2538 front axle fluid

mike35549 · Jul 4, 2017

I know this has been discussed on here. I had my 50 hr service done on my tractor and the dealer didn't change the Hydro fluid or the front axle. But since the book says to change them I purchased the fluid and changed it myself. Dealer said they put UTF in the front axle on all the Mahindra tractors they service so I bought enough to do both. However when I drained the front axle it had gear oil in it. I replaced it with UTF the book says you can use both. What have the other folks on here with 2538's used in the front axle.

RNeumann · Jul 4, 2017

They work with either. The UTF is for normal to cooler climates and the gear oil is for places that don't freeze or have snow- or so I'm told. The fluid lives such an easy life in the front axle, cooking oil would probably be just fine-for effect don't do this!

mike35549 · Jul 4, 2017

Also I do not know what kind of UTF they put in these at the factory but it is not Mahindra fluid. Mahindra fluid has a red almost purple dye in it and what came out was regular UTF color. The Mahindra fluid did however make the HST a lot quieter very little or no whine at all since I changed the fluid.

dickfoster · Jul 6, 2017

mike35549 said:
I know this has been discussed on here. I had my 50 hr service done on my tractor and the dealer didn't change the Hydro fluid or the front axle. But since the book says to change them I purchased the fluid and changed it myself. Dealer said they put UTF in the front axle on all the Mahindra tractors they service so I bought enough to do both. However when I drained the front axle it had gear oil in it. I replaced it with UTF the book says you can use both. What have the other folks on here with 2538's used in the front axle.

For front axles with the diff gears, I suggest gear lube as it has been specifically designed for that task while UTF is made for other duties. I use high quality synthetic gear lube in mine and it will likely never be changed again unless something breaks and it needs to be drained for the repair. For example if I had to replace the ring and pinion gears, I'd refill with dyno juice to break in the gears then drain and refill with synthetic lube.