Good afternoon all,
As part of the Spring tune up, I always change the transmission oil in my John Deere STX-38. (it's the hydro model)
Drained the oil (it was Mobil1 10W-30 as the manual calls for) and it's dirty. Not brown like motor oil, but almost grey/black, like you'd see from gear wear. I let the drain pan sit for a while and when I poured the oil off into my recycle container, I saw some black, sooty slime in spots on bottom of the contained. (Container is a blue ex-SuperTech coolant jug, with one side cut open to act as a catch-pan.) Wow, that's odd.
So, I'm getting ready to refill with SuperTech Synthetic and I spot a left-over jug of AMSOIL 5W-30 synchomesh transmission oil. Hmmmn. Won't be using this until my wife hits 120k miles, which is probably four plus years away. So in goes the 5W-30 AMSOIL Synchomesh and I'm about half a quart low, so I top off with 10W-30 SuperTech Syn.
Time for the test drive. I start it, let it warm for a minute, and then take off down the street at full throttle, lever all the way forward. Usually, this hydro tranny whiles when it's pulling at top speed, but not with this fresh fill.
I'm beginning to think that the use of 10W-30 in hydro trannies may not be the best stuff there is.
later,
b
As part of the Spring tune up, I always change the transmission oil in my John Deere STX-38. (it's the hydro model)
Drained the oil (it was Mobil1 10W-30 as the manual calls for) and it's dirty. Not brown like motor oil, but almost grey/black, like you'd see from gear wear. I let the drain pan sit for a while and when I poured the oil off into my recycle container, I saw some black, sooty slime in spots on bottom of the contained. (Container is a blue ex-SuperTech coolant jug, with one side cut open to act as a catch-pan.) Wow, that's odd.
So, I'm getting ready to refill with SuperTech Synthetic and I spot a left-over jug of AMSOIL 5W-30 synchomesh transmission oil. Hmmmn. Won't be using this until my wife hits 120k miles, which is probably four plus years away. So in goes the 5W-30 AMSOIL Synchomesh and I'm about half a quart low, so I top off with 10W-30 SuperTech Syn.
Time for the test drive. I start it, let it warm for a minute, and then take off down the street at full throttle, lever all the way forward. Usually, this hydro tranny whiles when it's pulling at top speed, but not with this fresh fill.
I'm beginning to think that the use of 10W-30 in hydro trannies may not be the best stuff there is.
later,
b
