Couldnt find anyone close to me that sold the correct oil which is 30 weight TO-4 drivetrain oil. What I ended up using is rotella straight 30 weight motor oil. Will this be ok or do I need to make the trip to my cat dealer and get correct oil.
You will be fine .It just keep the gears lubed .
Thanks!!
Here is some info General Information TO-4 Fluids are specifically formulated SAE 10, SAE 30 and 50 oils designed to meet Caterpillar’s latest Transmission and Drive Train Lubricant specification. TO-4 supersedes and replaces Caterpillar TO-2 requirements. TO-4 provides improved clutch life when compared to the previous TO-2 Fluid along with improved control of gear wear in SAE 30 for transmissions, gear boxes, and SAE 50 for final drive trains. TO-4 has outstanding hydraulic oil stability and allows protection against high-pressure pump wear. Recommended For : Farm-Oyl® T0-4 fluid meets or exceeds performance requirements and can be used in applications where manufacturers recommend the use of TO-4 /C-4 fluids: Cat TO-4*, TDTO™ 2005 Version (10W, 30, 50) Allison C-4 (10W, 30) Komatsu KES 07.868.1 (10W, 30, 50) ZF Power Shift TE-ML 07F(30),03C (10W, 30) Spicer Clark-Hurth Power Shift (10W, 30) Dana Power shift (10W, 30) Euclid, Terex, Dresser (10W, 30, 50) Eaton/Fuller/Tremec/ TTC/Dana/Spicer manual transmissions (30, 50) Eaton/Vickers M-2950S/35VQ25 Hyd (10W)) Ford Type F construction applications (10W) *Cat introduced TO-4 in 1991 making TO-2 obsolete
I don't know that it matters...I rum 15w40 in every final drive here that doesn't call for 90w. 2000hr intervals on excavators.
7X-2888 9X-2012 CAT TO-4 SAE 30. suggest, u need test
Use TO-4 SAE50 as an alternative in your climate if it's available. TBH I wouldn't even consider using an engine oil in a final drive. A lot of people get confused regarding EP 90 or similar gear oils and their supposed "higher" viscosity. Not true, the viscosity of EP oils is measured on the SAE Gear Oil Scale, for TO-4 oils it's measured on the SAE crankcase oil scale. An SAE50 oil on one scale is pretty close to the viscoisty of an EP90 oil measured on the gear oil scale - see below.
That's the beauty of these discussions, Nigel. We get to share opinions and experiences. As for running motor oil in them, I have some gear boxes at over 25k hours. Sure, I've lost quite a few duo cone seals on them over the years, but, EVERY duo cone seal failure was a fracture induced by either parking the gear box submerged in water, or having the right consistency of mud packed behind the sprocket area, all in sub-freezing temperatures. Only gears or brass I ever repaced were in units that ran dry or dirt filled from above mentioned seal fractures.
A question if I may. Why would you not run 15W/40 in excavator finals that call for 90W..?
My mini excavator and CTL manuals have 90w specified. My Caterpillar medium and up excavator manuals have 15w40 listed as acceptable.
I see where you're coming from. Based on that information though I'd run the whole lot on SAE50 TO-4 and do away with the EP oil .........
Well said tool_king ! What I have found over the years on any gear box / engine is keep all the lubes to the full mark on the dip stick / check plug . Any type of lube / oil is better then running one low . Put something slick in it & check the level in it before operating .
I have always gone strictly with the manufacturer's recommendations. I know Komatsu always used 30 wt. engine oil in all their gear drives. Cat always used 50 wt in all the finals when I was working on them. Hitachi and Sumitomo always ran gear lube in their boxes. Opinions don't mean squat when something fails and you are looking for someone else to pay the bills. On the other hand in my experience if you keep the levels up and change the fluids no matter what type you use, when the manufacturer recommends it, you will find you don't often have any gear box problems.
It's like a guy where I worked liked to say when asked what kind of oil he used in something. "Oily Oil!"
The Old Man is used to be on my case every time I'd fire up any piece of equipment ..... He will run over & yell " did you check the oil level ? " ..... Yes ... I checked it . Last summer Old Man took off with the tractor & bush hog to mow around the field . Came back in about an hour & said " Somthin wrong with the bush hog , it locked up all the sudden . " Ok ..... Walked over felt the heat coming off the gearbox . Looked at the Old Man & asked .........." Did you check the oil level before you started ? " Total silence ...... He just walked out of the shop . The good news is Ford built one heck of a gearbox . Bearings were roasted but the shafts & gears were fine . Bearing & seal kit and he was back to mowing ..
Seems like to 4 oil is pretty easy to find I live in butt fu€k nowhere canada and even the truck parts store next door to the shop I work at sells a Irving equivaent. Seems like a why bother using something that may work when it's not like finding unicorn **** situation.but in a jam it's all oily oil