Transmission (UDT2 Hydraulic fluid) Change in Kubota ZD1211 - drain or pump?

[jkahan]

Hi folks -- Kubota ZD1211 zero turn mower use UDT2 hydraulic fluid. About 3 Gallons. Drain plug is on bottom of machine of course. Can't see how to drain 3 gallons out without lifting 1,700lb machine up (and level of course) to get a 5 gallon bucket under there.... so am thinking of pumping it out from the fill port on top. Anyone have any advise (British spelling rules btw) on this matter? Thanks - I know this is somewhat of a silly / self answering question but I can't see how anyone can use the drain plug without a lift with this fairly heavy machine. thanks

 

[RjCorazza]

You will not be able to pump it out, as the rear axle drains account for about a gallon of fluid. I run mine up on ramps and drain the (3) points using a shallow plastic storage tub.
Main drain then empty tub, each rear axle empty tub again. Cut a piece of plastic as a deflector when draining the rear axles, otherwise the oil shoots off of the tire and makes a mess. Pay particular attention to the rear axle drain bolts when replacing them, they are prone to strip the aluminum housing.

When refilling, add 7 quarts run machine gently back and forth, top off with a little over 5 quarts.

 

[jkahan]

You will not be able to pump it out, as the rear axle drains account for about a gallon of fluid. I run mine up on ramps and drain the (3) points using a shallow plastic storage tub.
Main drain then empty tub, each rear axle empty tub again. Cut a piece of plastic as a deflector when draining the rear axles, otherwise the oil shoots off of the tire and makes a mess. Pay particular attention to the rear axle drain bolts when replacing them, they are prone to strip the aluminum housing.

When refilling, add 7 quarts run machine gently back and forth, top off with a little over 5 quarts.

thank you very much for the reply -- I actually discovered the no-pump-out option this morning when I tried. I ended up rolling the back wheels up onto plastic ramps as well and then using my excavator to lift the front axle to get machine level.-- I guess this is my $80K plus lift. My model does not have rear axle drains; only about 2 gallons drained out so I suspect that a bunch remained in the machine (axles, hoses, etc..). Again, thank you for the reply -- definitely a PIA as is any once-in-a-blue-moon type maintenance.

 

[ericm979]

Hi folks -- Kubota ZD1211 zero turn mower use UDT2 hydraulic fluid. About 3 Gallons. Drain plug is on bottom of machine of course. Can't see how to drain 3 gallons out without lifting 1,700lb machine up (and level of course) to get a 5 gallon bucket under there.... so am thinking of pumping it out from the fill port on top. Anyone have any advise (British spelling rules btw) on this matter? Thanks - I know this is somewhat of a silly / self answering question but I can't see how anyone can use the drain plug without a lift with this fairly heavy machine. thanks

Use a short wide drain pan instead of a tall narrow 5 gallon bucket. They make them all sizes. Drive it up on lumber if you need a little extra height.

 

[RjCorazza]

thank you very much for the reply -- I actually discovered the no-pump-out option this morning when I tried. I ended up rolling the back wheels up onto plastic ramps as well and then using my excavator to lift the front axle to get machine level.-- I guess this is my $80K plus lift. My model does not have rear axle drains; only about 2 gallons drained out so I suspect that a bunch remained in the machine (axles, hoses, etc..). Again, thank you for the reply -- definitely a PIA as is any once-in-a-blue-moon type maintenance.

Unless there was some change in early zd1211's, there are drain bolts for the rear axles. Starting from the bottom axle housing mounting bolt, it's like one or two bolts up and to the front of the machine.
On edit, it's one bolt from the bottom bolt...

 

[jkahan]

thanks again for all the help .

 

[jkahan]

Here are some pretty pics of how I facilitated access to underneath my ZD1211.

 

[RjCorazza]

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, you do know the front axle doubles as a built in jack right?

 

[jkahan]

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, you do know the front axle doubles as a built in jack right?

correct but I wanted to support both sides equally plus I needed an excuse to use my excavator

 

[RjCorazza]

If I had an excavator I would probably look for ways to play with it also!
Not an excavator, but yesterday I picked up the front end of my neighbor's pickup truck with my loader and drug it into his shop.