Hello,

I recently got my first real tractor. It's a 1996 Kubota M5030. 6-cyl diesel engine.

It's quite a machine! I want to go through it real good because I dont have much maintenance history on it. Any recommendations for fluids?

I was planning on running Rotella 15w-40 in the engine (like i do in my truck) even though the service manual says to use 10w-30. Any input on that??

Also, what about the trans/hydro fluid? I see that Sam's club has some as does Wal-Mart (tech 2000 brand), has anybody had good luck with these brands of Hydro fluid?

I am sorry if this is not the right forum, I have found so much good info on this site for my truck i thought I would try to get some insights for my tractor.

I attached a pic of my trailering it home, and a page of the service manual

Looks like I can find all of the filters fairly easily

Thanks for any replies

Matt

 

I think you'll be fine with the Rotella. I use it in everything except my small gas motors on the generators, but even my sawmill which is powered by a 2 cylinder Kawasaki motor gets the Rotella. I figure in the small engines that use the oil as a part of the cooling capability I'll stick to what's recommended as far as weight goes.

As far as the transmission/hydraulic fluid goes, I'd do a Google search on any of the brands your manual lists and get the spec's and ratings for that oil. Then I'd make sure the off brand stuff you mentioned has comparable spec's and ratings. If it does, use it!

Nice looking tractor!

 

So far, the best TDH I have found for the kubota product, is the Kubota branded TDH fluid.

That said, just about any name brand TDH will work.

Kubota recommends 10W30 diesel rated oil in their engines. I have used 0W40 in my kubota stuff for years, as most of the engines I run are used in the winter, more than summer. That said, Kubota knows what is best for their gear.

Good luck with it

 

If the engine isn't worn and the bearing clearances are normal, running a heavier oil will not oil as well as the right one. I'd run the recommended oil till I had a better feel for the engine. If you're worried about extended temperature range operation, go synthetic.

One solution might be Rotella T6.

 

When I tried running 15w40 like all my other trucks and tractors in my Kubota M108S the oil pressure was slow to come up especially in the winter.
Sort of a pain because I buy Delo 15w40 by the drum but really should be using the 10w30 in the Kubota.
Finally broke down and bought 10w30 in gallons just for the Kubota, it definitely likes it better.

For hydro fluid I use Napa Premium Universal Tractor Fluid, equivalent to JD Hi-Gard.

 

Thanks for all the feedback!

That Rotella T6 is good stuff, I run it in all my air-cooled equipment (1 riding mower, 1 push mower, and a John Deere 420 LGT). It is kinda pricy though

As for if the engine is worn, I really haven't ran it much yet. There is 4500 hours on the meter, but there are mechanics notes in the shop manual referencing the engine was rebuilt at 2800--ish hours. Even if that is true, the engine should be good and broken in by now.

What little I have ran it it runs great! Starts up very fast and easy too.

I think I may go with a cheaper, 10w30 oil for the engine for now. Based upon how it runs, and if it uses/leaks much oil will help me determine if I want to put the expensive R6 in it or not.

As for temperature extremes, here in Missouri we do get into the low 100's in summer and dip into the single digits occasionally in winter. Most winters here see lows in the teens, usually only overnight. I do plan on using the tractor to push snow off the driveway (if we get any this year) so if I am going to put in the Rotella I would rather have the Synth R6 (5W-40?) than the regular in case it gets cold.

Then based on how things go when I use it, next spring I could put the R6 in it.

I'll do my research on the hydro fluid.

Thanks!

 

infidel,

once warmed up, was there any noticeable difference between the 30 and 40 weight oil? Was the only thing you noticed the slower ramp-up of oil pressure when cold?

 

I run Kubota 10/30 year round in my B7610, it only holds 4-5 qts. I use the tractor all winter and summer and have never had a single issue with it. Kubota UDT for hydro oil also.

Just make sure the 10/30 you use is diesel rated.

 

I had to use the glow plugs even in the summer to get it started without a lot of cranking using the 15w40.
With 10w30 it would fire right up, only had to use glow plugs below 35F.
My guess is the heavier oil slowed cranking down just enough so that the fuel wouldn't light up.

 

One of these days, Im gonna change the oil in my Kubota L4400... Really, Im gonna do it...
almost 2 years old and just about got 50 hours on it!!!.

 

I wouldn't go cheap on the hydraulic oil. Some of the cheaper oils are thinner and causes more leaks. I would use the manufacturers recommendations and use a name brand. That being said, I usually buy the oil from KOI since most of my tractors leak anyway. I just tell myself the tractors change the oil all on their own.

 

I decided to use Rotella T5 10w-30 oil in the engine.

I found the part numbers for all of the filters here:
http://www.wixfilters.com/Lookup/filterlookup.aspx?

I couldn't believe I could look up my exact tractor and get every part number for a WIX filter I can buy close to home! (Kubota dealer 20 miles away)

I am going to run hydraulic fluid from O'Rielly's auto parts. I felt better about it than the WalMart stuff. Also i have a friend who runs this in his tractors for years with no problems (some Kubota tractors)

Now I just need to find the time to do it!

Thanks for all the replies!

 

For future reference, it really doesn't matter warmed up or not, part of keeping the bearings alive is that the oil helps drag heat away from the bearing and crank. They engineer a set amount of flow across the bearing by balancing the clearance with the viscosity of the oil. By going thicker than recommended, even if you don't break down the hydrodynamic wedge, you are not flushing enough oil past the bearing to effectively cool them.

Sometimes you have enough safety margins, sometimes not, I always try and run it as close to specifications as possible.

 

On hydraulic and hydraulic/transmission fluids, it's always best to stick with a name brand oil. Some of the store brands and the cheap stuff at TSC has been sent in for testing when new hydraulic pumps went bad after a short time, and the sample of new oil came back "depleted/replace immediately".

 

Napa hydraulic fluid is rebadged Valvoline.