oil

[drod]

Hi all I am new to the board and I have a few questions. My son has a to20 tractor and it runs very well,I would like to know what kind ,and how much oil goes in the transmission, I pulled the plug next to the gear shifter and I could not see any oil, just gears and linkage,any help would be helpfull,thanks

 

[vinnywv]

congrats on the to-20, its a good little tractor. the manual calls for gl 1 oil for the transmission. its a mineral oil. available at napa and some other places. some people myself included have changed to a multiweight oil with no ill effects. i changed over to rotella 15w40, and have had no problems. 15w30 has been used as well as a few others, brands vary also. i also use the same oil in the engine with no problems at all. the amount is said to be 6 gallons. i did not use six gallons though. it took about 5 to fill to the full mark on the dipstick, located under the seat on the side of the transmission case. if you do change it out you will want to clean out the transmission first which there is a good article on cleaning that out in the archives under "search this site". when draining let it drain out of the three plugs for as long as you can, and when refilling allow time for the oil to get into all three areas and settle out or level out. good luck.

 

[Kevin OH]

i put about 4 gallons in mine and the dipstick showed full.it called for 6 gallons i figured my dipstick must be wrong.because a read it should just run out of the bottom inspection cover bolt on the side when it is full.and mine didnt after showing full.

 

[Anonymous-0]

you did not wait long enough for the oil to get to the other end if you drained it it takes 6 Gal.

 

[Kevin OH]

thats probably what it was.i ended up putting 6 gallons in it.

 

[blackbeartractor]

I have oil weight and changing instructions from Jeff-OH. Send me an email [email protected] and it you can have a copy.

 

[John (UK)]

The oil is 15W/30, this is better if you are in a cold winter climate than what was originally used, as it is lighter when cold. It takes 6 US gallons from empty. You should drain it through the THREE drain plugs, one under transmission, one under Hydraulics (large) and one under rear axle. When you fill it through filler plug alongside tranny lever, only fill 2 gallons at a time then leave for 15 mins to level out, then add next 2 galls, leave it 15mins and then add last 2 gallons. If you pour the full amount in all at once, you could raise the oil level in the Tranny too high and if the oil seal on the main drive shaft is leaking, it will allow oil into the Clutch Housing. The dipstick is on right side, just below the seat but if there isn't one you can check correct level by removing the bottom screw on either round side cover and the oil should JUST run out when the level is correct, too much oil is not good as it can get onto the brakes. But if you fill with 6 gallons the level will be correct....John

 

[Jeff-oh]

I probally should modify this a little as it was orgionall written back in '05 or '06. On the TO-20 and TO-30 I'd also pull the shift cover to access the various areas to clean out water contaminated areas as much as possible if required.

Jeff
http://www.ytmag.com/cgi bin/viewit.cgi?bd ferg&th 39276

 

[Jeff-oh]

I could nopt get the link to work so here it is again at length.


You will need 6 gallons of oil. Also, check NAPA's price, ask for PN 65-205. That is a 5-gallon bucket of the same stuff.

There are three drain holes and one filler hole. Note the fill slow at the end comment. As the filler hole is in the front of the case and the dipstick is at the rear. Only fill with four to five gallons, then fill 1 quart at a time with a couple to 5 min. wait between quarts. This gives the fluid some time to level out so that it can be read on the dipstick. The first time I changed my oil I overfilled by more than a gallon, I had oil coming out the axils on the breaks... what a mess.

This is a job you do not want to do too often, so plan it right. Determine all the maintenance that needs to be accomplished while the transmission is drained. (PTO seal, Pump repairs, Hydro leak fixes, axial seals etc) Get the parts and get them done while you can.

Below is the procedure I wrote a couple of years ago.

It has been a while since this was posted. It does work well. I was just at TSC on Sat and their GL-1 oil is not $46.00/5 gal. WOW.

This is the procedure I used to clean my transmission oil housing. You will need to wash out the old fluid. Any remaining fluid will contaminate the new fluid. If you have time in the evenings start to drain the tractor now. She will drip for hours/days.
You should also be prepared to deal with the gallons of fluids you the will gush out of the tractor. Have containers ready to pour the old oil in to take to your auto parts store for recycling.

Do your lift arms drop/leak down quickly? If so prior to draining the fluid pull the right and left side inspection plates. Lift an implement and look to see where the fluid is leaking out of the system as the lift lowers. Then you can repair/replace the required parts without the fluid in the way.

I would also recommend the you replace the PTO seal and O-ring seal if needed at this time and replace the inspection plate gaskets. The inspection plate gaskets are fairly easy to cut yourself if you need to.

Open the drains one at a time to handle the gush of fluid. Once you have gone through all of them open them all up again with a pan under each and let it drip at least over night. Make sure your lift control is in the down position to drain the piston.

You should plan on "Washing/Flushing" out the inside, particularly if you have water in the oil... i.e. if brown/milky. To wash the inside use either kerosene or diesel. (Note: It is generally recommended and I agree: DO NOT operate the tractor with your cleaning fluid in the transmission) I put mine in a garden sprayer and sprayed the insides down. I put the garden sprayer nozzle everywhere I can, up the PTO shaft opening, if you pulled it. Through the Filler hole, through the inspection ports, through each drain plug. I catch the diesel in clean oil pans let it settle then decant the "clean" fluid off the sludge and spray again, and again. Go have a beer and let it drain. I then wipe out the bottom with clean paper towels to get the crud out. (do not use cheap towels here you do not want them falling apart). If your fluid had water in it, the "Milky" oil will continue to appear for a while, I just came back and wiped it out again, and again until gone.

This is a good time to do other maintenance. Grease the fittings, Pull the air filter and clean it.

Be sure to do the diesel flush with good ventilation. The fumes are powerful.

Button her back up with your new seals and fill. Toward the end fill slowly... i.e. quart or 1/2 liter per 5 to 10 minutes, to let it all even out in the sumps. The first time I changed the oil I did not do this and I over filled by a gallon and a half. And because I did not wash out the back that gallon and a half was now water contaminated and useless.

You will be glad you did this when it is done.

Jeff