I'm a Little Confused

[ccsial]

Something like this might make you think twice about changing the filter at 200 hours and just change the filter and fluid at 400 hours. I know, I know, that's bad but it did cross my mind.

Crossed mine too. My L3400 is at 247 hours so I have the same problem at this point. I already bought the fluid before I realized I didn't read the manual closely and the fluid is good for 400 hours.

I was thinking maybe I'd do the whole thing at 350 and split the difference. It almost seems as though the tractor does not go as fast as it used to. That may be in my head or could it be a slightly restricted filter, I wonder.

I may just attempt the filters and see how fast I can do it. There are two fitlers. One hydraulic and one HST. I would not save the fluid though, I'd add new. I'll have to decide pretty soon since winter is coming and I want it done before that.

 

[gwdixon]

As I mentioned before, it is not a mistake to change the oil at 200 hours. It may be expensive but it is not at all bad for the equipment. The filter is not perfect but if it needs to go at 200 hours then so does the oil in my opinion.

I think that Kubota is recommending fluid changes for a worst-case-scenero and develops their service scheduling from there.

If price is a big concern then do an experiment. Leave the filter in for 400 hours and then have a UOA done and see if the oil is contaminated to any degree. I would guess that the filter will do its job for 400 hours unless it is used extremely hard and in filthy conditions.

Another price option is buying TSC Premium hydraulic oil at $40 for 5 gallons and change both the oil and filter at 200 hours. That would be cheaper than SUDT at 400 hours anyway.

The above are not recommendations but alternatives.

 

[Baby Grand]

I replaced my filter on my L3240GST at 50 hrs, just to make sure any manufacturing chips, swarf, etc weren't plugging the element. There was a lot of "mung" on the magnetic ring. Before doing the change, I read the service manual over and over because I was confused if i could just reuse the hyd fluid. I concluded that I could (your opinion may vary), so I washed the underside of the engine to get any loose dust off of it and drained the hyd fluid into a spankin' clean white plastic tub. This gave me a good oportunity to inspect the fluid carefully with a lamp. It was clear and almost colorless. A magnet on a string came out of the tub clean. It passed the "sniff" test, too. I ran it through a clean "cheesecloth" in the funnel when I poured it back into the GBX.

While I respect the idea behind always changing the fluid (I almost never reuse o-rings) I do resist pitching something that is still serviceable and has considerable $ value.

-Jim

 

[Big Bri]

Randall (dex3361) told me his secret that worked well for me, Use your shop vac and pull a vac at the fill point. I used this when i adj. my hydro. presure, and lost very little fluid.
good luck

 

[EastTexFrank]

Well, I just got back from the dealer and I'm $140 poorer. I got 12 gallons of a generic Super UDT and not the Kubota stuff. I though that since I'm probably going to be replacing it again at the proper interval in another 200 hours it shouldn't be a problem.

I did talk to one of the mechanics at the dealership and when I explained what the manual said and what I'd done, he burst out laughing. According to him, when people first change the transmission filter on their new tractor, they follow the instructions in the manual to drain the transmission case and they all come to a point when the ask themselves, "Now, why did I just do that?".

He said that in the shop they never drain the fluid just to change the filter. They just screw the old filter off and screw the new filter on, catching the escaping fluid in a bucket. He said that if you're real quick, you don't even lose a couple of quarts. They pour the caught fluid back in the tractor, wipe everything down and the job is done in under 5 minutes.

That's what I'm going to do next time. It's just a pity that that little piece of knowledge cost me $140. I'm a lot smarter now.

Thanks guys, there were some useful suggestions posted.

 

[sailorman]

EastTxFrank, I went to my service dealer today to check up on procedures for my 50 hr. service. He told me something similar about people who had done that. Fortunately I started reading this thread in anticipation of 50 hr service and have avoided the mistake thanks to the great forum members ! fwiw he also told me I don 't need to use SUDT unless I plan on moving someplace real cold. I live in deep south. Said if were him at 50 hrs. he 'd change the fluids also and not just the filters even though the manual says filters only. And that with practice filters can be changed quickly without much fluid lost.

 

[ccsial]

I decided to follow the manual and do the HST and Hydraulic filters and not change the fluid.

Removing the HST filter and putting the new one on lost about 2 quarts of fluid. The hydraulic filter lost only what was in the filter. I discarded the old fluid and added two fresh quarts of Super UDT.

This was a very simple job. The only thing that went wrong is that I dropped the filter in the pan and splashed myself.

 

[keyman1808]

Seems to me that $140.00 in SUDT is cheap compared to a new Bota of any series. I say if in doubt change it. Better to run clean fluids in it than dirty and run the risk of a problem. Just my 2 cents.

 

[ccsial]

I'm not in doubt. The manual clearly states the fluids change every 400 hours and the filter every 200.

 

[bp fick]

Some level of confusion is understandable, as the printed manuals are, at times, super ceded by Kubota itself. There is somewhat confusing and conflicting information about the service intervals.

Note this chart for example. http://www.orangetractortalks.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/03-intervals-b-l.pdf

There needs to be a more effective way of disseminating solid information. I have a wee bit of sympathy for the members here on TBN that report differing intervals for service based on their printed manuals, their dealers charts, email exchanges with Kubota USA and Kubota's online publications. Just sayin'