Kubota Super utd fluid alternative

lmichael

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota G2160
Apr 23, 2021
605
254
63
Rockford IL area
$100 for a complete fill or $100 per bottle? If it's for complete fill it's worth it. Given the cost of repairs I would not use anything less
 

85Hokie

Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
10,745
2,551
113
Bedford - VA
Age old question ........ "what can I get CHEAPER than what Kubota puts in ? "

Well - several people using HST's HAVE used other oils............ and some had terrible results and some had good results........ some keep saving a few bucks and some have gotten their asses twisted in repairs.

the question really boils down to this ............ $100 now ....... or $52 (I am making this number up) ....... and by saving $48 bucks ........... I may need a $7,000 new HST unit down the road?

I went to the Kubota dealer the other day ........... $24 a gallon for the good stuff S-UDT2
Not sure what cheap stuff really goes for !



And as someone said on another post here today ............. why NOT just put in what Kubota used from the factory....... AND I agree with that ........... But remember this - Kubota does NOT make oils ..... they buy them from an OIL manufacturer. Pennzoil I understand.

YOU cannot go to the store and by Pennzoil HYDRAULIC oil that goes in a Kubota HST - But you can buy oils that SAY THEY MEET THE SPECS of Kubota's oil............ good luck with that! I have some crisco that I can write on the back of the container that says it meet certain specs.


ENGINE oil is a completely different set of specs. A diesel oil is made for DIESEL engines ...... other than a DPF and turbos - all diesels engines are pretty much the same - you need an oil that will keep on working as the particulates dirty up the engine oil - and Kubota's engine oil is simply a re labeled diesel engine oil.
Rotella - Mobil 1 - Valvoline - Pennzoil all make great engine oils ...... pick one of them and go with it !!!!

A gallon of Kubota engine oil ......... $22 for 10w-30 ............ Rotella T-6 $22 for 5w-40 ...... and that is full synthetic too!!!!

Buy whatever you wish ....... your money , your machine !;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users

fried1765

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
Nov 14, 2019
7,843
5,066
113
Eastham, Ma
At KUBOTA super utd cost ( $100 plus ) I’m looking for same quality at less price
Thank you
Hopefully, when you need HST rebuild parts you can find " same quality at less price" also!
It really makes zero sense to try to cheap out on HST oil.
Kubota has their SUDT-2 made to their specifications.
Just because another marketer SAYS their hydraulic oil is equal to Kubota SUDT-2 oil, does not make it so!
Watch the news!
Outright lying is in vogue these days!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
D

Deleted member 47704

Guest
I went through this today on way oil for machines. You can buy the top notch stuff or the cheap stuff, down the road you more than pay the difference in repairs.
Messicks has 5 gal bucket of sudt for $113.43

Unless you are running a fleet of tractors, you won't save much.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
D

Deleted member 47704

Guest
And as someone said on another post here today ............. why NOT just put in what Kubota used from the factory....... AND I agree with that ........... But remember this - Kubota does NOT make oils ..... they buy them from an OIL manufacturer. Pennzoil I understand.

Ashland is on the MSDS. That means Valvoline, compare Valvoline hydraulic fluid msds to Kubota msds until you get a match.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users

85Hokie

Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
10,745
2,551
113
Bedford - VA
Ashland is on the MSDS. That means Valvoline, compare Valvoline hydraulic fluid msds to Kubota msds until you get a match.
oopp..... my memory IS slipping...... valvoline ....not Pennzoil!!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

TheOldHokie

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3901/LA525, B7200DT/B1630, G2160/RCK60, G2460/RCK60
Apr 6, 2021
8,735
4,477
113
Myersville, MD
windyridgefarm.us
At KUBOTA super utd cost ( $100 plus ) I’m looking for same quality at less price
Thank you
You will not find an equivalent fluid at significantly lower price. Super UDT2 has physical properties that cannot be matched without using expensive base stocks. Here are the essential properties - take them shopping and tell me what you find that matches

KV100 - 8.1 cSt
Viscosity index - 199
Brookfield viscosity 16000 cP @ -40C

Dan
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

lugbolt

Well-known member

Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
5,205
1,889
113
Mid, South, USA
there is no equivalent. I don't care what the bucket says.

All the manuals say super udt or udt. They don't say super udt or equivalent.

yeah the base comes from same place as another brand that doesn't mean it's the same stuff. The same brand also makes a bunch of other stuff, comes out of the same warehouse door and is loaded on the same trucks. Still not the same.

Oranges and Peanuts both come from the same state and even the same city sometimes. They're the same right?
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

UpNorthMI

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3200, L3901, MX5800, SVL75-2, KX040
May 12, 2020
850
568
93
Up North, MI
Why try to reinvent the wheel. I do my own maintenance and change all fluids and filters. I’m saving the labor part of the service bill but never skimp by using cheap filters or UDT2 alternative fluids. In the overall scope of things Any saving will be minimal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users

Tire Biter

Active member

Equipment
B 2601 434 loader MMM, bunch of tractor stuff . Ford 4600
Jul 10, 2012
237
87
28
S.E. TN
If yer tractor I still under warranty, you might not want to go with non Kubota hyd. oil.
a hundred bucks for 400 hrs. Is cheap compared to repairs on that thing.
 

fruitcakesa

Well-known member

Equipment
M 6040
Oct 26, 2010
856
270
63
Cavendish Vermont
A full fluids and filters change on my M is $500+. I run it 200-250 hrs per year.
With a 600 hr change cycle per the manual, that's 2 to 3 years operation for the money.
Not expensive relative to the cost of the tractor.
 

mmurray70

New member
Mar 8, 2020
18
7
3
Newfoundland,Canada
Theres no way a Kubota transmission absolutely needs Kubota UDT. Im sure there are lots of other options that will work fine. Cant go wrong with Shell lubricants, they are listed as an option for nearly all industrial machinery. Shell lists Donax TD as an alternative option to Kubota UDT. Some people say Rotella HD is relabeled Donax but who knows for sure. Shell has a Tech number to call for proper applications, i bet they could help you out.

Having said all that, I use Kubota UDT. Like others, I paid the extra price rather then spend hours looking for something cheaper and possibly messing up transmission.
 

TheOldHokie

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3901/LA525, B7200DT/B1630, G2160/RCK60, G2460/RCK60
Apr 6, 2021
8,735
4,477
113
Myersville, MD
windyridgefarm.us
Theres no way a Kubota transmission absolutely needs Kubota UDT. Im sure there are lots of other options that will work fine. Cant go wrong with Shell lubricants, they are listed as an option for nearly all industrial machinery. Shell lists Donax TD as an alternative option to Kubota UDT. Some people say Rotella HD is relabeled Donax but who knows for sure. Shell has a Tech number to call for proper applications, i bet they could help you out.

Having said all that, I use Kubota UDT. Like others, I paid the extra price rather then spend hours looking for something cheaper and possibly messing up transmission.
I certainly agree with that first sentence but lets not be loose with our terms.

Shell Donax TD is definitly an alternative to Kubota UDT. In fact it is explicitly listed as such in my B7200 workshop and owners manuals. It is NOT however an alternative to Kubota Super UDT2 and Shell does not claim it is.

The physical properties of Shell Donax Low-Vis (currently sold as Spirax S3 TLV) are very close to Super UDT2 and it could be a potential alternative. In fact Shell lists it as an alternative to John Deere J20D (Hygard Low-Vis) which is another potential alternative to Super UDT2. I think you will find that both Spirax S3 TLV (hard to find in the US) and and Hygard Low-Vis cost roughly the same as Super UDT2.

Dan
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

mikester

Well-known member

Equipment
M59 TLB
Oct 21, 2017
3,547
2,009
113
Canada
www.divergentstuff.ca
At KUBOTA super utd cost ( $100 plus ) I’m looking for same quality at less price
Thank you
How much did your tractor cost? How often are you changing fluids?

You can save even more money by not wasting money on things like oil filters and fluid changes.

For me K UDT oil and K OEM filters are cheap compared with replacing the tractor. The machine works better with it and it's cheap insurance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users

GeoHorn

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
M4700DT, LA1002FEL, Ferguson5-8B Compactor-Roller, 10KDumpTrailer, RTV-X900
May 18, 2018
6,040
3,316
113
Texas
You get what you pay for….and you can even pay for fluids that cost as much or more than Super UDT2…..and those fluids will still run the risk of F%$^$&-ing up your expensive Kubota hydraulic system. … so which is “cheaper”…?? You tell us.
 

PoTreeBoy

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L35 Ford 3930
Mar 24, 2020
2,805
1,522
113
WestTn/NoMs
Ol' North Idaho Wolfman says Mystic JT5 is his only acceptable substitute. Don't know if you have it available near you.
The synthetics I've found cost about as much or more than UDT2.