Oil change capacity

Bjones

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Equipment
L2800
Apr 23, 2017
46
1
6
walhalla, s.c.
Changed oil and filter for first time today in my L2800 and OM called for 6 qts with filter. I didn't think to check it after 5 qts since OM stated 6 qts but dip stick looks like it is maybe 1/2 qt to full. Should I drain some out or will it hurt to be slightly over full? Thanks
 

RCW

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Keep it full on the dipstick. Common question, since OM seem to be a little off quite often.
Some tractors have multiple drain plugs. Sounds like you’re very close in quantity, so it doesn’t sound like you missed a drain plug.
Just fill it. Don’t overfill it, and enjoy!


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Last edited:

Bjones

Member

Equipment
L2800
Apr 23, 2017
46
1
6
walhalla, s.c.
Yea mine has two drain plugs. SO would You recommend draining a little out to match dip stick full marking. Thanks for your reply.
 

SidecarFlip

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Dip sticks can be inaccurate depending on how they seat. I'd leave it go if it's not radically overfilled.

Just changed the hydraulic fluid in one of my 2 M's. WSM calls for 52 quarts but don't say filter changeout or not. Installed 2 new suction filters and 52 quarts put the level at the top of the dipstick give or take 1/4". Good enough for me. I usually have to add makeup fluid anyway because I'm always loosing some from the hydraulic connectors being switched out all the time.
 

lugbolt

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The books are mostly wrong about capacities. I don't know how or where they got the info from but they're wrong.
 

SidecarFlip

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Drain it to the full mark. I was always told it was very bad too have the oil over full.


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By whom? A little bit over is no big deal on any engine
 

Pau7220

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L3650 GST, Landpride TL250 FEL w/ Piranha, 6' King Kutter, GM1084R Finish
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Drain it to the full mark. I was always told it was very bad too have the oil over full.


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You are corrrect. Most of today's dipsticks and owners manuals state "do not overfill". Overfilling causes aeration/foaming. Better slightly low than over. Of course full mark is best.
 
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PA452

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B2650
Nov 8, 2015
312
40
28
Western PA
You are corrrect. Most of today's dipsticks and owners manuals state "do not overfill". Overfilling causes aeration/foaming. Better slightly low than over. Of course full mark is best.
This. It might be fine, but I'd probably try to get it to or below the full line.
 

SRG

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Yup, you are better off slightly low, than over full. Oil aerating, which is what happens when the crank shaft spins through a pan of oil (which is where windage trays, and crank scrapers come into play). Bubbles of air cause cavitation in the pump, and air means low oil pressure at the bearings.
 

Daren Todd

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Dip sticks can be inaccurate depending on how they seat. I'd leave it go if it's not radically overfilled.

Just changed the hydraulic fluid in one of my 2 M's. WSM calls for 52 quarts but don't say filter changeout or not. Installed 2 new suction filters and 52 quarts put the level at the top of the dipstick give or take 1/4". Good enough for me. I usually have to add makeup fluid anyway because I'm always loosing some from the hydraulic connectors being switched out all the time.
Had a customer call up complaining that there rental pump was using a quart of oil every 12 hours. Engine had an 8 gallon oil capacity, and was an old detroit diesel. Engine had to drop a gallon before it got to the add mark on the dip stick. I told them not to top it up at the 7pm check, and to check the oil when they came in, in the morning. Oil level never dropped below the one quart low spot on the dip stick. Told them to not worry about it being 1 quart low and to run the snot out of it :D:D

Some of those older engines would burn oil if it was at thel full mark on the dip stick, but would stop once it got a quart or two down.
 

SidecarFlip

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Had a customer call up complaining that there rental pump was using a quart of oil every 12 hours. Engine had an 8 gallon oil capacity, and was an old detroit diesel. Engine had to drop a gallon before it got to the add mark on the dip stick. I told them not to top it up at the 7pm check, and to check the oil when they came in, in the morning. Oil level never dropped below the one quart low spot on the dip stick. Told them to not worry about it being 1 quart low and to run the snot out of it :D:D

Some of those older engines would burn oil if it was at thel full mark on the dip stick, but would stop once it got a quart or two down.
2 stroke Detroits all had pressurized crankcases and deposited oil out of the valve cover breather tubes all the time. Why you never parked on on asphalt, always gravel as the always marked the spot....lol. Th older they got and the more blowby they made, the more oil came out the 'puke tubes'.

Had an 855 Cummins like that. Change the oil to the full mark and within a couple hundred miles it was down a gallon and stayed there.

2 stroke Detroits run best at rated rpm, why the make good generator engines and engines in constant rpm applications like pumps. Detroit engines don't like to idle.
 

GeoHorn

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Engineers determine the amount of oil the engine needs for operational lube and cooling. They add to the design to provide for long-term consumption so that the engine never suffers from lack of lube/cooling between service. This results in the "correct" amount PLUS a reserve.
If MORE than the "reserve" is installed, the crankshaft can become an "egg beater", especially on slopes or during accel/decal events. Once the oil becomes entrained with air (foam) both lubrication and cooling needs are no longer met.
NEVER overfill with oil. If inadvertently overserviced, drain or suction out the excess. REmember, the design accommodates a reduced oil supply but NOT an overserviced sump.
 

SidecarFlip

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Pretty hard to whip the oil in a Kubota engine in as much as the crank is supported by a cast 'girdle' on the bottom of the block. You'd really have to overfill it to reach the crank.

Interesting comment on your part in as much as most small engines have no oil pump and 'whip'the oil around with a paddle attached to the con rod

called 'splash' lubrication.
 

SRG

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Pretty hard to whip the oil in a Kubota engine in as much as the crank is supported by a cast 'girdle' on the bottom of the block. You'd really have to overfill it to reach the crank.

Interesting comment on your part in as much as most small engines have no oil pump and 'whip'the oil around with a paddle attached to the con rod

called 'splash' lubrication.
That's an interesting comment on your part.
The reason, is simply because those small engine don't have an oil pump. That's how that design is able to get away with splash lubrication. It's the aerating of oil that causes cavitation in the oil pump and will cause it to fail. No oil pump, no worries.
 

Russell King

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Jun 17, 2012
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One thing I have noticed on my old L185 is that the oil will drain out of the filter over a short time and then the oil registers slightly high on the dipstick. Start and run for a bit then let it set for an hour and it reads full like right after an oil change.

You may want to check yours and see if it acts the same (and be more unsure about what to do!)


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Pau7220

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L3650 GST, Landpride TL250 FEL w/ Piranha, 6' King Kutter, GM1084R Finish
Aug 1, 2017
785
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63
Scranton, PA
Pretty hard to whip the oil in a Kubota engine in as much as the crank is supported by a cast 'girdle' on the bottom of the block. You'd really have to overfill it to reach the crank
My land is so sloped I easily end up at 45* angles when mowing up and down the hills. I'm sure I'm bumping some of the oil at times... overfilling would only make it worse.

P.S. Geo.... Eggbeater is a great description :D
 

Pau7220

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L3650 GST, Landpride TL250 FEL w/ Piranha, 6' King Kutter, GM1084R Finish
Aug 1, 2017
785
276
63
Scranton, PA
One thing I have noticed on my old L185 is that the oil will drain out of the filter over a short time and then the oil registers slightly high on the dipstick. Start and run for a bit then let it set for an hour and it reads full like right after an oil change.

You may want to check yours and see if it acts the same (and be more unsure about what to do!)


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Check valve in the filter should prevent (or at least slow) this. Is it a Kubota filter? Does yours have a check valve? Not all filters do.
 
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GeoHorn

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One thing I have noticed on my old L185 is that the oil will drain out of the filter over a short time and then the oil registers slightly high on the dipstick. Start and run for a bit then let it set for an hour and it reads full like right after an oil change.

You may want to check yours and see if it acts the same (and be more unsure about what to do!)


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This is an excellent reminder that cheap oil filters can contribute to problems. Cheap oil filters often use stiff, ineffective back-flow designs. Better filters use materials that do better at keeping the oil ready for use instead of letting the oil escape back to the sump. (Often it's a cheap nitrile flap in the aftermarket/cheap filters and it's an EPDM/Silicone part in the better filters. The cheap materials lose elasticity when things cool down and let the oil escape. Then, when the engine is re-started...the filter does not have oil ready to supply...instead the filter requires the pump to re-fill itself before the engine is supplied.
This means the engine is making perhaps a hundred revolutions without full oil pressure if the cheap filter requires re-filling.