Oil type

[Morg73 1]

I have a 78 D200  I'm wanting to chg the transmission oil it smells and looks like automatic transmission fluid but some of the post I have found this could be wrong. Any help would be appreciated. Thank You

[pfrederi 17,887]

Wipe the dipstick on a clean paper towel. Red/Pink = ATF 

 

By 78 I thought they were specifying 10W-30.  There should be a sticker...

[stevasaurus 22,872]

If you have the red ATF...that is what you want to use...don't change it. to 10w-30  If you have the tan 10w-30...don't change it to ATF. 

 

[Morg73 1]

I get the color check pink and brown but for the year of this tractor and having a sunstrand transmission i want to make sure of what is suppose to be in it. Just because it is red or brown doesnt mean it is the correct oil for what the manufacturer recommends for this tractor and the book that has this in it is very vague on what is suppose to be in it. 

[953 nut 55,839]

    It is your tractor, do what you think is right, but if it was mine I would do what Steve and Paul suggested. I have two sunstrands, one has ATF and one has 10W30, that is what was in them when I got them and I will stick with it. You can also pick up a NAPA 1410 filter for it.

[c-series don 8,850]

I am kinda in the same predicament, but I know what is in mine. I have a GT-1800 Work Horse that I bought new when I was a kid. I listened to an old gentleman who was a Wheel Horse guy. When it came time to service the transmission he said to use ATF, so I did. It wasn't till many years later that I realized that it was the wrong fluid. However I used this tractor for countless hours this way so I just stayed with it. I'm now restoring the tractor and I'm wondering if I should flush it or just drain it,spin on a new filter and call it good like I always have? 

[953 nut 55,839]

6 minutes ago, c-series don said:

I'm wondering if I should flush it or just drain it,spin on a new filter and call it good like I always have?

[pfrederi 17,887]

 

My Charger and Electros run ATF in their Sundstrand hydro and are still working fine after almost 50 years.

[PeacemakerJack 10,739]

Guys—I’m in town running some errands and I have to pick up fluid for a drain and refill on Caleb’s 418-C. How many quarts of 10W-30 does that take and any recommendations on brand preference. And NO, I’m not trying to start a fight here...

[953 nut 55,839]

25 minutes ago, PeacemakerJack said:

And NO, I’m not trying to start a fight here.

         Are you sure?         You aren't going to trick me into showing any brand favoritism, however I did use Shell Rotella from TS.

[PeacemakerJack 10,739]

Brand wasn’t my concern although I appreciate your recommendations. I’m more concerned about the additives in various types of oil vs others that are labeled 10W-30. Since this is in a rear end, differential, and hydrostatic transmission, I want to be sure not to run something with additives that would be counter productive. They have Rotella T4 10W-30 as well as Valvoline conventional 10W-30. There is also Max Life and synthetics too. Do you know off the top of your head how many quarts I need?

[pfrederi 17,887]

Hold 5 qts.

[953 nut 55,839]

3 hours ago, PeacemakerJack said:

Do you know off the top of your head how many quarts I need?

              5 Qts.                               

[BOB ELLISON 2,981]

I have a 77 C160 and a 74 C160 and the 77 has atf and the 74 has 10w30. I use the 74 for plowing snow so I use mobile 1 and never have any problems in the winter with slow moving.

[SPINJIM 1,981]

My 418-A had some heavy oil in it.  Maybe it was thick just because it was old and dirty.   The hydro lift was slow to start, so I drained the oil  (over a 24 hour period), flushed it, and replaced it with synthetic Mobile 1,  10w30.   Made a big difference in cold weather.

   Jim

 

[pfrederi 17,887]

For the other view... i got tired of waiting for my 418A to decide it was ready to lift the snowblower so I could move it outside to warm up.  Based on comments here i switched her over to Mobil 1 10w-30... No appreciable change... She was retired from snow duty, now only works summers and still doesn't pick up the mower deck very fast...but at least I can drive it out with the deck down.

[oliver2-44 9,874]

The problem with changing between 10w30 and ATF is getting the other type fluid completely flushed out. Today's modern fluids have lots of additives that can react (badly) with each other. Years ago there weren't near the additives and you might have gotten by swapping the two