It’s been discussed that buying the cheapest farm supply store hydraulic oil is not the best idea for saving money in the long run. Here’s a good example of why...who wants some hydraulic oil made from dubious sources of waste oil? https://classactionsreporter.com/wp..._rural_king_tractor_hydraulic_fluid_compl.pdf
"......As a result of the testing, the MDA concluded that all fourteen (14) of these 303 THF products failed to meet any current specifications and were found to be underperforming to the point that damage was likely to result from use. ....." That's one reason why I buy Kubota (when I had a Kubota tractor) or Deere (present tractor) hydraulic oil. Expensive but no worries about quality.
Always pays to steer well clear of anything with "universal" or "tractor" in the name. Same applies to the name of the store that sells it.......... Only one step up from Joe Blow's Gas & Groceries products IMHO.
I don’t even know where to start with this one. Well let’s see, it costs $20 per 5 gallon. Might be a clue since top line oil is $20 per gallon. OK, says “field tested” on the label. Umm, can ya read? Field - not lab tested. Some guy poured it in the tank and it didn’t leak out. Passed. Doesn’t mention passing any tests or meeting any specs. Says “recommended for”. Doesn’t say anything about tests or specs just some marketing garbage that is everywhere on most products now. Lastly, and for this persons lawsuit, it says on the can “not recommended for equipment made after 1974”. So let me see the thought process her for purchasing it: Nice shiny yellow can - yup CHEAP - yup Got the name of my tractor on it - yup Should be good to go. Now, I’m pretty sure that Cat did not make a skidsteer prior to 1974. (What he used it in). I’ll also bet Cat would not have recommended 303 oil in pretty much anything. So you bought the cheapest junk on the shelf, didn’t really read or comprehend the label, compare any specs etc and now you want $$$. Hope the judge tosses this.
I had read the whole complaint and it would depend on the jury you get, to what the outcome would be. The most damming thing is that the state of Missouri confronted them with facts about how worthless the product is. Instead of refuting the claims with lab tests of their own. They just quit selling it in that state and a few others that challenged their claims of the benefits of that oil. I bet it gets settled out of court long before it goes to trial. Would you want a jury from rural Kentucky deciding whether you owe millions for allegedly damaging someone's tractor?
No cutting corners on hyd/trans oil here, suck it up, take that big step up to the window and pay the man. Then sleep well... Ed
I was thinking a bit while reading the thread about Extended Warranties and comments about lubricants/filters. Worth repeating here that good-quality lubricants and filters are the cheapest insurance policy you can ever take out for your machine.
Having a father in law that buys 303 oil by the pallet from tractor supply has taught me a few things 1 most his stuff is junk now days used well passed wore out and then wore out again 2 he doesnt own a tractor that doestn leak oil out in a semi moderate amount that requires one to add hydralic oil no less than once a week (in case of swather up to a gallon a day) Not mention that is by far the foulest smelling hydralic oil ever and I can always tell who is running a machine with it cause it leaks and stinks The thing is I believe the stuff does nothing for your seals if it doesnt eat them and the irony is you buy cheap oil because your machine leaks and the oil is so crappy the machine leaks more requiring more oil sounds like a market scam I pay about 17 bucks a gallon for the last hygaurd I bought the backhoes hold about 16 gallons total so a service is 12 ish and just for round numbers well say 1000 hours of life witch costs about 20 cents an hour just fox your dam leaks and buy good oil Food for thought
I had recently done work at a place where they only fix it when they can't use it anymore. All of their equipment has hydraulic leaks. I was out there for 10 days and watched them go through 1000 gallons of hydraulic oil. All through out the day a operator will pull up and top of the hydraulic tank. I can't imagine how that is cheaper than making the repairs. Even with the down time it would be less expensive. I'm a firm believer that if you fix the small problems you have less expensive big problems.
I would have to go find a Tractor Supply bucket to confirm but if I remember right their yellow buckets say "not to be used in any tractor 1965 or newer". That pretty much covers it.
When I bought my excavator one of the main reasons the guy told me for selling it was all the leaks. Ya it sure did leak. Well after about 3 straight days of pressure washing I found the machine. Stopped 75% of them just by tightening fittings and clamps. Found a lot of leaking pilot control lines. That is low pressure, cheap 1-wire hose. What maybe a buck a foot? Dozen of them replaced and it is even better. New seals on the servo pumps so they don’t leak in the crankcase and now it is really good. Only loosing at most a few gallons a year and most of that is the center joint. Not bad with a 150 gallon system. How lazy do you have to be to not turn a few wrenches and fix some simple things?
I think that is less about buying cheap oil, and more about making sure it meets the actual specs. Sorry but anyone who would use that oil in any piece of equipment gets whatever happens. Depending on the piece of equipment I don't always buy the buy expensive oil, but I always make sure it meets the manufacture specs. My old man is bad with maintenance. His skidsteer has hydraulic leaks. Whenever he feels like checking it and finds it's low, just goes to whatever store is close and dumps more 10w30 motor oil in. Granted that is what's called for, I bet there is at least 10 different brands in there, and very little anti-foaming additive. But it has over 9,000 hours and still going strong. Funny enough, of all my machines the only one with a leak is the one using the cheapest oil, it leaks probably a gallon a year. I'm not rich enough to have a leak on my machine where the oil is $40/gallon!
Not just specs but this ultra cheap hydraulic oil is made from varying sources of used/waste oil. I know what gets dumped into our shop used oil tank...nasty. I wouldn’t want to use oil made from it. The sellers know that this stuff is getting bought to put in old leaky equipment.
Correct if I'm missed it but I didn't see results of using the oil being listed in the complaint. There were no listings of premature failures of any components where the oil was used. I also didn't see any demands for recompense in the complaint. What are the actual damages? I didn't see any paperwork of actual tests performed being submitted in the complaint nor were there any sources or proofs as to where the info came from concerning the feed stocks for the oil. In my view at this point the complaint is an unproven conjecture filed to get someone's attention. What I would like to see is the results of the court proceedings. Don't get me wrong about the quality of the product. The price in and of itself states that the product is likely crap. The issue is of expectations brought about by the price of the product and the requisite knowledge of the buyer and their expectations. You get and have to live with the "benefit of the bargain." My guess is that the producer of the oil makes an offer to cover any losses the end user incurred with a spiff for dropping the suit and everyone will just go back to making money again.
Read this thread when first posted. There’s great info here- just wish it had been posted last year! Have a ‘73 Deere 450B trackloader, new to me about 5 years ago. Been taking care of neglected/abuse issues (expensive hobby ). So, last year, changed tranny screen and put new fluid in. Manual says 303...made the mistake of just using parts house stuff. Later, noticed rapid pulsing in steering levers. Was gonna go through manual procedure for checking power steering pump the. Read this thread. Yesterday dumped the 303 and put in Deere HyGard. Test run finds pulsing eliminated! (Plus didn’t want to risk tranny issues from poor lube). Thanks again! Darryl