train oil

hayhay5757 · Sep 5, 2021

In reading through CKAIN post am i wasting money using Universal tractor fluid in my TO 20's

Jim L WA · Sep 5, 2021

No, you are not. This 15-40 idea is a fairly new fad. It's ENGINE oil, not trans / hydraulic oil.
Also just because the filler plug said what to put in there from 70 years ago, you have to understand what oils were available back then. We've come along ways in engineering oils since then.

markct · Sep 5, 2021

I wouldn't lose much sleep over it,
these are very simple hydraulic and
gear systems, nothing high speed or
pressure. Hytrans is a good default
oil for most anything. Engine oil
won't hurt it either, there are plenty
of hydraulic systems as well as
gearboxes that use engine oil as
fluid. There is nothing magic or
unusual in these gearboxes. As a heavy
equipment mechanic over 20 years now I
have seen many lubrication related
failures...they have always been from
not enough oil tho not the wrong oil!
The only thing I have ever seen
damaged by the wrong oil was wet
brakes from severe chattering.

jvin248 · Sep 6, 2021

.

The problems with alternative oils come down to two features:

1- if the oil is thinner it may not be retained by the sealing systems (PTO shaft and the trans input shaft seal(s)). Too thin it slips by. You end up with no oil.
2- chemistry or additives in the oil attack the seals and deteriorate them quicker. Deteriorated seals let the oil out.

I just got done doing a complete tear down and rebuild on a '55 TO35 transmission and I put the regular 8090 gear oil back in so I get the longest life out of the new seals.

.

markct · Sep 6, 2021

If you go to the catalog and order a new oil seal do you see different ones listed for hydraulic oil, engine or gear oil?

jvin248 · Sep 7, 2021

.

Remember that rubber is made from tree sap.
Some is made synthetically.
There are many rubber recipes and those recipes have changed over the years, even at the same part manufacturer.
Or substitutions were required because the rubber supplier stopped making a certain chemistry and the molding factory had to search for alternatives.

So whatever oil is put with a seal can be guessing and testing. Choosing fluid types that were tested by the factory and by thousands of others in the following years is less risky than rolling dice on something new. It may just work out fine or it may fail sooner than anticipated. All a matter if the risk is worthwhile to take.

Having just rebuilt a transmission, replacing all the bearings and seals, it's a lot of work ... so I'm using the conventional suggestions to avoid repeating that repair for decades.

If someone has an old beater tractor just used to brush hog a few acres a couple times in the summer it probably won't matter.

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train oil

hayhay5757

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Jim L WA

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markct

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jvin248

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markct

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jvin248

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