[AT] Need help with newer compact tractor

[Stephen Offiler]

Hi Mike:

When fluids are REALLY different, they can certainly eat up seals.  But the
magnitude of difference I am talking about is like the difference between
brake fluid and petroleum-based oils.   For example:    DOT 3, 4, and 5.1
require EPDM rubber for seals.  But if EPDM sees petroleum, it softens and
swells... like 25% or more.  Like a frost heave, this swelling is
impossible to contain.  It extrudes itself right out the glands.

For this to be the case, what came out of that TSC pail would have to be
pretty wrong, is my gut feel.  But someone could have really screwed up at
the factory I suppose... in that case you would not be the only one with
problems!

Is this the fluid you put in?
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/traveller-universal-tractor-trans-hydraulic-fluid-5-gal

One thing to note here is the viscosity.  TSC fluid specs 400 Saybolt
Universal Seconds (SUS or SSU) at 100F (38C).  An online calculator tells
me 400 SUS is 86.2 Centistokes.  They SHOULD, but fail, to say anything
about viscosity index and viscosity at elevated temperature 100C.  I then
looked up the Gulf fluid you mentioned, one that Mahindra specifically
calls for, and find it is 57.5 CentiStokes at 40C.  Whoa.  57.5 is pretty
different from 86.2.

Not sure what to make of all this and nothing I'm saying here is real
definitive, just trying to shed some more light on the situation.

SO


On Fri, May 20, 2016 at 2:11 PM, Mike M <meulenms at gmx.com> wrote:

> So about a year ago I bought a Mahindra 4035 40 HP diesel tractor. I
> starts, runs and works fine, but I've had some problems with leaks
> lately. At the 100 hour mark Mahindra wanted me to change the hydraulic
> filter, which sits on the side of the rear housing. I talked to the
> service guy at the dealership and he said I'd lose about 2 gallons of
> fluid when I did that, even with the one rear tire up on a block. It
> holds 10 gallons overall, and TSC had their premium universal
> hydraulic/transmission fluid on sale (which states it meets or exceed
> Mahindra specs)  for $35 for 5 gallons. For me it seemed like a no
> brainer to just dump the fluid and replace it rather that trying to
> guess how much I'd lose.
>
> Everything went fine, I had to remove a side cover as well as the filter
> to get to a screen they wanted to have cleaned on the first service
> only. After that the tractor performed as it should but after about 50
> hours I've started to develop leaks in the hydraulic system. They fixed
> one by a large square diverter valve under the tractor and today they
> are fixing another leak from the power steering block up by the steering
> wheel.  I called today and talked to the service guy and he says they
> are puzzled because the leaking o-rings they are looking at today appear
> burned, as if exposed to excessive heat. Another concern that I brought
> up to them is that the loader doesn't seem to have quite the lifting
> capacity as when it was new.
>
> My question is, can fluid cause these type of problems? In the manual
> they call our for Mahindra fluid, Gulf Universal Tractor Transmission
> fluid, Mobil 424, Shell Donax and a few others, all of which are nearly
> impossible to find.  Can a fluid be SO wrong that it would cause
> problems? Right now they are looking at anything that might be causing a
> continual "deadheading" situation, but with that little 3 cylinder
> diesel I think I would notice that.
>
> Any and all thoughts greatly appreciated.
>
> Regards,
>
> Mike M
>
>
>
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