Is this Hy-Tran?

[Lance Leitzel]

Hi Everybody! Hope everyone had a super Easter. Here's my random question of the week:

Is this stuff Hy-tran?



Or have I purchased the wrong fluid? I've noticed it starting to leak out
of torque tube towards where it meets with the engine. In checking it tonight, the level was a little too high, I drained a few ounces out. Think 90wt might be better in the trany?

Thanks,

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

HYTRAN is actually marked Hytran. or Ultra hytran on the container. if it is marked MS1209 compliant, it will be lok though. for trannys, my preferenace is still 90 wt, though. How full is it, tranny is only supposed to hold 3 1/2 pints in stnadard cub.

[Lance Leitzel]

Hi John,

I was afraid of this. There aren't any specs on the bottle to speak of. The extra I drained out was from the level plug on the left side of the transmission. Black as pitch, which wasn't the color that went in there a few months ago. I guess my bigger problem is that I've got this stuff in my touch control as well.

[Buzzard Wing]

Lance, that is NOT the drain plug, that is the 'level' plug. The drain is undneath on the platform side.

I would recommend you pop the drain and let it drain well for a while. May not hurt to fill it with kero and run it a little and drain that. then refill with gear lube or Hy Tran. Cubs seem to often have water in the transmission and unless someone overfilled it there is water in there.

I put Hy Tran in Rufus, but may just put gear lube in the one I am working on now. Mostly because I am not going to have enought Hy Tran for that and the TC and the nearest dealer is 2 states away.

Hope that helps.

[Lance Leitzel]

Yeah, I'm not sure how it got filled above the level plug. I changed the fluid last fall and sure enough a ton of water came out with the lube. I'm puzzled by the level increase. Is hydrolic fluid hygroscopic like brake fluid?

The blackness of the fluid worries me, so I'll drain it and try some kerosene in there to clean things out. I assume I shouldn't run it under load while I'm in the cleaning mode. So, after that I'll try 90wt and see what happens. Has anyone run 75w90 in the transmission?

BTW, I just got off the phone with Carter & Gruenewald and Cub Cadet Hydrolic/Transmission fluid is NOT IH Hytran. OOOPS.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Lance, I've never run 75w90, but have tun 80-90 and 80w140. the 75w90 should work. And yess, hydraulic fluid does hold water in suspension, that is one of it's requirements. Cubs seem to accumuclate water in the tranny, evens stored inside..

[Paul B]

Lance
What you have may be Hy-Tran. From what I bave been told by IH/Cub Cadet dealers, what was/is sold by Cub Cadet as hydraulic fluid for hydrostatic transmissions was repackaged Hy-Tran (but higher in price than Hy-Tran from a Case IH dealer) except for the fluid sold for the newer versions (current) of the Cub Cadet that use a synthetic fluid. I don't know the Cub Cadet P/N so I can't tell you for sure by the number on this container, but the dealer can tell you if this is for the older (IH built) Cub Cadet hydros. If so, it's Hy-Tran.

[Lance Leitzel]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the heads up. I called my local cub cadet dealer and this is for the older cub cadets. I think the thing that threw Carter & Gruenewald is that I described the color of the bottle (which I've been told has changed, from the bottle I have pictured). So, at least I don't have to panic about what is in my touch control system. Now, I'll give 90wt a try in the tranny and see how that works (after cleaning it out again).

Thanks for everyone's help!

Lance

[Rudi]

Lance:

One of the things you will notice in the tranny, (at least I did), is that once the 90wt is in there, it sure is a lot quieter.... and that is helpful.

I will continue to use Hy-Tran only in my Touch Control, but 90wt is the only fluid going in the tranny, except for kerosene when a purge is required...

Now for something else... if it has green grass on the label, that means MTD to me.. and that means IT AIN'T Goin in my Tractors -- push mower maybe, Tractor's - NOT!

Yeah I know.. I am a snob...

[Matt Kirsch]

Do you keep your tractor outside? Water will run in to the transmission every time it rains, and a lot more than you think.

Also, getting the "exact right" oil is not all that critical. Close enough is close enough, and generic "Hydraulic/Transmission Fluid" is close enough to HyTran. The oil snobs have you all paranoid over nothing. As long as it's slippery, you're not going to hurt the system by putting the "wrong" oil in.

[SundaySailor]

Lance,

I was given the same bottles to use in my Cub for Hytran by my Case/IH dealer too. It is hytran equivalent according to them. I've had no problems at all with my Touch control since draining and refilling with this stuff. In fact, mine is rather smooth compared to what it used to be.

Just some food for thought. (Ya Think?)

SS

[Lance Leitzel]

Thanks guys! After breathing into a paper bag for a while, I realised that almost any oil made these days can match (exceed) the specs needed from oils made in the 1950's & 1960's. I did catch one mistake that I made, I had already put gear lube in my transmission (75w90), but it was a synthetic and I wonder if some was just making it's way past the front seal in the transmission (since it was overfull). Anyway, after I checked what came out this time, it has had a good cleaning with kero and now it seems pretty happy with 80w90.

SS- Yes, I agree that the white bottle stuff seems to run pretty well in the touch control. In my hour of panic, I did order a gallon of IH Hytran, so I'll change out the fluid touch control at some point and do a "taste test".