First oil Change

[nkcblue]

Hey Guys,

I have a L3400dt that I bought last fall. If I am reading the owners manual about maintenance, it looks as though no oil change is required until 50 hours of service. I only plowed some snow last winter and didn't put many hours on the little orange tractor. Now that I am mowing with it I have about 25 hours on it and was thinking I should go ahead and change the oil and filter instead of waiting to 50 hours. What do you guys think? Waisting money or good idea? Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

 

[NC Bota]

Go ahead and change the oil. It will be money well spent.

 

[Sam427]

I would just wait til about the 50 hour mark, no sense in wasting good oil if you don't have to.

 

[bruceatlam]

I've never seen any engine failure caused by oil that was too fresh or changed too often!!

 

[kuboman]

Hey Guys,

I have a L3400dt that I bought last fall. If I am reading the owners manual about maintenance, it looks as though no oil change is required until 50 hours of service. I only plowed some snow last winter and didn't put many hours on the little orange tractor. Now that I am mowing with it I have about 25 hours on it and was thinking I should go ahead and change the oil and filter instead of waiting to 50 hours. What do you guys think? Waisting money or good idea? Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

With the # of hrs you are using it I would run it the season and then change before winter.

 

[avi8tor]

I just changed my fluid and filters - at the first 50 hour interval. The engine oil and filter wasn't bad at all. The hydraulic fluid looked great - but the hydraulic filter had numerous metal shavings on the magnetic ring and inside the filter. The metal shavings appeared to be drill shavings from when the casting was drilled at the factory. I haven't had any hydraulic problems - I wish I had changed the hydraulic filter sooner, given what I now know. If you change the hydraulic filter - you will loose most if not all of your hydraulic fluid. When you do change the filters, they will be a little more difficult to get loose as the original ones have been painted over. Your tractor may not have as many metal in it as mine did. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Bulldog]

I changed my oil at 25 hrs and after seeing the amount of metal that came out of the trans case I filled it with cheaper oil and changed it at 50 hrs as well. At the 50 hr mark I installed Amsoil fluid thru the entire machine. It sounds like the low number of hrs that you are putting on your tractor you may need to look at the date you change the oil instead of the hrs. Due to moisture condensation and acids from the engine blow by your oil needs to be changed once per year even if you don't reach the recomended service interval hr requirements. It may seem like a waste of money now but 20 yrs from now when your engine is still in good shape you will be proud you did it. A good PM program will be the life of your tractor. Look at it like this, is it cheaper to buy a little extra oil or to replace the tractor. I know which one is cheaper for me.

 

[nkcblue]

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the input. It is what I really like about this group in that you can always bounce stuff off other people with similar equipment to get good feedback.