I have a grey market EX120-2 and need to change the hydraulic fluid and was wondering if anyone knows what it needs for fluid. The local Deere/Hitachi dealer said "probably hitachi oil, we're not really sure since its grey market" probably isn't very confidence inspiring, they also mentioned something about the oil having zinc or being zink free, any help would be greatly appreciated. Serial # 12N-30953
-2 is an old machine yeah? I would just use AW32 in her, YMMV that's just me.
AFAIK all Hitachi hydraulic excavators of whatever vintage and wherever they were manufactured require an ISO46 viscosity ashless (zinc free) hydraulic oil. You don't have to buy the Deere-Hitachi brand oil, all the major lubricant manufacturers make an ashless oil. Conoco call theirs EcoTerra, not sure what the others do.
i have a kobelco 120 grey market i put tdh in it and all of my equipment never had an issue
Using Conoco megaflow 32 weight oil in my 100-5 machine. It works well in hot and cold climates.
So Nige, I should be looking for an ashless oil? Is regular ISO AW46 manufactured with it? I would care to bet at this point in the machines life, and who i acquired it from, it has had just about any and all types of oil run through it....
Thanks Lantraxco, she's old for sure. The hour meter works and shows 5200 hours but the way some of the pins and bosses are worn I'm guessing it has a lot more than that. We would have to work hard to put more than 150 hours a year on it, its mostly used in the yard for screening soil, loading boulders, or if we are desperate, taking it out to dig an occasional stump or trench if our other machines are busy.
Regular ISO AW46 will have about 500ppm of zinc added to it as a part of the anti-wear additive package. Ashless oil has zero zinc and uses a different formulation to produce the anti-wear properties. Systems that require ashless oil normally require it for reasons that some components in the system will react badly to the zinc in a common or garden hydraulic oil and fail prematurely. Maybe you're right and it could have anything in there, all I'm highlighting is what it SHOULD have in there. It's your machine - you pays your money and you makes your choice.
Nice, I want to put the correct fluid in for sure, just wanted to know the differences between the two types. Thanks for explaining. How bad is it to mix the two types of oil?
Let's put it this way - you shouldn't mix the two types of oil or you are likely to get the worst of both worlds regarding the anti-wear properties of the mixture.
Thanks for all the help. I have another question, anyone know how to drain the hydraulic tank? Doesn't seem to be a plug on the bottom or side of the tank, do I need to remove the line that feeds the pump to drain the tank? Every other machine we have has a plug on the bottom? Thanks in advance....
I've got a factory Hitachi -3 manual, it calls for AW46. Recommended brands include Texaco Rando HD46, and Shell Tellus Oil 46. Regular stuff. When I drained mine I used a fuel pump in the top of the tank, the hand operated type you find on farm bulk tanks. Pumped into 5 gallon buckets.It took a bit of effort, but worked fine.
I have a Hitachi EX120-1. My manual says to use AW32 which I've been using without any problems for the 10 years I've owned it. Since this thread was started I went to the Shell website to check what it said. They did not have EX120-1 listed but I found a JD 490-D which is like a 120-1 and they say AW46. We are not in a hot climate but I've used it in fairly hot weather on ocassion without a problem. I will continue with AW32, otherwise I'd have to have another product here. FWD
The service interval for the hydraulic system i believe was originally about 4000 hours. on the original oil (Hitachi oil)and 2000 hours if you used deere hy-gard.
I know this is an old thread, but I have the ex120-2. Here's a page from the Technical Manual for the EX120-2. It's AW46, like @wilko said for the -3. Also, there is a drain plug at the bottom of the hydraulic pump. That seemed to drain most of it. The machine holds 134 liters (35.4 US gal).
Make sure you bleed the pump before starting the engine. Use the large plug or fitting on top of the pump. Failure to do so could resuming then purchase of a new pump.
THANK YOU! You just saved me.