Transmission Fluid 8N

[GLMPA]

I am the new owner of a 1948 Ford 8N. I checked the hydraulic oil stick and no oil on stick. I have purchased 4 gallons of ISO 90 mineral oil from Tractor supply at a cost of $60.00 at current prices.I realize it takes 5 gallons. I have a 2.5 gallon jug of New Holland 134 transmission oil. Could I add some of this to check for leaks before changing the transmission oil with the new stuff.I don't want to damage anything. I am going to use the ISO 90 because it is recommended and will not damage copper parts in the transmission per articles I have read. I am a newby and I am not a mechanic. Please give me honest opinions. Thank you.

 

[Royse]

Ford spec N2C134D is what's normally recommended.
To check for leaks, I see no problem adding that oil. It might even
be the current spec, I'm not sure. What I'm missing is, where are
you expecting to find leaks?
I've filled quite a few with diesel fuel and alcohol and ran them to
clean them out, then drained them well before adding new oil.
I use Traveller brand hydraulic fluid from TSC. Meets the Ford spec.
Last 5 gallon pail I bought was around $55. Up from $40 it was last year.

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley]

Welcome aboard newbie! Have you purchased the ESSENTIAL MANUALS for your new 8N? They are the most important tools you'll need for your new machine. The OEM FORD spec was MC134D but CNH no longer makes it so where did you find yours? Some dealers may still have buckets on their shelves I suppose. You can get SAE 90 Gear Oil GL-1 Oil at TSC and NAPA as I've used all 3 with no issues, but latest consensus is to use standard UTF. Hydraulic Oil capacity is 5 Gallons but don't pour it all in at once. May only take 4 GALS depending on how much is still in the pipeline. The oil is used for transmission and lift - all in same sump. Might want to pull inspection covers off and look inside. Manuals are your newest, bestest friends. Read Religiously.

FORD TRACTOR HYDRAULIC OIL -

NEW HOLLAND/FORD MC-134D HYDRAULIC OIL NO LONGER AVAILABLE:

TSC TRAVELLER BRAND:

NAPA API SAE-90 GL-1:

NAPA API SAE-90 GL-1:

FORD 8N TRACTOR ESSENTIAL OWNER/OPERATOR/PARTS/SERVICE MANUALS:

Tim Daley(MI)

 

[Bruce (VA)]

. I am going to use the ISO 90 because it is recommended and will not damage copper parts in the transmission per articles I have read.

Keep reading and you will find out that there is no problem with most GL-5 oil in an N-series. The only yellow metal in the N-series sump is the PTO cam blocks and the surface temperature on them doesn't begin to approach the activation temperature of either the old or new EP additives. The yellow metal issue with regard to N-series hydraulics is simply a myth that won't die.

Bottom line: Any UTF that meets the Ford spec M2C41D will work fine in your N tractor. Just read the label on the container. I use the TSC UTF because it meets the Ford spec and is a superior oil to any 90w on the market. And it works much better below 32* F
75 Tips

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 21:33:55 12/23/21) I am the new owner of a 1948 Ford 8N. I checked the hydraulic oil stick and no oil on stick. I have purchased 4 gallons of ISO 90 mineral oil from Tractor supply at a cost of $60.00 at current prices.I realize it takes 5 gallons. I have a 2.5 gallon jug of New Holland 134 transmission oil. Could I add some of this to check for leaks before changing the transmission oil with the new stuff.I don't want to damage anything. I am going to use the ISO 90 because it is recommended and will not damage copper parts in the transmission per articles I have read. I am a newby and I am not a mechanic. Please give me honest opinions. Thank you.

You do not have ISO 90 mineral oil. You have SAE 90 mineral oil which in the ISO system would be equivalent to grade 150.

You can mix the New Holland oil with the gear oil if you want but personally I would suggest you return the SAE 90 and buy one 5 gallon bucket of Traveller Premium UTF and put the $20 savings in your pocket. The UTF is a mild EP lubricant as originally specified by Ford and will provide better wear protection than the mineral oil which has no EP additives. The level of EP additives in UTF is the same as Ford reccomended in 1939 and 100% safe for use in your tractor.

The Traveller UTF and New Holland oil are essentially the same thing so those two oils are also interchangeable. Either one can can be used as makeup oil when the level gets low.

TOH

 

[shaun wallace]

Using UTF or 134 you will be complaing about knocking sound when lifting a load.

 

[GLMPA]

I am now considering the use of VP Racing J20A Plus utility tractor fluid which meets the Ford specs mentioned in this conversation and is less expensive. Any thoughts? Thanks to all who responded.

 

[Royse]

"Using UTF or 134 you will be complaing about knocking sound when lifting a load."

I have not had that problem Shaun, except when the pump was worn.
But I've definitely heard that knock when the pump IS worn!

 

[DennyD]

I drained & replaced the transmission/hydraulic fluid in my Ford 8N back before Labor Day; the first time I'd done it since purchasing in 2020. (I had no idea what the old fluid was or how long it'd been in the tractor.)

Based on the recommendations of this forum, I went with the Tractor Supply Traveller Premium--that went fine. My personal logic is this: as common as that fluid is, it'd be apparent when/if people started having trouble with it.

 

[HarryVanderpool]

I bought a brand new tractor and after a couple of days found that it had a hydraulic defect.
It was a known problem. The dealer said it would take about 1/2 hour to fix.
First thing the mechanic had to do was to drain the BRAND NEW Permatran out. I found a couple of empty buckets and took the very expensive oil home.
Can't remember if it's in the 2N or 8N now.....

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 12:51:30 12/24/21) "Using UTF or 134 you will be complaing about knocking sound when lifting a load."

I have not had that problem Shaun, except when the pump was worn.
But I've definitely heard that knock when the pump IS worn!

As have many people using gear oil.

TOH

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 12:44:16 12/24/21) I am now considering the use of VP Racing J20A Plus utility tractor fluid which meets the Ford specs mentioned in this conversation and is less expensive. Any thoughts? Thanks to all who responded.

I have my doubts. TSC is just now settling a ckass action suit for $7.5 million for the 303 junk they were selling. They quit selling it but the J20A looks suspiciously similar.

J20A is another obsolete specification superceded by J20C and M2C134. and there is no good reason for anyone to be specifying J20A. The fact that the label says not suitable for use in modern tractors tells me it just a relabeled 303 type product.

The Traveller Premiym UTF is a current formulation and almost always on sale for around $40. I would stick with it or any of the other similar house brands. These economy fluids like J20A and 303 are really bottom of the barrel products.

TOH

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley]

Touche! Here we go once again, I guess this topic will never go away though you have pretty much explained and summed it up best. Many guys read way too much into
subjects but miss the important technical issues. When I last bought CNH 134 oil it was $60 a 2.5 GAL bucket! That's when i switched to the TSC stuff ----and the only
time I would go to TSC! Cheapest in town and it works just fine. The 303 junk is just that. If guys would just read the labels and if not listed, go get the MSDS
documents on the product, and if the company tries to say the ingredient are proprietary and don't list them, run far away with your wallet secured. That is bogus. A
lot of snake oil products were like that, MMO used to be that way. You once explained it all in a lengthy article - perhaps the admins could replace that with the one
from LLamas, now out dated.

Tim Daley(MI)

 

[Gaspump]

Just a note about the treatise by Llamas, many years ago he wrote one that most folks here considered the ultimate gospel on trans/hydro/diffy fluids for N series tractors. A couple of years or so later he wrote and posted another retracting most of what he wrote in the first. The majority here on the board still quote the original as the final internet gospel ignoring that the retraction ever existed.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 12:18:11 12/26/21) Just a note about the treatise by Llamas, many years ago he wrote one that most folks here considered the ultimate gospel on trans/hydro/diffy fluids for N series tractors. A couple of years or so later he wrote and posted another retracting most of what he wrote in the first. The majority here on the board still quote the original as the final internet gospel ignoring that the retraction ever existed.

The original was a nice try but missed badly on the properties of the newer fluids - e.g. M2C134x and generic equivalents. I never saw his corrections.

TOH

 

[Duner Wi]

This 2006 article replaced the 1998 article.
https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=nboard&th=573638

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 18:53:03 12/26/21) This 2006 article replaced the 1998 article.
https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=nboard&th=573638

Still needs to work on undertanding the SAE viscosity grading standards and what a Universal Tractor Transmission Oil (UTTO) is.

M2C-134 is simply Fords 1950's specification for what the industry now calls UTTO

CNH now calls it Ultraction.

John Deere calls it Hygard.

Kubota's calls it UDT.

IH calls it Permatran

They are all [b:49593f648b][u:49593f648b]UNIVERSAL[/u:49593f648b][/b:49593f648b] Tractor Transmission Oils AND they are all SAE 80 lubricants with API GL4 gear oil performance.

There is also an industry standard category called Super Universal Tractor Oil (SUTO) which is a lubricant that can be used as an engine oil as well as a tractor transmission and hydraulic oil.

So forget the BS about the word "universal" connoting something bad. Its just the industry name for a standard category of lubricant.

And just like engine oil different brands of UTTO will have minor variations in the formulations but they are all fundamentally the same category of lubricant.

TOH[

 

[KristofMI]

How about the one from WalMart? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Te...lic-and-Transmission-Fluid-5-Gallons/16213442
It was recommended by a guy from different site and it sound like he knows what is he talking about[/url]

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 20:32:01 12/26/21) How about the one from WalMart? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Te...lic-and-Transmission-Fluid-5-Gallons/16213442
It was recommended by a guy from different site and it sound like he knows what is he talking about[/url]

I have never been able to find a data sheet for that product. Its billed as a premium UTTO and SuperTech lubricants are generally well regarded but it is a pig in a poke along the lines of Traveller Premium UTF which I do use in the N;s and older gear drive Kubota.

I would not use either in the newer Kubotas with HST transmissions. It might be fine but I will stick with something I can get a datasheet for before dumping it in an modern HST.

TOH