I need some advice concerning what to do about the hydraulic oil in my machine. It's a 2020 KX033-4 excavator that I got back in march with 1600 hrs. on it. Talked to previous owner and he said he used ISO 68. Manual says to use Shell Tellus S2M46 or S2MX 46 in summer or high ambient temps, so being in south Louisiana, that sounds like what I will use. I'm a little suspect about taking the previous owners word about what he actually put in it. All he told me was that it was ISO 68 and did not mention a brand. Don't know if I should even trust that. Not being sure what is in there, I need to know if there could be any problems in mixing oils. Manual says Hydro tank capacity is about 9 gallons, but the entire system capacity is about 16 gallons. So when I go to change filters in tank and replace the 9 gallons in there, there is still about 7 gallons left in the system that I'm not sure of. A couple of dealer service managers told me to drain the 9 gallons from the tank and refill with the Shell Tellus, then run the machine and make sure to actuate all the controls to circulate the remaining 7 gallons with the new oil. Then, drain the tank again, replace the filters in there and put another 9 gallons of Shell Tellus in. That's going to be expensive. I'm just wondering if that will get enough of the old oil out. Paid dearly for this machine and don't want to take any chances. Please help, I'm not sure that this is the best way to go. Thanks for helping
Pull a sample and have it analyzed and let’s see what you are dealing with before doing anything else.
And welcome to the HEF Mr. Nicodeemus. Good to have you. Never been to Louisiana. Sounds like a nice place
Good advice, many thanks Coaldust. And also, thanks for a nice welcome reply and also being helpful instead of confrontational. Posted same thread on Orange Tractor Talk and caught some attitude. Seems like on these forums there is a type of individual that would rather negatively criticize one's post than be of some help. Louisiana is nice in many ways. Where are you from?
I pulled the spec sheets for the Tellus. It’s nothing fancy and crosses over with abundance. I would recommend Chevron Rando HD. It’s quality stuff, but more importantly, it’s ISO clean certified. A lot of hydraulic oils have to be pre-filtered before using it. Sounds crazy, right? Chevron is ready to go. Or, whatever you can get, easily in your area. I’m at the 61N. The land of the midnight sun. Just head up the Parks Hwy, about mile 156. Take a left, shift to four-low, and head back to the stix. The first single-wide on the left. Dog team tied out front.
So isn't the Tellus ISO clean certified? Just wondering about that. What's the High temp's been running up your way? Been mid to high ninety's here with big time humidity the last couple of weeks.
IDK. I haven’t been following Shell, lately. I never been around much of their product line outside AeroShell and the Shell Spirax S6 ATF A295. Interesting fact. Spirax comes out of the same tap in Houston as BP Autran Syn 295 for about 1/2 the price. I know the guy to ask next time I’m at the warehouse. I’ve been working for a Chevron distributor, so I’m biased. It’s widely available up here. Warm, mid 60’s, humid and cloudy.
Fwiw, I just run the Kubota 46HD oil in my U35-4 and Svl65-2. Thats what Kubota recommends for both and its not terribly expensive.