Hello everybody I have a quik questIon. I have a 98 cat d3c II. I am needing to know what kind of tranny oil I should use in it. Can I use non detergent sae 30 motor oil or can I use universal tranny fluid??? Any help please. Thanks guys
You didn't give any details of your D3C II so I took a random S/N prefix - 5CJ. The specified oil is an SAE meeting TO-4 specification. That oil contains the necessary additives for protection of the transmission clutches and also for the "hydraulic side" of the transmission - the control valve in other words. Neither of the 2 options you suggested are listed as optional in the D3C II O&M manual, and neither do they appear in the most recent model of D3C III that I looked at.
I am sorry about that it is a 7XLO sn model.
Thanks for that information but the same comments apply as above. Depending on your ambient temperatures you might want to think about an SAE50 oil in the transmission. SAE30 is listed as applicable for a temp range of -4 to 77 DegF (-20 to +25 DegC), SAE 50 on the other hand covers a temp range from 32 to 122 DegF. I guess it depends how hard you're working your machine and for how long.
So would that be a sae non detergent motor oil?
No, that is a specific powertrain oil meeting Caterpillar TO-4 specification. "Motor oils" do not have the required additive package to function correctly in a powershift transmission. If you are looking at a universal transmission fluid as per your OP then it still has to meet the performance requirements of the Cat TO-4 specification. TBH I had no idea UTF was available in SAE30 viscosity, I thought it was generally a much lighter weight than that.
Thank you so much for your help. When I changed the oil last time I used a cat brand which it says sae 30 to-4 so that is why I am asking. So now I need to find a cat equizilant to-4 everything I have so far is to-2 so. If you don't me asking you another question my tranny fuild is low but there are no leaks under the dozer or signs of leaks on the pan. Where is it going?
Regarding TO-2, this was a previous spec that was changed a number of years ago to TO-4. From the manual - "transmissions which have had the API CD/Cat TO-2 oil recommendation should now use TO-4". If your local oil supplier can't supply anything better than a TO-2 equivalent then you need to be looking elsewhere. You don't have to use Cat-branded oil BTW. Are you checking the transmission oil level with the tractor level, engine idling, transmission in neutral and at normal operating temperature..?