Mahindra 15-Series 50-Hour Service

knute_m · Oct 19, 2006

I was very pleasantly surprised yesterday when I did the 50-hour service on my little Mahindra 2015-4WD tractor. I believe my experience would translate to all Mahindra 15-Series tractors.

I started by making copies of the service checklist and service/adjustment pictorials from the Tractor User’s Manual. I checked off each item as I completed it. The manual is very good.

The entire effort, including removing/replacing/greasing the FEL, took about 90 minutes. Whoever designed these tractors must have started out as a mechanic who was threatened with a lifetime of servicing these machines. Everything is incredibly easy to get to.

It cost just under $100 for the filters (oil, fuel, hydraulic), 5 quarts of Shell Rotella engine oil, 4 quarts of 85W140 front end lubricant, and five gallons of hydraulic UTF.

Knute

wnymudd · Oct 19, 2006

Great to hear that!! I just bought a 2015hst w/loader. I only have 12 hrs on it but was wondering how the 50 hr service would be. I am really happy with it but I have a question for you. Have you ever had trouble starting it when it is below say 50 degrees outside? I started it the other day and it kind of coughed and sputtered until I gave it some throttle. Seems to be somewhat better if you set the throttle about a third of the way and then try to start it. I haven't asked the dealer about it yet but was just curious if you ever had issues with that? Thanks, Chris

jwnge · Oct 19, 2006

I agree wholeheartedly , to change the oil, lift out side panels, jack the front a little with fel, bend over a little and pull plug and filter while standing alongside, replace both , add oil and you are good to go, easier than my lawn mower. They are great little tractors in design and operation.. John

HangtownMatt · Oct 19, 2006

I'll jump on this bandwagon since I'm approaching my 50 hour maintenance. I have the 2615 w/HST. I have a couple questions:

1. The manual doesn't really give a specific specification that the hydraulic oil must meet for the HST. Instead it lists about a half dozen different name brand oils that will work (ex. Citgo Transguard, Mobil Fluid 424, Shell Donax TD, etc.) In my area I have located distributors for AGCO Permatran 821XL and Chevron 1000 HTF. I'm confident both would work since Mahindra lists the Chevron 1000 in the owner's manual and my dealer recommends/sells the Permatran. But does anybody have an opinion on which they would use. I'd also be interested in hearing what other fluids people use and/or their recommendations. Also, is there a common specification we need to meet? (Example Ford/NH 134D)

2. The manual contains conflicting information regarding what to put in the front axel. In one spot it says to use 85W140 gear oil and in another it says to use the same hydraulic fluid used in the transmission/hydraulic system. Any thoughts on this?

HangtownMatt

LAWALLSTRACTOR · Oct 19, 2006

wnymudd said:
Great to hear that!! I just bought a 2015hst w/loader. I only have 12 hrs on it but was wondering how the 50 hr service would be. I am really happy with it but I have a question for you. Have you ever had trouble starting it when it is below say 50 degrees outside? I started it the other day and it kind of coughed and sputtered until I gave it some throttle. Seems to be somewhat better if you set the throttle about a third of the way and then try to start it. I haven't asked the dealer about it yet but was just curious if you ever had issues with that? Thanks, Chris

Chris
Are you letting your glow plugs warm up? Let them warm up till the light goes out and it should start up smoothly. Happy seat time on your Mahindra!

Galen LaWall
Your Mahindra Tractor Dealer
Batavia NY 14020
585-343-0770

knute_m · Oct 19, 2006

wnymudd said:
. . . I just bought a 2015hst w/loader.. . . I am really happy with it but I have a question for you. Have you ever had trouble starting it when it is below say 50 degrees outside? I started it the other day and it kind of coughed and sputtered until I gave it some throttle. Seems to be somewhat better if you set the throttle about a third of the way and then try to start it. I haven't asked the dealer about it yet but was just curious if you ever had issues with that? Thanks, Chris

So far, the coldest it has been here has been about 30 degrees. But, mine always starts immediately. When it gets down to 40 and below, it runs a little rough and it smokes when first started. But that only lasts for less than a minute. I'm assuming you are letting the glow plugs heat for their entire cycle -- until the dash light goes out.

hangtownmat said:
. . . The manual contains conflicting information regarding what to put in the front axel. In one spot it says to use 85W140 gear oil and in another it says to use the same hydraulic fluid used in the transmission/hydraulic system. Any thoughts on this?

My manual specifically calls out 85W140 for the front-end oil. When I drained my front-end yesterday, it certainly looked like 85W140 came out.

My manual also just states STOU for the hydrostatic transmission. I'll leave it to the experts to guide you there. Since I just have a standard transmission, I was able to use Universal Transmission Fluid (UTF).

Good luck,
Knute

PBinWA · Oct 19, 2006

HangtownMatt said:
2. The manual contains conflicting information regarding what to put in the front axel. In one spot it says to use 85W140 gear oil and in another it says to use the same hydraulic fluid used in the transmission/hydraulic system. Any thoughts on this?

I saw that too. I don't think it really matters which one you go with and I think some people have done one or the other. I went with gear oil. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I have over 200 hours on my 2615 Gear with Valvoline 85/140 in the front axle and haven't seen any problems.

PB

DavesTractor · Oct 19, 2006

Hytrans is what is supposed to go in the front axle of the 15 series, but they used to spec 85/140 gear oil. I've never seen a problem with either. We assemble a lot of the Mahindra's for the west coast and we use hytrans in the front axles per Mahindra's direction. Some of the books are conflicting in that regard.

On the glow plug issue, it could be several things. You might have some bad glow plugs. You might have a very short timer. This was an issue a couple years ago. The plugs would go on for only a couple seconds by design. They now have a longer timer and a hotter plug and they start cleaner.

wnymudd · Oct 20, 2006

I should have said this in my post yesterday. I always let the glow plug light go out and it has the longer timer. I am aware they changed it to a longer timer. It starts but runs real rough and smokes for about 10 sec. It improves faster if you give it some throttle. When it is warm it starts right up. It is only the first start of the day that it does it (only when outside temp is low). Which leads me to wonder about the glow plugs also. Thanks for all the input. I'll have Don my dealer look into it.

DavesTractor · Oct 20, 2006

wnymudd said:
I should have said this in my post yesterday. I always let the glow plug light go out and it has the longer timer. I am aware they changed it to a longer timer. It starts but runs real rough and smokes for about 10 sec. It improves faster if you give it some throttle. When it is warm it starts right up. It is only the first start of the day that it does it (only when outside temp is low). Which leads me to wonder about the glow plugs also. Thanks for all the input. I'll have Don my dealer look into it.

You can be fairly sure you have a bad glowplug or two. Easy fix.