Hydraulic & Transmission Fluid

[Cub Noobie]

Man I love this site. Thanks to everyone for the willingness to help and share knowledge. When I got my '49 Cub I changed the oil since I didnt know the date of the last change. I did not, however, change the tranny fluid or the hydraulic fluid. OR am I an idiot and it is the same thing? So a couple questions....Can you tell by the color/milkiness when it should be changed or should I just change it? Second Is there a level gauge for either of these two? Thirdly is there a recommended type for either of these? On a separate note my hydraulics are jumpy...should I assume rings are bad and how big of a job is that?

[Hengy]

Hey again, Noob!

Take a look at the tranny/differential oil. Chances are GOOD that it will look like a mocha from the coffee shop. If it does, it is TIME FOR A CHANGE. Because the tranny isn't a sealed system in the true sense of the word, they are subject to a LOT of condensation inside them. Likewise, if the tractor got caught in the rain a couple of times, it is likely that there is water in your transmission in addition to the oil.

The drain is on the bottom of the tranny facing the front of the tractor. Open that plug and let all of the smelly gunk out of it. Put the plug back in, and put 3.6 pints of kerosene in the tranny and ride the cub around for a little bit (lightly loaded for 5 - 10 minutes). That loosens up all of the cruddy bits from inside the tranny. Open the drain and the gunk will come out. On the tractor's left side towards the front of the tranny, there is a small plug. Remove that...this is the level plug for the gear oil. On the top of the tranny is a pipe plug right near the shifter. This is your fill plug. Remove this and add 3.5 PINTS of fluid to the transmission. Don't over fill. If the fluid starts to come out of the little plug on the bottom of the tranny...let it drain until it stops. Replace the little plug on the side of the tranny and on the top, and you hould be good to go!! By the way, I use 90 weight gear lube in my tranny and it keeps my cub fairly quiet. Others use Hytran in their trannies, and it is just a matter of preference...

The Hydraulics are a completely separate system from the tranny.

Mike in La Crosse, WI

[Peter Person]

Cub Noobie,
Just one more thing to add to Mike's excellent "how to".
Pull shifter top off the tranny and make sure the drain holes are not plugged.

photo courtesy of Cowboy!
You'll also get a good look at the shifter forks.

Peter

[Cub Noobie]

I remember when I put in a new PTO shift Lever this weekend the tranny oil did look like mocha so that will be another to-do this weekend. As far as the different plugs I will try to find a pic since the cub is not readily available. I am assuming they are all fairly recognizable and I do have an IT manual so that should help. Assumption is I look along the drivetrain and should easil see the plugs to which you are referring.
Thanks for mentioning the little drain holes in the picture I will check those too.

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

Alos, the tranny fluid would be 90wr gear oil, and the hydraulic is HyTran or equivalent

[Pony Master]

My hydraulics were jumpy on the loboy when I got it. The fluid level was low. Use the big plug on the left side of the tractor just under the fuel tank. Fill it with hytran, or a comparable oil. I use the heavy duty hydraulic oil from Napa in the green bottle.

[Super A]

Don't forget the final drives (bull gears.) Remove the pan under each gear housing to dump oil. The fill plug is also the level plug, up in the vicinity of the drawbar mounting bolts. Uses gear oil identical to the transmission.

Al

[Cub Noobie]

Don't forget the final drives (bull gears.) Remove the pan under each gear housing to dump oil. The fill plug is also the level plug, up in the vicinity of the drawbar mounting bolts. Uses gear oil identical to the transmission.

Al

Is this for the Tranny or Hydraulics?

[Super A]

Don't forget the final drives (bull gears.) Remove the pan under each gear housing to dump oil. The fill plug is also the level plug, up in the vicinity of the drawbar mounting bolts. Uses gear oil identical to the transmission.

Al

Is this for the Tranny or Hydraulics?

Transmission. Hydraulics are contained in the unit under the gas tank. Fill that to the level of the plug also with Hy-Tran fluid.

Al

[Cub Noobie]

OK so let me see if I got this down.
1)I remove thedrain plug, replace and fill with 3.6 pints of Kerosene.
2)Run 5-10 minutes driving around the farm
3)Drain Kerosene by same drain plugs
4)Remove Fill Level Plug
5) Remove Fill Plug
6) Remove Shifter Cover and inspect drain holes
7) Replace Shifter Cover
Remove the Pans under the Bull Gears ( i have no idea what these are but plan on looking for obvious pans under the shifter) and dump oil/kerosene.
9) Replace pans and refill with 90w gear oil until it reaches fill level plug opening.

How am I doing?

[Hengy]

OK so let me see if I got this down.
1)I remove thedrain plug, replace and fill with 3.6 pints of Kerosene.
2)Run 5-10 minutes driving around the farm
3)Drain Kerosene by same drain plugs
4)Remove Fill Level Plug
5) Remove Fill Plug
6) Remove Shifter Cover and inspect drain holes
7) Replace Shifter Cover
Remove the Pans under the Bull Gears ( i have no idea what these are but plan on looking for obvious pans under the shifter) and dump oil/kerosene.
9) Replace pans and refill with 90w gear oil until it reaches fill level plug opening.

How am I doing?

You are close....

The pans under the "bull gears" are on both sides of the tractor near the rear wheels. They have a large number of bolts holding them onto the "final drive" ( the part made out of Cast Iron!) You will need new gaskets for the pans if and when you remove them to drain the oil therein... No need to flush the final drives with Kerosene, just drop the pan, drain and dispose of the oil and clean the pan well. While some will refill the final drive through that level plug, others...myself among them... will fill the final drive pans with oil before reinstalling them. The oil does not need to come up above the and to the level of that plug on the side of the final drive. Having the final that full only invites leaks out of the gasket between the pan and the final.

In your instructions, add a step 7a and 7b under step 7... 7a should read, fill transmission with 3.5 pints of 90 weight gear oil. Allow any excess to drain out of level plug on side of transmission. 7b should read: replace fill plug and fill level plug on transmission.

THEN you can move on to step 8 and dealing with the two final drives...they are separate oil systems from the Tranny and don't share oil...

Here are some pictures from TM Tractor's website to help you locate a few things on the tranny and final drives. (NOTE: all photos courtesy of tmtractor.com)

Location of the fill level plug on the tranny case. (lower left Corner) This part is partially hidden by the wheel of the tractor when installed.


Location of the Drain Plug on the tranny case.


Location of the transmission fill plug


Final Drive Pan.



I hope that this little diatribe helped at least a little bit!

Mike in La Crosse, WI

[Jerry M]

This topic would go great in the "HOW TO' guide. Simple, straight forword and yet, as soon as I move on to the next subject, I forget it again. Would be nice to be able to get to quickly for a reference.

Jerry

[Super A]

I am glad to provide the help, and this would be nice in the How To section, but the owners manual would address all these issues in detail. The O.M. is required reading!

Al

[SundaySailor]

Rick Prentice also used Dextron III automatic transmission fluid in his hydraulic TC. He said that he'd experienced some bounding with his TC with regular Hytran. But, he said that after he changed to Dextron III, that the bouncing started to get smoother and smoother, and now he has no bounce at all. That is some stinking stuff, but it has been around for a long time in automobiles.

[Cub Noobie]

Pictures Help me alot!!! Thanks.. If I don't get the gaskets in time to do the final drives I guess its still fine to do the tranny and then catch the final drives at a later date since they are not intertwined (fluid).
Also is the Owners Manual the IT Manual? I have that and a picture book that came with it...showing diff implements and such..
Left both at the farm so no help right now.
Does the Hydraulic fluid have a similar tell-tale sign it is due to be changed? Color/Viscosity, etc...
Also where are the hydraulic fill plugs and level indicators?