Z655 hydros

[feetr2c]

JD claims that the hydros on the Z655 are "factory sealed" and require no maintenance. I don't buy into the no maintenance thing. I called my dealer and they concurred that no maintenance is required. I then called JD direct. They wouldn't give me the time of day. They said talk to your dealer. So then I called Tuff Torq, the manufacturer of the TZT7-M hydros. They said there are two drain plugs on each hydro and despite that the JD manual says to use 10W-30, they have found that 5W-50 SYNTHETIC is the best for those transmissions. Off to Walmart I go to get some 5W-50 Mobil 1

 

[beenthere]

What is the reason for an oil change? Hours?

 

[man00]

If they have a lot of hours changing oil would only help if done correctly.

 

[feetr2c]

What is the reason for an oil change? Hours?

This is the start of my 3rd season with this machine. Got it brand new in 2014 and can only assume that the hydros are filled with 10W-30 which was what Tuff-Torq was using at the time. But the fact that they now recommend 5W-50 synthetic makes me think they must have run into some issues with the 10W-30. Why would they change their recommendations unless they were starting to have problems? That's why I want to change it. So I don't have problems. Also, I might add that Tuff-Torq themselves told me that they recommend the hydro oil be changed every 150 hours or so. Interesting that JD says no maintenance is ever required in this "factory sealed" unit that very plainly has drain plugs on it.