Hydro oil Metal shavings

[Cat_Driver]

Did my 200 hr. service which calls for hydro oil change.
Man-O-Man was I stunned to see a LOT of metal shavings in the bottom of the bucket. Large shavings of teh type you sould see wheh you drill metal and get long twisted spirals along with some crushed metal like mud.

I did a search here and it seems "common" in these tractors.
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/277355-metal-shavings-filter.html

A couple of concerns.
1) Why doesn't Kubota require a complete hydro oil flush at 50 hours rather than the 200.
2) I many have this issue wht doesn't Kubota do something
3) Where are these shavings coming from?


It's got me so jumpythat even though I just changed it, I'm going to consider all that new oil just a flush and I'm going to dump it all out and put fresh in untill I see a clean oil dump in the bucket.

Anyone else see these type of metal shavings in their change lately? Makes me sick knowing those chunks were rolling around in the hydro system!

 

[dusty3030]

It looks bad I know, but remember these are caught in the sump. The filter is on the suction side so they don't pass through the filter and get pumped around the system. They just sit there in the bottom of the sump until they are washed out with the fluid change.

 

[moship]

Unless you have a mid PTO and they end up there.

 

[diesel85]

Completely normal.

Heck, I've changed my BX hydro fluid a few times (8 to be exact), and I'm amazed.

It's weird, sometimes it will be small shavings. Another time there might be those shavings. Heck, last fluid change there was a piece of RTV sealant that blopped out.

Again, it's in the sump, so the screen catches it and a lot of it just sits there in the sump.

The fluid that is circulating in the system is extremely clean (down to the micron clean!).

 

[s219]

Yes, this is what's trapped in the sump. Since it can't make it past the filters/screens and get into the rest of the system it's not a big deal. Some people feel better about getting this out at the 50 hour service but that's really a waste of fluid and time, since the fluid itself is not affected by the shavings.

If you want to worry about something new, consider that there is probably plenty more in there that didn't make it past the drain hole(s) for whatever reason. Next time I hear someone advocating for a complete fluid change at 50 hours I will probably bring that up just to burst their bubble. I think you'd need to drop the pan (some tractors don't even have one on the trans!!) and wipe it out to really get everything, especially the gray sludge.

 

[Cat_Driver]

How many hours do you think this hydraulic fluid has on it?

 

[redman135]

It looks like several missed oil changes.

 

[sixdogs]

When Kubota abandoned the 50 hour hyd oil AND filter change, I always felt it was just competitive because others did it. My tractors are bigger but I always change hyd oil and filter at 50 hours if new and ASAP on anything I get that's used.

 

[Cat_Driver]

That oil is less than five minutes old.
Like I said above Kubota says NO 50 hour change of Hydraulic fluid but do it at 200 hrs. I did and found a huge amount of metal shavings.

I used Schaffer Hydraulic oil as some suggested on this site rather than super UDT - big mistake on my part.
After the change I started the tractor up and drove it around and it had a loud obvious whine that never existed before.

I got a fresh supply of Kubota UDT and dumped that Schaffer hydraulic oil out ( as seen in the photo) looking like it's been in there for five years.

I was stunned to see fresh oil come out so dark.

Yes I understand colore does not have anything to do with the usability of oil, but still five minutes and it looks like that?
I'm glad I dumped out the Schaffer oil as it did bring out more metal shavings but only a few this time. Costly @$200.00 plus per flush.

The minute that Schaffer oil was out and the Kubota UDT2 was in the loud whine went away instantly.

Just throwing this out here for other to change their hydraulic fluid at 50 hours then again at 200 hours or whatever it calls for and use Kubota UDT.

 

[rScotty]

When Kubota abandoned the 50 hour hyd oil AND filter change, I always felt it was just competitive because others did it. My tractors are bigger but I always change hyd oil and filter at 50 hours if new and ASAP on anything I get that's used.

Sixdogs, That's what I do too. I understand why "keeping up with the competition" could cause Kubota to change to 200 hours, but that doesn't mean I have to do the same.

IMHO, it just makes sense to change the filter and oil at least once (50 hours) or even twice in the first 100 hours .... it's just part of what one does to make some types of hydraulic machinery last longer.
I think it's particularly beneficial for HST machines.

Yes, I realize that changing the oil and filters early makes better mechanical sense than it does on the competitive or financial side of things.
rScotty