Siromer / Jinma Transmission Oil

[aesmith]

Hi,

Just wondered what oil people use in the transmission, by which I mean the gearbox, transfer box, creeper and rear axle. The part that uses 14 or 15 litres of oil. My tractor's branded Siromer 304 which I think has a lot in common with Jinma 254 and surely must be the same as some other brands as well. Looking at the various manuals and other sources online, it seems the recommendations vary with some recommending 80W gear oil, some engine oil and some Hydraulic fluid (either 32 or 46). That seems a huge difference in opinion. I don't want to get it wrong since at best that means wasting 15L of oil or at worst damaging something.

Thanks, Tony S

 

[aesmith]

Update, just to confuse me further I see that the recommended engine oil is either "Universal Tractor Oil 15W/30" or "Super Universal Tractor Oil 15W/30", as far as I can see the difference between either of these and normal engine oil, is that these Universal Tractor Oils are suitable for transmission and hydraulic systems as well as engines. So if you're using specific transmission and hydraulic oil, why does the engine oil need to be anything other than normal engine oil. Secondly, can I actually use that Universal Oil everywhere, that would be real handy as I could just get one big batch fo.

 

[RonMar]

Universal tractor oil(UTF?) was really designed for hydrostatic drive systems where the gear oil is also used in the hydraulic pump/motor. It has to be thin enough for that task, and IMO is too thin for adequate gear protection, although with modern additives it probably works pretty well. But these gearboxes are not modern, they are basically a new make of a 50's vintage gearbox set, straight cut gears, bronze/brass bushings ect. IMO these gearboxes should use gear oil 80W90 Gl-4 or 5 rated.

IMO UTF is too thick for the hydraulic systems used on these tractors. AW32 for cooler climates and AW46 for hot climates.

The diesel is a diesel, 15W40 diesel rated oil, Rotella-t or Delo 400 ect...

 

[aesmith]

Cheers. Looks like I need to get in a big can of 80W/90. I already have Hydraulic 32. I was just a bit hopeful about that Universal Oil, remembering when we stayed on a farm in the early '80s we had some stuff called Agricastrol that went into everything from the chainsaw (both as two-stroke mix and bar oil), to my motorcycle (engine and forks), to tractor engines, tractor rear ends. I think the logic back then was if you only use one sort of oil then you can't put the wrong stuff in.