Exmark zero turn parker transmission oil?

[Jmoney7269]

Hello all! Got another question for yall professionals..... I have two exmark mowers that I take really good care of and use commercially for a small side operation. I recently repaired one of these transmission on a kubota ZTR for a customer that was leaking and he wanted this "special fluid" parker recommends for their hydros. Its $55 a freaking gallon for group 2 oil! I called parker and asked them the spec for their transmissions, in which they said any 15w50 synthetic will work. I have been running what I believe to be the best race oil money can buy in the trannys, motul 300v 15w-50. It's a group 5 oil that's not supposed to shear at all through high rpm race bikes that are super hard on oil. Thats all my race bike has ever gotten and it turns 12k rpm sometimes for 30-45 minutes at a time..... Parker shows that oil to be basically a 40wt and it's totally clear when I installed it in the customers kubota...... I was thinking that since I got such a sweet sweet deal on this mobil delvac 1 5w40 I could run it in those hydrostatic transmissions of mine? What in yalls opinion would be the quintessential for these transmissions? I change the oil once a year because I am hard on them in this Texas summer cutting yards..... My two mowers: x series 38hp Kohler efi E series 23hp Kawasaki The oil I run In the hydro trannys The oil that my customer wanted because kubota and parker both told him its the best....

 

[DoubleWasp]

A lot of hydros boil down to spec'ing either 20w50, 15w50 synthetic, or in some cases a 5w40 synthetic. I've been running 20w50 synthetic in my Husqvarna's hydro throught he summer, and cannot complain at all. Drives like a dream. I drilled/tapped a hole in the bottom of the case to make life easier. If they are telling you 15/50 in spite of their own oil being a 40 weight, there might be a good reason why. Perhaps they are assuming shear will knock the oil down and spec'ing a thicker grade, but no way to be sure. I've seen viscosity breakdown render hydros motionless until oil was changed, so they may be onto something here.

 

[maxdustington]

300V 15W50 in a lawn mower? You're doing the board proud, sir!

 

[Jmoney7269]

Originally Posted by maxdustington

300V 15W50 in a lawn mower? You're doing the board proud, sir!

Lol...... I get it cheap through one of my vendors.... Overkill? I'm just familiar with this stuff and know it wont shear much at all. A while back I did a service on one of these exact machines that went the recommended 500 hrs and the fluid was dark and had a nasty burnt smell.... I called parker back then and asked what happened since I never heard of hydros burning up fluid.... they said since they have such a small reservoir (1.7qts) they run alot hotter than normal hydros...... I would bet they get low to mid 200s on a hot summer day. In Texas with 287% humidity and 110 degree still days, equipment gets hot...... you dont dare sit on that seat after it's been sitting outside, you'll be peeling your pants off your skin!

 

[doitmyself]

Hey Jmoney7269, I'm no expert at all on this stuff. My 11 year old workplace Exmark came with Mobil 15w50 spec'ed in the hydro. When Exmark came out with their Premium hydro oil their tech. "claimed" that the "reformulated" Mobil was no longer as good as before and with Exmark's new hydro oil you could increase OCI from 250 hours up to 500 hours (it's that good?). I use the Exmark oil and run it several years because of our low annual usage, only one mower, etc.. Some of the Parker HT-1000 info doesn't add up. Group II basestock????? Maybe this just refers to a small amount used to accommodate the additives??? I'm sure I read here that some add packs require a wee bit of dino oil for dissolving/mixing, etc., Various literature implies that the HT-1000 is definitely a synthetic hydro oil. This graphic shows that "Engineered oil = synthetic oil: http://www.parker.com/Literature/Hydraulic%20Pump%20&%20Motor/HTJ-series-flyer-FINAL.pdf Finally, look at page 7 of the service manual below. It says you "can" use a synthetic 15w-40, but that OCI is reduced to 250 hours. Other QUALIFIED OILS are 500 hour oci and the Parker oil is a whopping 1000 hour OCI. This implies that while 15w40 oil can be used, it is not ideal. In the Texas heat, I think I would avoid a regular synthetic 15w40 (your Delvac 15w40 question). What makes the Parker HT-1000 oil so spectacular is intriguing. But, with a 1000 hour OCI vs 250 OCI for the 15w40, there must be some kind of fairy dust in there for them to endorse it. http://www.parker.com/Literature/Hy...J%20Service%20Manual%20HY13-1528-001.pdf

 

[Jmoney7269]

doitmyself Thanks for the clarification and the literature. When I spoke the the parker hydro rep a few months ago he told me they did research on that hydro oil for 5 years before they released it..... FAIRY DUST is all I can think also...... So basically that parker ht1000 is the best fluid I can buy..... seemingly.

 

[spk2000]

I have a snapper with a tuff torq k57 so not as good as yours but it does stop climbing a steep hill I have about once a year. I change the oil out and have been using mobil 1 15w50 and it has comes back to life. One of these days I am expecting it not to work but so far so good. I am not an expert on these units or the oil but have also been told you want high zddp. The racing oil you are using says motorcycle oil designed for wet clutches that would lead me to think low zddp and probably very little friction modifiers in it. Not sure if that is a problem or not though just I have asked around as well and the consensus seems to be high zddp.