Kubota LT - 185 DT Questions.

[T Mazz]

Hi, I recently purchased an older Kubota. Do not know the age but it is old. An elderly man owned it and his son was selling it. The son was not able to give me much info. I have a few questions if anyone can help.
1. Can I hurt the front axle differential case if it is overfilled?
2. I do not know what oil is on the transmission. Is there oil I can top it off with without hurting anything? It says to use SAE 80. Thanks much.

 

[BigG]

Hi, I recently purchased an older Kubota. Do not know the age but it is old. An elderly man owned it and his son was selling it. The son was not able to give me much info. I have a few questions if anyone can help.
1. Can I hurt the front axle differential case if it is overfilled?
2. I do not know what oil is on the transmission. Is there oil I can top it off with without hurting anything? It says to use SAE 80. Thanks much.

Can you damage the front axle? If it is over filled and there isn't a vent or if the vent is plugged it may cause you some problems. As the tractor is in motion the oil will heat up and it will expand. If there is no vent for the air in the differential the air pressure within the axle will increase. It may become enough to force the the oil past the weakest seal in the system and you will have an oil leak and a seal to replace.

#2 Do you know how old the oil is in the transmission? Some people will say that you need to drain it and replace the oil since it is not known how old it is. This is probable the best idea. Replace the oil with fresh oil as cheap insurance.

It is best to change all the oil and filters as the maintenance may have became less important to the elderly owner.

 

[T Mazz]

Can you damage the front axle? If it is over filled and there isn't a vent or if the vent is plugged it may cause you some problems. As the tractor is in motion the oil will heat up and it will expand. If there is no vent for the air in the differential the air pressure within the axle will increase. It may become enough to force the the oil past the weakest seal in the system and you will have an oil leak and a seal to replace.

#2 Do you know how old the oil is in the transmission? Some people will say that you need to drain it and replace the oil since it is not known how old it is. This is probable the best idea. Replace the oil with fresh oil as cheap insurance.

It is best to change all the oil and filters as the maintenance may have became less important to the elderly owner.

I do not know how old the oil is but it is very clean. I also do not know why type of oil is already in there. Will it be ok to mix SAE 80 to the oil that is in the transmission?

How do I check the oil in the front axle differential and where do you put the oil in as well?

 

[BigG]

You do not know the oil in the transmission. Changing it is the only practical way to know what you have. Most likely you could top it off and not hurt anything. But for a relatively small amount of money you can assure yourself the job is done right.

 

[T Mazz]

I asked a question after you had responded to my other question.


RE: The front axle differential:
How do I check the oil in the front axle differential and where do you put the oil in as well?

 

[Russell King]

The manual suggests that oil since that was about all that was available at the time. Use a universal tractor fluid from the dealer or a tractor supply. The dealer will drive you toward UDT, so use something similar.

That will make your hydraulic system work better.

If you change the fluid be sure to use the drain plugs on the bottom of the transmission and then there are also some on the bottom inside of the rear wheel drive case. They all have copper sealing washers that should be replaced.
There is also a screen filter on the side of the transmission and I suggest you get a new one and the o ring seal for that. It will be near your left heel when sitting on the tractor. I think some did have a better filter system but still have a screen

 

[BigG]

Go to: kubotabooks.com and find your manual.