hydraulic fluid for Touch Control

I'm restoring a 1948 Farmall Cub. I completed a overhaul of the Touch Control unit and I'm now wondering about what fluid to use in it. Some mechanics
say to use the same oil as the engine, in case the hydraulic pump develops a leak and I end up with hydraulic fluid in the crankcase. Others say to use
hydraulic fluid. All o-rings and gaskets have been replaced so are not likely to be deteriorated by contact with modern hydraulic fluid but I am
concerned about engine oil contamination. Any input is appreciated.

I am in the process of restoring a Cub also. I have rebuilt the pump and the control unit. I intend to use engine oil in mine just in case there is a leak into the crankcase. Even with all new seals and o-rings the basic parts are over 60 years old so the sealing surfaces are less than ideal. Now my Cub is going to be a Trailer Queen and will not see any more work than putting on the trailer and taking to a show so the touch control system will not see much use. I am going to put straight 30 weight in mine.


OTJ

Hello Steve welcome to YT! Use hydraulic oil, if your hydraulic pump seal does fail contamination of the engine oil with hydraulic fluid will harm nothing. It would not be ideal but the engine could actually operate on straight hydraulic oil for a short period a not be harmed at all. The higher detergent levels, types of friction modifiers and the moisture emulsifiers in the hydraulic oil is what would have the low risk impacts to the engine in such a scenario.

30 weight non detergent motor oil is fine to use in the hydraulic system.

When your cub was built there was no Hytran or comparable hydraulic oil. As others have said 30 wt non-detergent oil was the choice then and still works fine now.

Ah the 30 weight is WRONG and yes I H had a touch control oil back then just use a reg a trans Hyd. oil from TSC or Raul King or what ever farm store close . If ya must use non detergent oil then use 10 weight Gees guy come on .

I think it is more of a chicken or the egg thing. I put engine oil in the power steering on the semi and have not had a problem with oil in the engine in 23 years and a few filter changes. I used the same oil as the engine. I'm still running it on farm haul as a grain truck like that. For the hytran oil it is probably the approved oil at this time. Is there more than a window screen type of filter for the oil? SO it is not going to be filters much the hytran will hold the moisture in it so water would not be as much of an issue with rusting parts not used much if at all. IT will only hold so much moisture so it will still need to be changed on a regular interval. Maybe every year maybe less often a lot will depend on how humid your location is.

"...deteriorated by modern hydraulic fluid..." What? That's a new one on me.

They putting evil ethanol in the hydraulic fluid now? I don't think so. The whole "modern hydraulic fluid" deteriorating ANYTHING is some made-up myth.

Yes, IH had a special touch control fluid, specifically for the Cub, Super A and C. It got combined with their HyTran product which came out a few years later.

Do you need to go to a CaseIH dealer and spend $28 or whatever on a gallon of the stuff? No. It's an old tractor, nothing special about the hydraulics. No fancy powershift or CVT transmission that needs proprietary additives.

Just get yourself a jug or bucket of whatever "Universal Tractor Transmission Fluid" product your local farm supply sells.

Even if it does get in the engine, it's OIL, not some super-corrosive acid.

Hytran ,only the best for that. All that work you did , please use , hytran (equivalent) ,get it at tractor supply ,case ih if close, Farm Family and home stores.dont know whats near you .

After filling work the levers back for ten times to get air out . And check you lines for (carefully for excessive heat. If it heats up and labors the control stops arent adjusted .
Suggest you follow ih blue books for touch control,well worth ever penny spent .
My suggest

Thanks,OTJ.

Mine, too, will only be used at tractor shows and the Touch Control will hardly ever be used because I own no attachments. Seems like the respondents to my question are about equally split between engine oil and hydraulic fluid so I'm interpreting that as it's safe to use either. I'll go with engine oil. It makes life simpler. One less jug of stuff to cart around.

Thanks again.

Steve

same as the engine with no problems

i use the same as the engine no problems

Many Many years ago I put ATF in my super C & it is still working fine even though we don't have any use for it anymore. The pump was leaking oil into the engine, so I fixed the pump but left the gear off so if I ever need it again I will have to put the gear back on.

Use what ya want but when your coming back on here complaining your engine labors or your Hyd are squealing don't ask why . Yes ya can IN a pinch use a 10W not 30 W non detergent as a hyd oil . BUT since i work on tractors i like to do things right the first time . I don't like come backs . . And IF you did your part correctly then usen the correct fluid would be no problem . 30 weight in a plum slap wore out hyd pump on a h or M is one thing but in the tiny gear pump on a tonka toy cub ah not so good , when cold way to thick to flow and it can cause a suction problem and starve the pump or it can due to being thick cause a over pressure of the system . Cat for a time called for 15-40 series 3 in everything . in extreme cold like 0 and below hyd. were really slow transmission was slow to engage and sluggish and that was a 15 weight oil . way back i had a Cub at one time , i used mine a lot in winter , it sat outside under a trap , it complained a lot on start up . and i ran the 20 weight in the winter and 30 weight in the summer in.
the engine and the touch control in the Hyd. and 80-90 in the trans and finals and they were stiff and took a good while to warm up . To aid in the steering i ran track roller grease thinner then 80-90 , back then dozer track rollers needed to be greased atleast once a day

If you have or can get a copy of the original owners manual, I would use what ever oil is recommended, it must be good to last all these years, no need to overthink a simple hydraulic system

Interesting topic ,please keep us posted on your cub touch control project.
Only Cub , Took a new pump apart to look at it , wont work with the CS