Oil & Fuel 80w90 gear oil in Mahindra 5500 4wd

[voltar0675]

I have been lurking on this sight for two years and am impressed with the wealth of information and knowlege that the individuals that frequent this site have. Here is my problem. I have an '05 5500 4wd. About a year ago I was moving brush and tree limbs and ripped out the hydraulic steering line at the left front wheel on a branch. I had about 20 hours on the tractor at that time. I called my dealer to price a replacement line and to ask, since I had him on the line, which fluid to replace in the steering. Was told by a service tech to replace with 80w90 gear oil which can be purchased from any O'Reilly's. I replaced the line and filled reservoir with the suggested fluid.

Fast forward to yesterday. Tractor now has 72 hours on it. I called the service department at my dealership and asked about transmission service (I went over the recommended 50 hour service interval for the transmission oil change and figured I'd change it out before I went back out to my property for the weekend) and asked which lubricate I needed to replace with. I was advised to use "80w 90 gear oil," to which I replied, "Use the same gear oil in the transmission that I used in the steering???" I was then told "no, no, no" that I needed to use power steering fluid in the power steering system and not the gear oil because the gear oil was too heavy. I then replied that I was told by one of their service techs, about a year ago, to use the gear oil in my power steering and that I have been using it in my tractor for approximately one year. I was asked which tech told me to do this and I told him that I had no idea and that it was forwarded by the secretary to somone in the service department. I was told to drain the gear oil and replace with the steering fluid. I asked what problems I could expect by running the gear oil in the steering system for so long. I was told that if power steering was still working then it should be okay. I have to admit that ain't very comforting. I would hate to have pump or something go out because of the gear oil abuse.

So here are my questions:

1) Could the gear oil have harmed my power steering system?
2) Is there a drain plug or hydraulic line I need to pull to drain the system?
3) Any suggestion on who, other than my dealer, I need to contact to make aware of me being advised to place the wrong fluid in my tractor, in case there is a warranty issue?

Additionally:

1) How do I access the strainer in the transmission to clean it?
*I am NOT going to replace the transmission fluid with the 80W 90 gear oil as suggested by dealership. Strictly by the manual from here on out, which is what I usually do but asked the service tech a year ago because I was already on the line with him in reference to the line replacement.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

...Was told by a service tech to replace with 80w90 gear oil which can be purchased from any O'Reilly's. I replaced the line and filled reservoir with the suggested fluid.

Fast forward to yesterday. Tractor now has 72 hours on it. I called the service department at my dealership and asked about transmission service (I went over the recommended 50 hour service interval for the transmission oil change and figured I'd change it out before I went back out to my property for the weekend) and asked which lubricate I needed to replace with. I was advised to use "80w 90 gear oil," to which I replied, "Use the same gear oil in the transmission that I used in the steering???" .......
So here are my questions:

1) Could the gear oil have harmed my power steering system?
2) Is there a drain plug or hydraulic line I need to pull to drain the system?
3) Any suggestion on who, other than my dealer, I need to contact to make aware of me being advised to place the wrong fluid in my tractor, in case there is a warranty issue?

Additionally:

1) How do I access the strainer in the transmission to clean it?
*I am NOT going to replace the transmission fluid with the 80W 90 gear oil as suggested by dealership. Strictly by the manual from here on out, which is what I usually do but asked the service tech a year ago because I was already on the line with him in reference to the line replacement.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not sure about the power steering thing....if you can't prove that the dealer tech told you specifically to use 80/90 gear oil, the dealer probably won't be able to do anything regarding the warranty...

As far as "NOT" using 80/90 in the trans, why not??/that's what the manual calls for.....pls remember that the trans and the hydraulic sump are separate in the "00" series. Also not sure where you got the idea that the trans gear oil needs to be changed at 50 hrs???(As well as I remeber--I'm not looking at the manual at this time--the trans gear oil is not required to be changed at the 50hr service. BobG in VA

 

[voltar0675]

Thanks BobG for your reply. I don't know if you have the same manual as I, but for instance, under the "Lubricants" section of my manual (page 77) the suggested replacement fluids for the steering system is "ATF Dexron III," which the last time I checked is transmission fluid. When I called my dealer, and a Mahindra service tech in Tomball Texas, I was advised to just use regular automobile power steering fluid which is different than what the manual calls for. So which do I use? Power steering fluid or transmission fluid in the power steering system?

In the transmission section (page 76) my manual calls for 75W 80 grade and list a variety of lubricants, Gulf Universal Tractor Transmission Fluid, Exxon Torque fluid 56, Shell Donax TD, etc... none of which I can find locally which is one of the reasons I asked the dealer in the first place. I see what you are saying about the gear oil. I can use it so long as it conforms to the approved specs. I was told by Mahindra to use "Universal power fluid" or "Transdrolic Oil" in the transmisson. They pulled one of their owners manuals for the "00" and both techs stated that some of the info under the section "Transmission & Wet Brake Oil (GL)" gave some conflicting information, but did not elaborate what the conflicts were. You're right about changing the transmission fluids. The fluid doesn't have to be changed until 250 hours (the # symbol threw me off, but made more sense after I re-read it two or three times...)

Any suggestions on how to drain the power steering system?

 

[Deleted member 41266]

Transmission Fluid and Power steering fluid are both low viscosity fluids, about 20 weight. In cars, I have seen one substituted for the other with no problem--transmission fluid for power steering fluid, that is. I would not recommend using PS fluid in a tranny. The requirements in a transmission are more demanding than a PS pump.

My speculation on the effect of the heavy oil in the PS stump is that you might experience some accelerated wear due to the higher viscosity of the oil, especially if you were operating the tractor in cold weather. Can't say how to quantify that. I'd also guess that you experienced a performance difference in the sense that the pump would have been working harder to move the more viscous liquid.

You should be able to drain the system by disconnecting a return hose. PS pumps operate at high pressure and can move a lot of fluid if disconnected. Try draining the system with the engine off, if not you will have to add fluid very quickly to keep the reservoir topped up--it's a two person job.

You should also plan on doing this at least twice. You won't get it all out with one flush.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

You know, based on what you are going thru, maybe you should have the 50 hr service done at the Mahindra dealer, then also have them drain the PS and put back the correct fluid...by the way, Dexron III is an auto trans fluid but is also used in many PS units. As you know, PS is only a hydraulic system using a particular type of hyd oil...I changed my trans gear oil at about 225 hrs. It takes about 6 gals (as well as I remember). Oh, you also need to go over all the bolts for the wheel lugs, FEL frame, etc and tighten them--prefferably with a good impact wrench. I found a couple of FEL frame bolts pretty loose after about 100 hrs. Bobg in VA

 

[voltar0675]

I drained the system today and had to turn the tractor on to pump the fluid out because it was pretty thick and sluggish. I'll drain it again and refill to be on the safe side. Only used it a few times at below freezing so maybe any damage this may have caused is minimized...

Thanx again your suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[rback33]

I am guessing that this is your first tractor and you did not grow up on a farm or anything. It truly frightens me that someone told you to put 90W in the power steering. I will confess to having heard the story from the Mahindra tech that you talked to before finding this thread. This is what he got.... Had I been in your shoes I would have trusted the service tech too. ( I am making some broad assumptions still. These are NOT mean to be judgmental, as there are LOTS of things that I don't know a darn thing about)

 

[voltar0675]

Rback33, did I read right that you spoke with the Mahindra service tech that I discussed this issue with? Was it the tech in Oklahoma, or the one from Texas?? This is my first tractor made in this century. My other two tractors are Ford 8n and Minneapolis Moline both over 50 years old... no modern amenities

 

[rback33]

The one in Texas. I got the pleasure of spending 4 days at Mahindra last week.

 

[emlandry]

I have the 4530 4wd shuttle shift, my manual calls for sae 80w utto API GL4 in the transmission. I purchased Mahindra brand universal tractor hydraulic fluid directly from the mahindra dealer it meets the API GL4 spec.