A new to me 2000 John Deere 345. 403 hours and don't know if the hydro oil has ever been changed. I have a TT K61 in a LX188 JD that I have used the Mobil1 15w50 in and it has performed flawlessly for 17 years. The Deere guys all say to use the JD LO Vis Hy Gard hydro oil, but I'm leaning toward the Mobil1 since I have had such good service from it. Answers and opinions are appreciated.
Tuff Torq K70A / Mobil1 15w50?
- Thread starter gman2304
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To me, M1 15w50 would be ideal, as would any good 20w50.
What does the JD manual suggest for the TT K70A?
Lo vis Hy Gard sounds like a hydraulic oil to me. You don't want hydraulic oil for a hydrostatic transaxle, where the hydro and rear diff share the same oil. It's not ideal atleast..
What does the JD manual suggest for the TT K70A?
Lo vis Hy Gard sounds like a hydraulic oil to me. You don't want hydraulic oil for a hydrostatic transaxle, where the hydro and rear diff share the same oil. It's not ideal atleast..
I spoke to Tuff Torq directly and their tech recommended M1 15w-50 as an easy brand to get.
The benefits are MUCH quieter operation, hopefully longer life as well...
The benefits are MUCH quieter operation, hopefully longer life as well...
Hygard is a hydraulic/transmission fluid. Otherwise known as "tractor fluid", it will function as hydraulic fluid and transmission/differential lubricant.
It comes in regular or low viscosity flavors.
Low viscosity is the recommendation for most of the garden tractor hydrostats. I'm not familiar with the OP's specific transaxle, if it was spec'ed by Deere for Hygard, I'm sure that would be a good fluid to use. Amsoil also makes a synthetic all season tractor fluid I may try in my JD 317 hydro.
If Tuff Torq says 15w50 or similar motor oil is recommended, then the Mobil1 would be a good choice.
It comes in regular or low viscosity flavors.
Low viscosity is the recommendation for most of the garden tractor hydrostats. I'm not familiar with the OP's specific transaxle, if it was spec'ed by Deere for Hygard, I'm sure that would be a good fluid to use. Amsoil also makes a synthetic all season tractor fluid I may try in my JD 317 hydro.
If Tuff Torq says 15w50 or similar motor oil is recommended, then the Mobil1 would be a good choice.
I'd use Low Viscosity Hy-Gard, or another fluid meeting the J20D spec. This is what it says in the owners manual.
Quote:
Transmission Oil
NOTE: Tractor is filled with John Deere Low Viscosity HY-GARD® (J20D) transmission oil at the factory. DO NOT mix oils.
These tractors are equipped with a internal wet disc brake transmission. Use only Low Viscosity HY-GARD® (J20D) transmission oil. DO NOT use type "F" automatic transmission fluid.
IMPORTANT: Avoid damage! Use John Deere Low Viscosity HY-GARD® (J20D) transmission oil to reduce transmission noise and to increase response time for the hydraulics and power steering.
John Deere Low Viscosity HY-GARD® (J20D) transmission oil is specially formulated to provide maximum protection against mechanical wear, corrosion, and foaming.
The Mobil 1 isn't made for use with wet brake systems. Surprisingly, the John Deere fluid is pretty reasonably priced. I got 2 gallons of it for my 425 from my local JD dealer, it was less than $20 a gallon. All the J20D equivalents I've found were actually more expensive.
Quote:
Transmission Oil
NOTE: Tractor is filled with John Deere Low Viscosity HY-GARD® (J20D) transmission oil at the factory. DO NOT mix oils.
These tractors are equipped with a internal wet disc brake transmission. Use only Low Viscosity HY-GARD® (J20D) transmission oil. DO NOT use type "F" automatic transmission fluid.
IMPORTANT: Avoid damage! Use John Deere Low Viscosity HY-GARD® (J20D) transmission oil to reduce transmission noise and to increase response time for the hydraulics and power steering.
John Deere Low Viscosity HY-GARD® (J20D) transmission oil is specially formulated to provide maximum protection against mechanical wear, corrosion, and foaming.
The Mobil 1 isn't made for use with wet brake systems. Surprisingly, the John Deere fluid is pretty reasonably priced. I got 2 gallons of it for my 425 from my local JD dealer, it was less than $20 a gallon. All the J20D equivalents I've found were actually more expensive.
Same here, I have used the low vis in my tractor (530) for years. You cant go wrong following the owners amnual.
After talking to a TT rep, I went with the Mobil1 15w50 and new JD filters. The transmission is much quieter and very smooth and responsive. I feel the Mobil1 synthetic might handle the heat a little better than the Lo vis Hygard. And considering TT designed, built and supplied the transmission to JD, I'm comfortable with they're recommendation.
Originally Posted By: gman2304
After talking to a TT rep, I went with the Mobil1 15w50 and new JD filters. The transmission is much quieter and very smooth and responsive. I feel the Mobil1 synthetic might handle the heat a little better than the Lo vis Hygard. And considering TT designed, built and supplied the transmission to JD, I'm comfortable with they're recommendation.
Exactly why I called them. Good call, the noise was greatly reduced here as well...
After talking to a TT rep, I went with the Mobil1 15w50 and new JD filters. The transmission is much quieter and very smooth and responsive. I feel the Mobil1 synthetic might handle the heat a little better than the Lo vis Hygard. And considering TT designed, built and supplied the transmission to JD, I'm comfortable with they're recommendation.
Exactly why I called them. Good call, the noise was greatly reduced here as well...
MolaKule
Staff member
Originally Posted By: cronk
Hygard is a hydraulic/transmission fluid. Otherwise known as "tractor fluid", it will function as hydraulic fluid and transmission/differential lubricant.
It comes in regular or low viscosity flavors.
Low viscosity is the recommendation for most of the garden tractor hydrostats. I'm not familiar with the OP's specific transaxle, if it was spec'ed by Deere for Hygard, I'm sure that would be a good fluid to use. Amsoil also makes a synthetic all season tractor fluid I may try in my JD 317 hydro.
If Tuff Torq says 15w50 or similar motor oil is recommended, then the Mobil1 would be a good choice.
The viscosity difference between the JD low vis and a 50 weight engine oil is quite a spread.
If you have a severely worn or internally leaky pump causing a noise, a high viscosity fluid may temporarily help, but if you have to use a high vis fluid in a system designed for a low vis fluid, then you have a problem.
Who was the tech you spoke to?
Hygard is a hydraulic/transmission fluid. Otherwise known as "tractor fluid", it will function as hydraulic fluid and transmission/differential lubricant.
It comes in regular or low viscosity flavors.
Low viscosity is the recommendation for most of the garden tractor hydrostats. I'm not familiar with the OP's specific transaxle, if it was spec'ed by Deere for Hygard, I'm sure that would be a good fluid to use. Amsoil also makes a synthetic all season tractor fluid I may try in my JD 317 hydro.
If Tuff Torq says 15w50 or similar motor oil is recommended, then the Mobil1 would be a good choice.
The viscosity difference between the JD low vis and a 50 weight engine oil is quite a spread.
If you have a severely worn or internally leaky pump causing a noise, a high viscosity fluid may temporarily help, but if you have to use a high vis fluid in a system designed for a low vis fluid, then you have a problem.
Who was the tech you spoke to?
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MolaKule
Staff member
Quote:
The Deere guys all say to use the JD LO Vis Hy Gard hydro oil,..
Quote:
I spoke to Tuff Torq directly and their tech recommended M1 15w-50 as an easy brand to get.
I find this very contradictory.
The Deere guys all say to use the JD LO Vis Hy Gard hydro oil,..
Quote:
I spoke to Tuff Torq directly and their tech recommended M1 15w-50 as an easy brand to get.
I find this very contradictory.
MolaKule
Staff member
Originally Posted By: gman2304
The JD fans say to go with the JD LO vis Hygard, and the people who designed and built the transmission say that the Mobil1 will do a fine job....go figure.
Just to get some clarification, are you saying JD is stating in their owner's and maintenance manual's the spec is JDLV Hygard, but TT, the unit's manufacturer that supplied the unit to JD, is stating you must use a 15W50?
This is nonsense.
The JD fans say to go with the JD LO vis Hygard, and the people who designed and built the transmission say that the Mobil1 will do a fine job....go figure.
Just to get some clarification, are you saying JD is stating in their owner's and maintenance manual's the spec is JDLV Hygard, but TT, the unit's manufacturer that supplied the unit to JD, is stating you must use a 15W50?
This is nonsense.
This from the TT website. The 10w30 is the old spec. The 5w50 synthetic is the new TT recommendation. I couldn't find the 5w50 locally and called TT and they said the Mobil1 15w50 would work fine in my TT K70 Hydrostatic transmission. I didn't say TT stated you MUST use 15w50...those are your words. I'm sure TT would have said the JD Lo Vis would work fine if I had asked, but I was looking for a synthetic oil that would handle the heat of a hydro transmission better than an old spec Dino oil. Of course my JD owners manual says to use JD LO vis....they want to sell me they're oil! I have used Mobil1 15w50 for years in my TT K61 with never a problem, and I expect it to do the same in my TT K70. The 4.4 is the oil capacity for the K70.
K70
5w50 Synthetic Motor Oil
168T2099500
10w30 API Class Motor Oil
4.4
K70
5w50 Synthetic Motor Oil
168T2099500
10w30 API Class Motor Oil
4.4
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Originally Posted By: gman2304
This from the TT website. The 10w30 is the old spec. The 5w50 synthetic is the new TT recommendation. I couldn't find the 5w50 locally and called TT and they said the Mobil1 15w50 would work fine in my TT K70 Hydrostatic transmission. I didn't say TT stated you MUST use 15w50...those are your words. I'm sure TT would have said the JD Lo Vis would work fine if I had asked, but I was looking for a synthetic oil that would handle the heat of a hydro transmission better than an old spec Dino oil. Of course my JD owners manual says to use JD LO vis....they want to sell me they're oil! I have used Mobil1 15w50 for years in my TT K61 with never a problem, and I expect it to do the same in my TT K70. The 4.4 is the oil capacity for the K70.
And if you were to use the JD lowvis you wouldn't have a problem. The way these units get damaged is to not clean the cooling fins/fan area, they clog up with grass clippings and can't keep themselves cool. We have one of these units with over 1,000 hrs., and another with over 500 hrs. and have had lowvis in them since new, without issue, just changed at 250 hrs. per owners manual. Deere is a very large company and aren't going to spec a wrong fluid for years with anything, warranty claims would tell them they were wrong and it would be changed if need be. There is no doubt that the Mobil fluid you have selected will work just fine, but there are many many units running with lowvis without issue, and many of them don't get serviced as they should.
K70
5w50 Synthetic Motor Oil
168T2099500
10w30 API Class Motor Oil
4.4
This from the TT website. The 10w30 is the old spec. The 5w50 synthetic is the new TT recommendation. I couldn't find the 5w50 locally and called TT and they said the Mobil1 15w50 would work fine in my TT K70 Hydrostatic transmission. I didn't say TT stated you MUST use 15w50...those are your words. I'm sure TT would have said the JD Lo Vis would work fine if I had asked, but I was looking for a synthetic oil that would handle the heat of a hydro transmission better than an old spec Dino oil. Of course my JD owners manual says to use JD LO vis....they want to sell me they're oil! I have used Mobil1 15w50 for years in my TT K61 with never a problem, and I expect it to do the same in my TT K70. The 4.4 is the oil capacity for the K70.
And if you were to use the JD lowvis you wouldn't have a problem. The way these units get damaged is to not clean the cooling fins/fan area, they clog up with grass clippings and can't keep themselves cool. We have one of these units with over 1,000 hrs., and another with over 500 hrs. and have had lowvis in them since new, without issue, just changed at 250 hrs. per owners manual. Deere is a very large company and aren't going to spec a wrong fluid for years with anything, warranty claims would tell them they were wrong and it would be changed if need be. There is no doubt that the Mobil fluid you have selected will work just fine, but there are many many units running with lowvis without issue, and many of them don't get serviced as they should.
K70
5w50 Synthetic Motor Oil
168T2099500
10w30 API Class Motor Oil
4.4
My old JD 332 diesel with 1600 hours never had a problem with Type F transmission fluid either. As I said earlier....TT built the transmission and they're newer recommendation is 5w50 synthetic. They do recommend the LO Vis for some of they're applications, but for the vast majority, the 5w50 is recommended, per the TT website.
Here is the TT fluids guide from their website.
I have the JD LX277, ~15 yr old or so, that has the k62 tranny. I used to use 10w30, then learned a couple years ago that TT had back spec'd to 5w50 for many of their transmissions. So, early last year while making an Amsoil order, I purchased a few quarts of the 20W50 Zrod oil and have been running it since. Was surprised to see that 'J20C Hy-Gard High Viscosity' was the current recommendation for my transmission. Had heard that it was also converting to the 5w50. Oh well. It runs as good as the day I bought it 15 yrs ago. Going to stick with the Amsoil...or a similary wally-world fluid weight. FYI - the trans on my mower was not designed for operator fluid replacement. No drain plug. What I do is an annual partial replacement by using my oil extractor. I figure I get 1/2 of it each time. (But I did do 2-3 extract/fills last year when I converted from 10w30 to 20w50)
I have the JD LX277, ~15 yr old or so, that has the k62 tranny. I used to use 10w30, then learned a couple years ago that TT had back spec'd to 5w50 for many of their transmissions. So, early last year while making an Amsoil order, I purchased a few quarts of the 20W50 Zrod oil and have been running it since. Was surprised to see that 'J20C Hy-Gard High Viscosity' was the current recommendation for my transmission. Had heard that it was also converting to the 5w50. Oh well. It runs as good as the day I bought it 15 yrs ago. Going to stick with the Amsoil...or a similary wally-world fluid weight. FYI - the trans on my mower was not designed for operator fluid replacement. No drain plug. What I do is an annual partial replacement by using my oil extractor. I figure I get 1/2 of it each time. (But I did do 2-3 extract/fills last year when I converted from 10w30 to 20w50)
MolaKule
Staff member
Originally Posted By: gman2304
This from the TT website. The 10w30 is the old spec. The 5w50 synthetic is the new TT recommendation. I couldn't find the 5w50 locally and called TT and they said the Mobil1 15w50 would work fine in my TT K70 Hydrostatic transmission. I didn't say TT stated you MUST use 15w50...those are your words. I'm sure TT would have said the JD Lo Vis would work fine if I had asked, but I was looking for a synthetic oil that would handle the heat of a hydro transmission better than an old spec Dino oil. Of course my JD owners manual says to use JD LO vis....they want to sell me they're oil! I have used Mobil1 15w50 for years in my TT K61 with never a problem, and I expect it to do the same in my TT K70. The 4.4 is the oil capacity for the K70.
K70
5w50 Synthetic Motor Oil
168T2099500
10w30 API Class Motor Oil
4.4
Just to be clear, I was NOT saying any of your statements are nonsense.
What seemed to be nonsense was the disconnect between a component supplier and a manufacturer regarding fluid viscosity specs.
This from the TT website. The 10w30 is the old spec. The 5w50 synthetic is the new TT recommendation. I couldn't find the 5w50 locally and called TT and they said the Mobil1 15w50 would work fine in my TT K70 Hydrostatic transmission. I didn't say TT stated you MUST use 15w50...those are your words. I'm sure TT would have said the JD Lo Vis would work fine if I had asked, but I was looking for a synthetic oil that would handle the heat of a hydro transmission better than an old spec Dino oil. Of course my JD owners manual says to use JD LO vis....they want to sell me they're oil! I have used Mobil1 15w50 for years in my TT K61 with never a problem, and I expect it to do the same in my TT K70. The 4.4 is the oil capacity for the K70.
K70
5w50 Synthetic Motor Oil
168T2099500
10w30 API Class Motor Oil
4.4
Just to be clear, I was NOT saying any of your statements are nonsense.
What seemed to be nonsense was the disconnect between a component supplier and a manufacturer regarding fluid viscosity specs.
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Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Quote:
The Deere guys all say to use the JD LO Vis Hy Gard hydro oil,..
Quote:
I spoke to Tuff Torq directly and their tech recommended M1 15w-50 as an easy brand to get.
I find this very contradictory.
Absolutely agreed. But my TT unit shipped with 10w-30 motor oil in it. I was recommended 5w-50 as well, and then told that the M1 15w-50 was excellent for my southern climate.
The unit makes less than half the noise it did when new, works like a charm...
Quote:
The Deere guys all say to use the JD LO Vis Hy Gard hydro oil,..
Quote:
I spoke to Tuff Torq directly and their tech recommended M1 15w-50 as an easy brand to get.
I find this very contradictory.
Absolutely agreed. But my TT unit shipped with 10w-30 motor oil in it. I was recommended 5w-50 as well, and then told that the M1 15w-50 was excellent for my southern climate.
The unit makes less than half the noise it did when new, works like a charm...
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