I've never heard anything about tier 4 engines having anything to do with oil change intervals. Not that it means anything though.
I don't understand this: Why does my manuals say change the tranny fluid @ 50 hrs and now on new tractors it's @ 400 hrs. If it needed changed before why not now? What has changed from then to now? All my new tractors had SUDT fluid from the factory and at 50 hrs the oil was very nasty. It's not just Kubota equipment either. My last 2 new Cat loaders required the fluid to be changed at 50 hrs also. After the first change the trans fluid was good for 1000 hrs and the hyd was 2000 hrs. My Linkbelt trackhoe had to be changed at 50 hrs and then the hyd was rated for 5000 hrs. Our Komatsu equipment had about the same rating as the Cat stuff did.
I would like to know what has been done to extend the fluid life and allow 400 hrs on the first change without hurting the life of the tractor.
Things do change. I doubt anything internal has changed per say, other than additional testing, or perhaps the oil change interval has finally caught up with the improved SUDT. Sometimes companies are slow to revise there manuals, recommendations etc. One example is the dipstick, they have changed it at least once on the same model, without any mention in the owners or service manual.
Perhaps with the inclusion of a magnet and improved filtration, it rendered the first transmission oil change redundant.
The main point is that things and recommendations do change. I remember when it was normal to change the engine oil in a car every 1000 to 2000 miles, not so anymore. Before detergent oils, a 500 mile oil change was normal.
But the bottom line is that it is each of ours tractors, and we have to maintain them as we feel is best, maintenance schedules are RECOMMENDED only, not cast in stone, and to add, they have to be entire market compatible, one maintenance schedule covers all of America for example, but all across the continent the operating conditions vary considerably, which will affect maintenance needs.
That said, it is ok to change oil more often than recommended, won't hurt a thing, other than wear out the threads on the drain plug faster. Might lighten one's wallet somewhat as well. But each to there own.
The fleet that I manage and maintain (40+ years now, marine, from the smallest outboards up thru DD 16v92's) I taylor the maintenance schedule to the weather and usage conditions in the pacific northwest, and that means I do things differently than what might be done in a exclusively fresh water area, or say Florida where the water temp is considerably higher. Some things I let go considerably longer than "recommended" other things are serviced more often than "recommended".
David
