 2020 Forester, liked the "all wheel drive" since her aunt lives on a dirt road!
Vetoed that just now!!
David from Jax

We have a Subaru Forester and love it for snowy roads. It’s not really an off road vehicle, but we do live on a gravel road. It’s the best on road snow and ice vehicle I have ever owned. I would buy another one tomorrow. But I do use my Jeep or truck when I’m doing serious offroad travel. We have 100k mikes without a repair and always dealer service.