What kind of Gearbox Oil is this?

[jrslv]

As I just bought a used rotary cutter Kodiak Standard Duty 6', I wanted to change the gearbox oil, just in case. User manual calls for "140 weight oil", whatever it is.

After watching some videos online I was expecting to see a "milky substance", i.e. a mix of oil and water. But when I opened the oil plug, what I saw was a super thick brown substance, slow as molasses.

Can anybody tell me what it is? Is this some kind of oil, is it still good?

It's so thick; I dread trying to siphon it out of the box.

 

[RandyC]

You need to drain all that old
oil out of it and get some fresh
stuff. The oil in there has past
its due date. Fill it with what
it recommends.

 

[RandyC]

The 140 oil it calls for is gear
oil.

 

[Stephen Newell]

Looks like fresh oil, straight from the dinosaur.

 

[jrslv]

I don't know... I read that some old-timers simply pack those with grease.

Anyway, how do I purge the old oil then? Should I try to clean the old crap with WD40 or some low viscosity oil before pouring fresh one?

As a matter of fact, my gearbox has a side cover that I could open to get a better access to the gearbox's inside.

 

[shaun wallace]

Shop I worked at had a bucket of Way Lube that was thick and brown that was used on lathe.

 

[jrslv]

Yes, the oils seemed to be all right... anyway, I've drained it all by turning the cutter upside down; no syphoning required.

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 16:11:16 10/14/23)
I don't know... I read that some old-timers simply pack those with grease.

Anyway, how do I purge the old oil then? Should I try to clean the old crap with WD40 or some low viscosity oil before pouring fresh one?

As a matter of fact, my gearbox has a side cover that I could open to get a better access to the gearbox's inside.

do that, because I have leaky seals. Do a field, and check.....the grease will be beaten to liquid.

 

[showcrop]

add some to bring it up to the correct level, then next time you use it drain it while hot.

 

[jaoneill]

(quoted from post at 00:24:52 10/12/23) As I just bought a used rotary cutter Kodiak Standard Duty 6', I wanted to change the gearbox oil, just in case. User manual calls for "140 weight oil", whatever it is.

After watching some videos online I was expecting to see a "milky substance", i.e. a mix of oil and water. But when I opened the oil plug, what I saw was a super thick brown substance, slow as molasses.

Can anybody tell me what it is? Is this some kind of oil, is it still good?

It's so thick; I dread trying to siphon it out of the box.

Fill 'er up with kero or diesel fuel, run for 10 minutes (no load), then drain.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Cornhead grease was the go to. Wouldnt leak out the seals
but turned to liquid in the middle of the gear box as it warmed
up. If they had green equipment it was easy to tell it would be
bright green like the paint. Id bet nowadays it would be 85-
140 in the manual. Either way time to clean it out as
previously suggested.

 

[rustred]

That is the old gear oil 140,.. after u get it drained fill it
will 80-90 gear oil. Grease is no good in a gear box
unless its a steering box. Even grain augers use gear oil
in them gear boxes. So do hay rakes , so do tractor , and
combine planetaries. Swather wobble boxes also. 80-90
is your friend. And yes that brown stuff is 140 gear oil but
u dont need that in there.