Farmall Cub

Does anyone have a preferred oil for the transmission? The manual says SAE80, but would like some guidance on what others have been using.

Also, manual says 3 1/2 pints ... is this pretty accurate?

Finally, does anyone know of anysubstance out there than can help keep moisture out of oil, like those gas additives that keep moisture out of gas? The reason is that on a couple of really cold mornings, I think I have has a frozen tranmission, you know, maybe condensation build up over the years??? Anyway, today, since it warmed up to the 50's, I decided to pop the drain plug, and let it drain. When I refill, would like to add an additive, if it will help.

David,
I'm not an expert but on the cub cadet side. Hytran is recomended in all tranny's hydro or gear drive (although 30 weight is also recommended in the gear drives). I know the cadet doesn't operate under the same loads but they do run at a higher rpm and use the same transmission.
Hytran does have the capacity to capture moisture and suspend it.



The prices are from 1964, I wish they were still good

Same tranny.....

Either HY-tran or 80-90 wt. gear lube will work. Don't know of any additives.

Finally, does anyone know of anysubstance out there than can help keep moisture out of oil, like those gas additives that keep moisture out of gas? The reason is that on a couple of really cold mornings, I think I have has a frozen tranmission, you know, maybe condensation build up over the years??? Anyway, today, since it warmed up to the 50's, I decided to pop the drain plug, and let it drain. When I refill, would like to add an additive, if it will help.

It isn't likely you can keep water out of the transmission, but it is possible to manage it.

There are additive packages that can go either way. Most reject water and cause it to collect in the sump where it can't damage transmission bearings. Another approach is to make the water absorb permanently into the oil. Keeping the water in suspension will keep it from forming solid ice... much like fuel additives deal with water. In either case, there are limits to how much water they can handle... it is important to change the lube before it becomes overloaded.

The early manuals called out gear oil. Later when Hy-Tran became available, they made it the recomendation for the gear cases. Hy-Tran absorbs more moisture than gear oil will. If your case currently has gear oil, I would suggest staying with it. Hy-Tran may leak out even if the seals are currently holding with gear oil.

If your current oil has a lot of water mixed into it, it will have a milky appearance. If so, I would suggest filling it with kerosene or Diesel fuel and driving it around a bit (no load) to flush it out.

Fill to the level plug on the left side. Capacity is approximate.

Jim

Thanks for the advice on the kerosene/diesel. I think it has got water in it -- it came out as a very light chocolate milky color, almost light a chocolate milk. That is the effect of water, right?

ScottC... i'll take 15 gallons of that HyTran for $23.65

What, only 15 gallons

David wrote:Jim

Thanks for the advice on the kerosene/diesel. I think it has got water in it -- it came out as a very light chocolate milky color, almost light a chocolate milk. That is the effect of water, right?

Yes, that is water in suspension in the oil. I had some that came out looking about like that once. Let a jug of it sit in the shop. After a year it separated -- just about 50% water.

If it is not too late, I still think it is a good idea to pull the tranny cover and rinse (as stated above) with kerosene. This way you can see when you get the water/oil emulsion off of everything. It also lets you examine your shifting forks and shift lever mechanism. You can refill the new lube from the top, which is much easier than through the side hole. Just a suggestion.

Yo's Dad,

might you be misstaken as to the location of the fill plug? i seem to have a large plug on top just behind the shift tower cover. but i agree, it's a great idea to take a peek at the shifting forks, gears and such to see how clean they are.

Art:

I am most usually mistaken. My brain just doesn't work well anymore. My cub is sitting about five miles from where I live right now, and I just don't remember things very well. I'm only a hundred and twenty five next year, it is far too soon to loose my memory this early. I'll just have to have daddy George or uncle Jim take care of the technical stuff from now on.

Hey Pop! You sure Ole Malley is still settin' where you left him?????

David:

As both 90 wt oil and Hy-Tran is called for in the owners manuals (just depends which manual you have), either one is correct. Just follow the instructions previously given and you will be fine.

Ellie-Mae has 90 wt in the tranny and it is quiet as can be. I do not hear any whinning or grinding or any other noises emanating from the tranny so I figure I will keep using 90 wt. Why tempt fate when you don't have to

As far as Jethro goes, I haven't yet quite decided, but I am leaning toward the 90 wt as well. May as well keep with what works.

After I bought this Cadet, I checked all the fluids and noticed the gear box oil was very light (in SAE weight). After talking to someone that knew something about IH products said it had HY-trans transmission fluid in it and it was ok to operate.

The kids cut five acres of grass with it pulling this trail mower in third gear wide open. They said after a while they would hear noise coming from the transmission so, I changed the fluid to 80w140 transmission grease and the noise went away. The transmission is in good shape but, I guess the HY-trans was a little thin for using in my application. On the other hand I don’t know if (HY-trans) was hurting anything.

I work as an auto tech and on truck manual transmissions the manufacture (GM) recommends automatic transmission fluid in their transmission except for heavy duty use and then they recommend gear lube.

Chrysler Corp. has been using automatic transmission fluid in their manual transmissions for years and I haven’t heard of any failures because of the fluid application.

Ford uses synthetic oil in their heavy duty transmission and rear end applications. You can get by with a “thinner weight” with synthetic because it will not “break down”

I have a Massey Ferguson backhoe and all fluid application is very similar to HY-trans and it pulls about 10,000 lbs. and I haven’t had any gear/bearing problems yet.

I know one thing if you use heavy weight grease in a very cold application the grease will not circulate, form a barrier and will not lubricate the indented area. But on the other hand Rudi uses 90w and he has no known problems.

Jack Fowler