I’m changing the transmission oil in the Case 450C I just bought. The existing oil is a suspicious gold color and looks like no tractor transmission fluid I’ve ever seen. I’ve read the recommendations to use TCH but I can’t buy it locally unless the dealer special orders it and he says TCH will be phased out eventually. He says Hy-Tran Premium was designed to replace TCH but it’s a higher viscosity lubricant (60 versus 40). I found some specs from the 90s and both TCH and the "Hy-Tran of the day" (Ultra) were both ISO 40 lubricants. I’ve not found an ISO 40 hydraulic transmission oil other than TCH. The hydraulic transmission fluids I’ve used in my day job are all ISO 55-60 viscosity. I currently buy mostly Mobil products and some Chevron. Mobilfluid 424 meets MS1209 and Chevron 1000 THF meets both MS1209 and MS1210 so that means they’re designed for wet-clutch/brake applications. The Chevron 1000 THF product sheet specifically mentions it as a replacement for TCH. I can get the Chevron wholesale for $62/five gallon bucket. I feel as comfortable with the Chevron as Hy-Tran Premium. I guess I could stock up on TCH but I think I'm going to try the Chevron.
I don't know about what the companies you have listed do , the company Castrol Oil I use have books with the required oil for most machines listed that retailers have .
I spent many years creating maintenance plans for obsolete industrial machines and am used to chasing down info. I reached out to one of my oil company contacts who forwarded me to someone with Viscosity Oil Company. Between the two of them I learned: Viscosity Oil’s Ultraction Original is the Hy-Tran Ultra that was made from 1999-2013. Viscosity Oil Unitraction Cool is equivalent to TCH. Case TCH has a lower viscosity than Hytran and contains a zinc additive; Hytran is zinc-free. Newer equipment is designed to use non-zinc anti-wear additives. Zinc-free lubricants can cause excessive wear in equipment not designed for them. The downside of zinc anti-wear additives is they can create corrosive by-products that can attack non-ferrous parts. They should be changed more often. So, my Case 450C was most likely not designed to use Zinc-free lubricants like Hytran. I’ll order TCH from my Case dealer. If it becomes unavailable, I’ll get the Unitraction Cool from the Case Agriculture dealer as they carry the Viscosity Oil products.
Yeah my Case dealer is adamant that the dozers need TCH, something about the heavy drivetrain loads and powershift transmission. I would be surprised if they are discontinuing TCH, they have been specifying its use in dozer for years, well up into the more modern machines.
Sounds like you are doing your research. Equipment manufactures spec certain fluid for that use. They spend million in some cases making sure it is right. While that machine was part of the “majority” that oil is correct. Sadly as it got older and less popular (financially too) and new technology surpasses old tech, the oils change. Add in climate agenda and the (dirty oils) go bye bye. Typically a company making these blends will keep making equivalent oils under different names and it may have a few extra ingredients so it can meet more machines or a certain spec number that is still popular. I typically go to my local hydraulic supply house and get them to sell me the equivalent oil and because my machines are 30 years old and more hobby than work… it works well. But I get the wanting to do it right because “tractor supply oil” is not the best for this application. Okay- let us know what you find because I like to keep mental notes on what is good in case I am ask. Good luck! Side note: post some pictures of that machine. Let’s see that iron! Syleng1
I've paid for the dozer but probably won't bring it home until the first of next week. I need to do a 7.3 truck engine swap before I clean and service the dozer so I'm in no rush in. I tried to order TCH over the phone today and the person said he couldn't get it. I'm going to swing by this afternoon and talk to one of the guys I normally work with. I struck out on the Viscosity Oil Unitraction Cool as the local Case Agriculture dealers don't stock that particular product and I'd have to pay a big shipping charge.
Case Hy-Trans Premium would be a good substitute for the outdated TCH.
TCH is not outdated, many models specify TCH only. Any large Case Construction dealer will have it in stock. Mine has it in stock all the time, price is about the same as Hytran.
Yesterday the parts guy I know at my Case Construction dealer told me he could not order TCH. This morning, the Case Agriculture dealer called me and told me he found three pails of TCH in their inventory which I bought. It was the same price as Hytran Premium. Last night I found a Case Australia brochure that had a link to a website (below) that had lubricant recommendations by model number. The Case USA website doesn't have any info for the 450C. For the 450C it recommended: 1st choice TCH Fluid (OE) (c) 2nd choice Pennzoil Automatic Transmission Fluid The note for (c) is "Alternative recommendations: ATF-A" case-apac