For people new to tracked skid steers do your self and operators/owners a favor. Change the small amount of gear oil in the final drive every 250 hours. Every unit I have ever serviced or checked the oil was neglected, black, or low. Its only a quart or two I change it every service.
And synthentic oil should be used in them even if there is no mention in the service manual.
If you change the oil every 250 hours as suggested by the OP (which I agree with TBH because the compartment is so small) then using synthetic oil is a complete waste of money.
The dumper/carrier units we sell and service, we recommend the first change at 100 hours or less, then the usual change at 250 and every 250 or yearly if less than 250 hours a year. Most of the drives we see are dirty from the factory and also shed a lot of fine metal during run in, thus the early first oil change.
Nige, it's been recomended to me because it can handle the heat better than minerial oil and sure it's only 2 litres per side but if it saves a final drive that I can't get parts for in a hurry then I consider it well worth it.
What type of oil are we talking about here, something like a TO-4 or or you referring to an EP oil..?
I's have to look at the drum but I think it's a EP gear oil. BTW 15000 bucks a side and a 12 week wait for new drives on my machine, probably why I'm a little anal about it.
Cat recommends synthetic oil for there final drives Mark
Ever put a temp gun on one during a 90+ degree day. The oil is getting pushed to the limits. A few bucks more for a wider temp range, better load carrying in the heat is a win. A gallon will do almost 2.5 changes. For the size of the components, the replacement price and the work they do oil is cheap. And yes nobody changes it.
I have a Kubota SVL 90-2 and I change mine every 250 hrs, cheap insurance for as easy as it is to do....
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Good quality oil and filters changed at the right time is the best insurance policy anyone can buy.
What oil do yall recommend for Takeuchi TL140 final drives? The manual calls for straight 90W GL4, but I can't find any straight 90W GL4.
80W/90 will do just as well IMHO. If you want to go with a straight monograde oil then go for an SAE 50 TO-4 powertrain oil. Although it seems stupid on the face of it you will find it's the same viscosity as an SAE 90 gear oil because the two types of oils use different viscosity tables.
What Nige said. If you find them running hot then an 85W/140 synthetic may help I think.
Looks like I can get Royal Purple Max Gear Oil in 85W-90 and it's GL4 rated. Does that seem like a good choice? My skidsteer sees about 1/2 hour/day of travel time for loading hay in the winter and up to 100 hours of digging in the summer.