Hydrau XR

[BrianF]

I have to pick up some more hydraulic oil for the John Deere 318G skid steer. I've powered a few attachments and of course one has the propensity to leak.

Now I'm no fan of of JD or their prices... for instance a 30$ oil filter made in the quangdong region of China. From what I gather its an ISO 46 synthetic oil with a low pour point and approx 10cst viscosity.

The closest alternative I can find locally is PetroCan Hydrex with 9cst. Not a big deal and I think both are -48C pour point.

 

[Rand]

How much is this going to save?
I found plenty on PC iso 46 hydrex AW cst 7?
cant seem to find a pds or data sheet on hydrex.

For me I'd have to be saving at least 25-30% to consider it.

Would you flush the system? these should both contain zinc but who wants to find out you made wrong decision?

 

[BrianF]

Thanks Rand, you make a good point. The Hydrex appears to contain zinc but the PDS for the hydrau is vague. It looks like I might have to get a pail of it regardless and after some reading, any incompatibility would create one heck of a mess.

 

[BrianF]

A bit of an overdue update. Upon further reading, Hydrau is nothing more than a synthetic, zinc based AW46. Seeing as it had 500 hours left before it calls for a complete drain and fill (still in warranty) I ran some conventional, Canadian made AW46 in it. 60 hours of decent use since and it runs just fine. No foaming and no perceivable loss in performance.

Once I hit 1000 hours I will either use Hydrau XR or Hydrex with a filter change.

 

[BrianF]

Hit 1000 hours. Manual states about 23L fill. I grabbed a pail of Hydrau XR and after a drain, it brought it to almost full. It was definitely in the safe range. Used about 2.5L of ISO 46 to being it to full.

So interesting note. The sticker on the machine states XR is the factory fill. It was always a honey color but the new XR I bought was purple. Who knows but shes purring along perfectly anyways.