HOW'S THIS HAPPENING?

[BIGNASTY]

I know its water in the gear lube
But HOW? it was stored in the equipment shed no rain OR snow fell on it I checked it before last use in the fall for proper lube level used it and put it on blocks.

Went to turn the garden hooked up to the 3 point checked & greased this is what I found

 

[NIsaacs]

Probably came that way from the store, probably parked in the yard, outside in the rain.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

My guess is condensation.

I had about 18 gallons of Kubota Super UDT in the shed. This is an outdoor building with no heat or A/C. The new buckets were fine, the one that had 3-4 gallons in it had water in the bottom.

Just like you - no rain or snow. And I opened that bucket - but about 4 years ago. It has been sitting ever since. At about $20/gal I was not pleased. Didn't use it since $100 for a new bucket was cheaper than risking damage to the wet clutches due to water contamination.

 

[seafish]

Yup seems that it would have to be condensation due to temp diffential of stored lube.

 

[Mark31]

This may or may not apply here, but put up with me for a paragraph. Short version. A neighbor had a "bought used" trackhoe that had water in the hydraulic system. He eventually crossed paths with an oil/lubricants guru that stressed how important it is to use the major brands (as in manufacturer brands) because of the additive package and stuff above my pay grade about how the lubricants handle water/condensation. After a time/money consuming clean-out and filling up with "the good stuff", the hoe was good to go.

 

[BigPapa]

I'll agree with Dan and seafish, condensation. The only way to stop it is climate controlled storage.

I've had old tractors for years and I've drained the transmission/differential/hydraulics completely, leaving the plugs out for 2-3 days, and refill from new uncontaminated buckets. Let it sit over the winter, or worse yet use it for 3-4 hours scraping the snow and ice off the road like I have and get the transmission/differential/hydraulics good and warm a couple of times when it's really cold, and it will have a lot of water in it the next spring when you get it out. There's so much air filled empty space in there and the heavy cast iron cases change temps so slowly it's impossible to stop without keeping it in a climate controlled garage or basement.

-Scott

 

[BIGNASTY]

Weird ??? I had to fill the oil reservoirs both on the side & gearbox from the PTO shaft before use the 1st time. The side gearbox as you can see is contaminated the PTO Gearbox is perfectly clear like it was brand new oil???? That being said I don't know how the unit was treated before my purchase.

Anyway thanks for the thoughts I have some cleanup to do and oil to add have someone use it and change the oil to get any further contamination out before another refill.

BIG

 

[Wayne M.]

I see some grit there, but do/ did you ever pressure wash this unit?
What’s the breather setup like, if any?

 

[BIGNASTY]

No pressure washing, pulling it apart I left the top cover bolt in and put a piece of wood between the cover & body of the gearbox to keep as much crud out as possible while it drained, that could be where the crud came from.

The vent (Not pictured) is at the top directly over the course smaller gear, I also thought that maybe it was pluged but the small covered vent hole was clear.

Im kind of leaning towards NIsaacs idea. Yesterday I went to Rural King and bought a 84" Finish Mower for this seasons lawn mowing chores in the back 7 acres I noticed the Tillers stored outside.

The oil 85/140 gear lube used in BOTH gearboxes was purchased fresh from Tractor Supply, the PTO gearbox oil was perfect the other wasn't, no sign of gasket leaks so no other way except through the vent somehow.

 

[Wayne M.]

Probably best to get mineral spirits, pan, chip brush and clean everything up and just start fresh. See how it is in the fall.