Kubota L3200 oil change intervals

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I have a Kubota L3200 - 3cyl diesel, running Mobil Delvac 1300 15W40.

The tractor has about 160 hours on it and I change the oil yearly.

In reality, I only rack up about 30 hours per year, if that.

It's never short tripped, and is always run to max pto-rpm when in use, with very little idling time. It's stored indoors, so the coldest start would be from about 40*F.

My service manual states to change the oil and filter every 150 hours, but nothing about intervals based on time, so I just change it yearly.

Am I wasting my time and money doing this, could I stretch the intervals to 2 or 3 years, or is that a bad idea?
 
It sounds like you get the oil nice and hot when you use the tractor, but waiting 5 years could be a bit long. I imagine if it mattered much Kubota would give a time interval as well, as they know many get usage like yours.
If you like 2-3 years then I'd do that. My longest time between changes on my tractor would be around 2 years and the motor looks like new inside. I just follow the hourly intervals.
 
I guess I misread the manual, it actually calls for 200 hour changes, with no time limit.

No way would I go 6.5 years on the same oil, but I'm thinking 1 year may be excessive, considering it's always brought to operating temp.

Slightly off topic, but my grandfather went 25 years on one oci on his tractor....not that I'd recommend that.

Shockingly, the engine only has a little bit of sludge on the valve covers.

The filter was, well, it looked like a grease trap.

It's still running strong to this day lol.
 
These motors are pretty understressed, I was surprised how common it was for people never to change the trans fluid on a tractor. I guess the interval is pretty long (800hrs) on most but still that doesn't mean never... Mine has a hydrostat trans so I'm sticking with 400 hrs or less as its the last one I want to buy.
 
HST trans here too. 400 hours is listed in my manual for fluid changes.

They're filled from the factory with SUDT, but dealers in Canada only carry Kubota UDT, which I've noticed causes slower pedal reactions in cold weather and more whine. Aside from buying SUDT in the states and bringing it over, I haven't found any viable alternatives. Yet.

Any suggestions for trans fluid in Canada?
 
I have a John Deere 4310 and I change the oil and filter once a year be it 30 hours or 100 hours. The trans and hydraulic,common sump are every 400 hours with filters changed every 200 hour. John Deere has a low vis tractor hydraulic oil and most oil jobbers probably have an oil that will be rated to work for your tractors specs. The Kubota and John Deere specs are the same !!!
 
Originally Posted By: Canadastang
HST trans here too. 400 hours is listed in my manual for fluid changes.

They're filled from the factory with SUDT, but dealers in Canada only carry Kubota UDT, which I've noticed causes slower pedal reactions in cold weather and more whine. Aside from buying SUDT in the states and bringing it over, I haven't found any viable alternatives. Yet.

Any suggestions for trans fluid in Canada?

Petro canada has a syn trans lube that has impressive specs. Its a bit expensive of course. I was surprised how thin SUDT is a 100C, and its not what I'd put in anyways, but lots of people seem to do well with it.
I'm going with the regular petro can duratran as it seems to still have better cold start performance than any other regular fluid but still keeps its viscosity at 100C. The syn stuff does shear down abit with some use.
You might be able to just use the duratran XL which is PC's winter fluid as I think it matches SUDT for 100C viscosity anyways.
PC seems to be the only company that really publishes a full set of specs and test results. http://lubricants.petro-canada.ca/en/products/567.aspx
I often seem to be using my tractor to move dirt, so I'm more worried about how the fluid does at full temp under load.
 
Originally Posted By: CT8
The fluid works the trans and hydraulics!

Yep, neither really likes thin fluid at high operating temperatures.
I was reading in some construction eqp magazines that is often well worth the money to buy hyd fluid with very high VI to keep heavy equipment operating efficiently through out the day.
 
Once a year, often less than 50hrs on my Kioti 30hp diesel with Hydrostatic drive.
Hydralics not changed yet but coming up on 400hrs shortly; I'm unable to do it so have to have it hauled to dealer which is
costly!
 
I would change the engine oil annually or 200 hrs, whichever comes first. That is my policy for our entire fleet. A 250 hour oil change interval is typical for heavy equipment. Seeing that your Kubota Engine only holds around a gallon and uses a small filter, current oil changes and maintenance are cheap insurance.
 
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