5030 HSTC Fifty hour service

fuelburner · Feb 10, 2006

Spoke to the parts gal at the Kubota dealership and wanted her to order all the filters etc. needed for 50 hour service. She had everything in stock and while we were going over the items to be purchased she had only included 1 gallon of super UDT. When I questioned here about this she explained that the service department routinely just replaces the hydraulic filters and then tops off the fluid level at the 50 hour service and performs a complete hydraulic oil change at 400 hours. What do you think about this practice.

Sully2 · Feb 10, 2006

If the fluid looks good..smells A-OK..etc...most probably not a bad practice. If it looked and smelled like you had used it HARD..and I do mean HARD for the first 50....let it drain out.

fuelburner · Feb 10, 2006

The hydraulic oil on the dip stick is clear and dose not smell burnt. I recall on my TC 40 D that the recommended change interval was at 300 hours.

LeRoi · Feb 10, 2006

I had the same advice from the parts man at my dealer. At first I was only going to change the filters, but on second thought Kubota recommended changing the hydraulic oil. It's only a couple of hundred dollars to protect a large investment. I went back and bought 15 gallons of Super UDT and changed everything at 50 hours. I won't have to change the oil again until 400 hours and I will have followed the manufacturers instructions if the need for warranty work ever arises.
It's your decision, you pay your money and take your chances.
Leroy

flusher · Feb 10, 2006

I suppose it's OK if you have confidence in the screen holding onto the small metal shavings, etc. for 400 hours.

My B7510HST is due for its 50-hour maintenance now. Today I bought the SUDT (5 gal) and the three filters (one for engine oil, two for the hydro system) at my local Kubota dealer in Chico, CA. Cost about $130, including $90 for the SUDT. This is a little pricy for SUDT, judging by what I read in these forums.

Some folks swear by the $40 stuff you can get at TSC, Sam's, Costco, Napa or WalMart that's supposed to work OK in place of SUDT. But $50 extra for the real stuff to protect a $12K investment is a no-brainer. At the rate I'm using my tractor, it'll take 3-4 years to reach the 300-hour service point where the next hydrofluid change is scheduled. That's about $25-30/year for SUDT--not a problem.

Hootie · Feb 11, 2006

Filter only here also. Dealer said the same.

fuelburner · Feb 11, 2006

Thanks to all for the feedback, just finished the 50 hour service , bought 15 gallons super UDT and even have a couple gallons left over. cost 280.00 for everything. Snowing outside as I speak might get to push some snow tomorrow.

5030 · Feb 11, 2006

fuelburner:

Every, and I mean every Kubota I have owned (7), all stated in the manual to do a complete fluid change including front differential case at 50 hours. My only substitution is the front case gets 85-140 Shell Spirax GL4-5 hypoid oil. I took a tip from another long time poster here (Rat) and this time I ordered 15 gallons of Chevron THD synthetic fluid. It's priced right in between UDT and SUDT and coincidentally has a nice orange color that's easy to see on the dip stick.

In my case, 15 gallons of hydraulic oil and a few gallons of 85-140 is chump change compared to a $46,000.00 tractor and a possible denial of warranty service (if it ever arises though I have never had any warranty issues with Kubota) because of not timely following the maintenance schedule.

jimainiac · Feb 12, 2006

Here's a compromise - for our L3830, the dealer advised changing the SUDT at 200 hrs. I was a little leery, because it was at odds with the manual, but I went with their advice.