T0-30 Hydraulics

[Roy Smith]

I have a '54 TO 30 and feel like I need to change the transmission/hydraulic fluid, just because I have not changed it in the one year that I have had the tractor and do not know when it was changed last before I bought it. The fluid doesnt appear to have any water in it. My question is how often does it need to be changed? My concern is that my hydraulics work great, will hold a load up with the tractor off with no leak down at all. I guess I am just worried about changing it and them leaking down with new fluid. Legitimate concern? Is it a "if it ain't broke don't fix it" situation, or should I go ahead and change it.

 

[Jeff-oh]

The manual suggests changing the hydraulic fluid every 750hrs. Or 2 per year.

Now this recomendation is for a new tractor that was in full time use 55 years ago.

Questions, I ask myself are. How hard/dusty conditions do I work my tractor. Do I make it pull hard. How often do I use it etc.

These tractors are very well built and do not have highly loaded components or gears. If you do not have a water contamination or dust/grit contamination issue and the oil is not gumming up... Then I would not be too fast to change it.

My TE-20 oil has been in there since 2005 and the MF-65 since 2006. Now the MF-65 only is used for moving things around the house, pusing snow for an hour or two per winter and driving on and off the trailer to go to the shows.

My TE I use to mow for 10 to 20 hours a summer and go to the shows and move stuff around so it would take me ~10-20 years to get to the 750 hours of use so I just keep an eye on the oil quality (is it getting dirty, etc)

Others may differ but that is how I do it.

I do change my engine oil more often.

 

[phil(va)]

I agree with Jeff-OH. I also subscribe to the if it ain't broke don't fix it rule for most things. Now, i do believe in preventive maintenance, as Jeff says, especially for oil changes, but I think many people assign too much value to hydraulic fluid changes, for preventive or for fixes to problems. If you don't have water in it, and it works good, leave it alone is my suggestion. Now if you were doing serious farming with it, and that was your primary source of income, like in the 50's, that might be different. The fluid for these things has gotten sky high, and it is hard to dispose of, so environmental issues are a factor too. My two cents.

 

[Alex MacEwing]

Roy, 2 quick comments I would offer, if you live in a cold climate area, I would want to be sure of the lack of water, as well I always like to change the fluids on a new to me, piece of equipment....my thoughts....Alex

 

[Jerry/MT]

I"ll weigh in on this one. F
First let me say that I believe in following maitenance scheules. Having said that, with regard to the hydraulic fluid, ifthe tractor is used regulalry so that the transhydraulic oil gets warmed up, most of the condensation will evaporate and you will not have a water problem with it. If you operate in dirty, dusty conditions, you might find that you oil gets dirty. Since there is no filtration on this fluid, prudence would suggest that you ought to change it when it gets dirty. My fluid has been in my tractor since I bought it in 1994 and my tractor is used reguarly on our ranch but it hauls our pipe trailer across the pasture, pulls the drag across the pasture to break up the "meadow muffins"and plows snow. These are not dirty jobs. The fluid is still clear and amber. I have not seen a reason change it yet. When it starts to look dirty, I"ll have no reluctance to change it. Some time I will replace thePTO shaft with a 1-3/8" version that has been sitting on the shelf ready to go in and if the sumps need to be cleaned, I will do it then and replace the fluid.

My advice to you is to "read the oil; when it looks dirty, change it. If it gets milky, change it. If you have a lot of time on your hands, drain the fluid, check the sumps andif they look bad, use Jeff-OH"s method for cleaning and refill with the same oil IF IT LOOKS CLEAN AND WATER FREE.