HST fluid change

[armylifer]

I just did a complete HST fluid change yesterday on my BX1860. The tractor has 600 hours on the meter. It took a little more than 3 gallons to refill to the full mark on the dipstick. I was mildly surprised to see that the old fluid came out a light honey color. I really expected to see a darker color after all of these hours.

What I really was surprised to see though, was that there was absolutely no metal shavings at all in the screen when I removed it to clean it. This was surprising to me because when I cleaned the screen at 50 hours there was some metal shavings in the screen.

One of the things that I observed when mowing my lawn today, is that the transmission runs a lot quieter now than it did with the old fluid in it. I have read that the new SUDT2 fluid is quieter running than the old SUDT fluid, but I would not have believed it to be as much of a difference as I experienced today. Now I am a believer.

The cost for 3 gallons of the SUDT2 was $63.11. I thought that was an exorbitant price to pay, but there really is no other choice. I did not want to get some other fluid that may not meet the exact Kubota specifications. I am not willing to risk potential damage to my tractor by using an inferior fluid. Anyway, since the fluid held up for 600 hours these last 4 years, it really works out to be just less than $16.00 per year. That's not too bad.

 

[85Hokie]

"The cost for 3 gallons of the SUDT2 was $63.11. I thought that was an exorbitant price to pay, but there really is no other choice."

NOT really - if you look at something else......even the cheapest oil that meets the qualifications, it would be $20 or so.....so for the cost of a steak dinner with your wife, you have a fluid that flows better and lubricates better and maybe more importantly ....is quieter!!! THE last being the most important - at least to the ears!!

 

[Bulldog]

I never do understand why some try to cut corners on their hys fluid. For most it takes several years to get enough hrs built up to require a change. $16 a year is extremely cheap compared to the cost of repairs.

You BX owners don't realize how lucky you are. For my L3000 and M9000 it takes $1200 for hyd fluid plus filters.

 

[85Hokie]

I never do understand why some try to cut corners on their hys fluid. For most it takes several years to get enough hrs built up to require a change. $16 a year is extremely cheap compared to the cost of repairs.

Exactly!!!!

I have always said - if they start to make artificial blood, which one you want if you need it ? THe cheapest they make or the .......best they make?

 

[William1]

I've not had to change my fluid yet (only 150 hours) though I've been concerned that my drain pan only holds five quarts. Is it not a big deal to slip the plug/screen back in during the draining to stop the flow to permit me to empty my drain pan mid-process?

 

[Dieselbob]

Well it may not be that much, but I STILL have a burr up my behind over anything built that does not use commercially available lubricants. I just had to pay $24 for ONE QUART of Grasshopper hydrostat fluid. NO WAY you will convince me that that unit couldn't be made to operate just fine on a more generic product. Same thing with my autos. My Chevy truck uses Dexron III ATF which I can get a 5 gallon bucket of for $27, while my Honda drivetrained Saturn Vue costs me $8 a quart for the fluid it uses. The Tranny in the truck is about five times more robust than the Honda tranny is to boot. No reason Kubota couldn't have used a commercially available product either, they would just rather hose you on buying their overpriced proprietary stuff.

 

[Bulldog]

Well it may not be that much, but I STILL have a burr up my behind over anything built that does not use commercially available lubricants. I just had to pay $24 for ONE QUART of Grasshopper hydrostat fluid. NO WAY you will convince me that that unit couldn't be made to operate just fine on a more generic product.

It probably isn't that it can't run on commercial fluid it's that most fluid won't perform as well for said machine. I've never looked at grasshopper fluid but I bet you could use Amsoil @$12 qt and more than likely it's higher quality than the Grasshopper stuff.

My brother used it in his Scag and it made a huge difference over the OEM fluid. Not only smoother but ran cooler too.

 

[Dieselbob]

The Amsoil fluid MIGHT work fine, but what if it doesn't? Hydrostat units are EXPENSIVE. My dealer, who I know pretty well told me that they have sent several samples of the Grasshopper fluid to oil distributors over the years and they can't match it to ANY commercial fluid. The thing is, people elsewhere build hydrostats that don't require fancy fluid, so what gives? If the fluid gets too hot, build it with a better cooling system.

 

[Bulldog]

Amsoil tech dept could probably help. If they don't have a fluid that's compatible they'll tell you.

 

[ItBmine]

I love seeing people that actually change their oil. I cringe every time I see a post about how to hold the old oil in with a shop vac so they can change only the filter.

That's why I don't buy used stuff.

 

[WFM]

I bought a 5 gallon bucket last year of SUDT2, I had some left over and wanted to change my tranny and front end this spring, so I bought another 5 gallon bucket. $94. bucks. I've never changed to front end fluid since I bought it new. The owners manuel says use Kubota sudt2 or 80-90 gear oil in the front end. I know the gear oil would be cheaper, but stupidly I asked the dealer what the front end has in it from the factory. Of course he said the sudt2
oil. So I figured I'd change it with that again. I think I bought my tractor in May 2013. I'd reather spend the extra and know nothing is going to be damaged and long life of the tractor is inevitable.

 

[rkidd]

I bought a 5 gallon bucket last year of SUDT2, I had some left over and wanted to change my tranny and front end this spring, so I bought another 5 gallon bucket. $94. bucks. I've never changed to front end fluid since I bought it new. The owners manuel says use Kubota sudt2 or 80-90 gear oil in the front end. I know the gear oil would be cheaper, but stupidly I asked the dealer what the front end has in it from the factory. Of course he said the sudt2
oil. So I figured I'd change it with that again. I think I bought my tractor in May 2013. I'd reather spend the extra and know nothing is going to be damaged and long life of the tractor is inevitable.

I changed the front differential in my B2650 at 200 hrs even though it was speced at 400 hrs. Just seemed too long for new bearings and gears too break in. I did it again at 400 hrs and now will go on the 400 hr spec. I also used the factory sudt2. Everything has worked good at 500 hrs now.

 

[WFM]

That's good to know rkidd. I'm at maybe 265 hrs and just figured the front end had never been changed and wouldn't hurt. Thanks for replying.

 

[Bulldog]

The front axle will be nasty @50hrs. The old manuals had the first service @50 including the entire hyd system. Never have understood why it was changed. I know things still get nasty in the same amount of time as they use to. After seeing what comes out of one then I would never wait till 400 to change mine.

 

[Wolf515]

The front axle will be nasty @50hrs. The old manuals had the first service @50 including the entire hyd system. Never have understood why it was changed. I know things still get nasty in the same amount of time as they use to. After seeing what comes out of one then I would never wait till 400 to change mine.

My BX 1870 build date of 3/16 the manual still has you do an entire fluid change at 50 hours. Going over my BX1870 I asked the mechanic who prepped my machine why you change out the hydro fluid so early. He said the engineering department at Kubota just wants to ensure that any possible contaminates are removed from the system. No matter how slight the possibility. Now is that a true definitive answer or just his opinion? No real way to tell but I will take his word for it.

 

[Toyboy]

My BX 1870 build date of 3/16 the manual still has you do an entire fluid change at 50 hours. Going over my BX1870 I asked the mechanic who prepped my machine why you change out the hydro fluid so early. He said the engineering department at Kubota just wants to ensure that any possible contaminates are removed from the system. No matter how slight the possibility. Now is that a true definitive answer or just his opinion? No real way to tell but I will take his word for it.

Makes sense though..

 

[JackJ]

My BX 1870 build date of 3/16 the manual still has you do an entire fluid change at 50 hours.

While I don't have the manual with me at the moment, I'm pretty sure my BX1870 (purchased one year ago) schedule has you change only the HST filter at 50 hours, not the fluid. The fluid change interval is every 400 hours for both HST and the front axle.

Personally, I changed the HST fluid and filter at just 25 hours, and the filter again at 75 hours, just 'cause I'm that kind of guy. From here on out, I plan to change HST fluid every other year, or at about every 200 hours.

But I've yet to change my front axle oil, since what's in there still looks pristine, even though I'm in and out of 4wd pretty often. I also can't decide whether to stick with the OEM SUDT2 there, or change to the optional gear oil.

 

[Bulldog]

But I've yet to change my front axle oil, since what's in there still looks pristine, even though I'm in and out of 4wd pretty often. I also can't decide whether to stick with the OEM SUDT2 there, or change to the optional gear oil.

Looks may fool you. All the crap settles especially in the hubs. I've been amazed every time I changed a new tractor at how nasty the oil really was.

Myself I've used the hyd oil in the axle just so I could keep one type fluid for both.