Kubota BX2380 Transmission Fluid Change - 50hr Service

[@Jonathan-wc2dk]

FYI, I was talking to the maintenance manager at my Kubota dealer and he informed me that he talked to Kubota corporate and they do not recommend changing the transmission fluid and cleaning the strainer until 400 hours, just replace the transmission fluid filter at 50 hours. Apparently there was a typo on the maintenance schedule and it was recently updated.

[@scottwalker19]

Thanks for sharing! It would be nice to know more. If they "do not recommend" vs "it is not necessary" the difference being that they had some additive in the machine from the factory or if they just say it is not necessary to spend the extra money for all new fluid so soon. There were some metal shavings on the strainer already at 50 hours from the brake in of the transmission and so if leaving that in there for the full 400 hours would be okay is up to the end user if Kubota says that it is okay.

[@stephengass6067]

I was wondering about that my manual said 400hrs but all the other stuff said 50hrs I did the oil and filter on engine and did the transmission filter then I had like 84hrs on it and read that it said 50 had me worried.

[@jeanniemiller9284]

The manual for my BX2680 says to replace/clean the filters. It does not say to replace the fluid but the Kubota website and the Kubota dealer recommended replacing the transmission fluid. As the Kubota dealer (and Scott as well) said, the metal shavings from the break-in period will remain in the fluid until you change it. The dealer thinks the manual was changed b/c people were complaining about the maintenance cost after the 50-hr break in period. The UDT-2 fluid is not completely cost-prohibitive...but transmission repairs could be! I will be replacing the UDT-2 fluid and cleaning the screen with just 55 hr hours on the tractor thus far.

[@thethiefonthecross9092]

@@scottwalker19 I drained my transmission fluid at 100 hours and it had no metal shavings on the screen filter so I will probably leave that fluid in there for a very long time maybe I got lucky LOL

[@wildbill23c]

Cost of fluid VS transmission failure...I'd change all the fluids at 50 hours which is what I'm getting ready to do. 400 hours is a long...long time to wait to change that fluid. My manual says to change all the fluids at 50 hours, then the next scheduled service for the hydraulics is at 400 hours...

[@eeronirk5325]

All fasteners on a Kubota are METRIC, using imperial sockets may work in a pinch, but in the long run, investing in the proper tools is well worth it.

[@jamesjenkins3384]

Thanks, good info!

[@kylezellmann6811]

Great video, thanks for the great camera work and lighting. Very through and informative!

[@scottwalker19]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sheckyfeinstein]

Thanks for being thorough. It helps dull-normals like myself.

[@stuarthartstein1647]

Great video demonstration Scott! The best lighting and camera footage I've seen yet to do that job! I am looking at a BX2380 as well. Best of luck with your new investment. Stay safe.

[@scottwalker19]

Thank you!

[@wildbill23c]

Just did the 50 hour service on my BX2680. Almost 4 gallons of hydraulic fluid, 4 quarts of engine oil, filters, fuel filters, and a couple hours and the job is done. That screen filter in the side of the transmission barely had anything on it when I pulled it, was surprised, I've seen a few videos where they pulled their screen filter out and it was just caked with debris. Was glad to see mine was clean. The fuel filter under the tractor is a PITA, the one up by the engine is pretty easy...might look into getting one of the L-Series fuel filter kits and installing it on my BX...that dual filter setup is dumb, for as much as the tractor cost, 2 plastic throw away filters is a pretty pathetic solution.

[@scottwalker19]

Nice! The tractor definitely holds a lot of fluid and when you involve hydraulics you add filters! I dont remember if I have changed my fuel filters. My brain is telling me that I have not yet.

[@wildbill23c]

@@scottwalker19 When I changed the fuel filters at 50 hours the one under the tractor was pretty trashed, the one by the engine wasn't bad, but changed them both anyways since I was already wearing diesel, oil, and hydraulic fluids anyways LOL.

[@scottwalker19]

@@wildbill23c I understand! That is why I opted to change the hydraulic fluid while I was changing the filter. Even though the recommended maintenance was only to change the filter.

[@wildbill23c]

@@scottwalker19 When I changed mine, I pulled the filter out of the side of the transmission housing first....huge mistake LOL, figured it would pour out into the drain pan, totally missed that and ended up all over the back wheel and tire and carport floor....next time I'll drop the drain plug in the bottom of the transmission first HAHA!!! The filter screen in the transmission was extremely clean though, I was surprised, I've seen several videos where people have pulled the screen out and its just caked in gunk. When I did the fluid change, I switched to the UDT-2, it did help to quiet down the hydrostatic transmission whine a little. For as small as the BX2680 is, I'm quite surprised at how capable it is...every time I use it for something, it surprises me at what it can do. I've mowed a couple of properties for friends recently, both of which were very overgrown, all I have is the 60" mid mount mower, so with 2-3 foot tall grass and weeds, it was going right through it without any problems, I figured I'd have to make several passes, and go extremely slow, it went through it like I was just mowing my lawn. I need to get a rotary cutter or flail mower, but dang they're expensive. Well the rotary cutter is about $1800, but the flail mower is 2x that.

[@CouchHam]

On all your filters it’s always a good idea to at least put a little bit of oil in the filter to try and minimize the air in the system.

[@scottwalker19]

Thats not a bad idea however I am not sure thats a real concern as there will always be some amount of air in the hydraulics that is why it is not a closed system. It pumps through and then the extra pressure bleeds back into the holding tank. There is some amount of bleeding to the system when you change the hydraulic fluid for the tractor according to the manual. Its not very detailed as it just says run it for a few minutes before driving the tractor. I dont know if it is as much bleeding the system as it is letting fluid get into the hydra static transmission area.

[@kingofwake]

Thanks for the video! Helped a lot when doing mine!

[@scottwalker19]

Glad to hear! Thanks for watching!

[@mr.e.chemist9750]

The owners manual says nothing about changing the transmission fluid at 50 hours, only to change the filter! The transmission fluid change is at 400 hours…

[@scottwalker19]

That is true but when you remove the screen that they refer to cleaning as seen in the video that is at the bottom of the transmission case so by the time you clean it and put it back in I suspect most of the fluid would come out. Either way you can follow the manual if that is what you prefer!

[@MikeSmith-nu9wt]

i kinda like there cheesy skid plate in front of that filter , made out of tin , im throwing that away and building a proper skid plate for it ..i highly recomend it , since you dont have ground clearance..

[@flyingbob297]

Nice job

[@alisaid3182]

Excelente

[@alisaid3182]

Thank you , very Good

[@scottwalker19]

Thanks!

[@alisaid3182]

After you change the transmission fluid for the First time after the First 50 hours, when should I change it again? And already change the oil after 50 hours. When should I change the oil again? Thank you

[@scottwalker19]

I would refer to the owners manual for your specific machine. There will be a maintenance schedule in there for everything the manufacture deems necessary.

[@wildbill23c]

If you use the UDT2 supposedly change interval is 400 hours, but the regular UDT is every 200 hours...personally just check it once in a while and when it starts looking dirty, change it...fluid is cheap, transmission/hydraulic failures are not.

[@pryme2013]

Hi, that fluid looks brand new still but I get why you just decided to change it. I like to on a new machine too. How much was that fluid? Also, for the engine oil did you think about just using rotella T 15w-40?

[@scottwalker19]

It was pretty much brand new but you have to do a 50hr service according to the manual and they recommended changing the filter only but I do not believe in changing the filter only and not the fluid. For 4 gallons of hydro fluid it was about $100 for just the fluid, in my area. I just used the Kubota oil for the engine as I was already at the dealership getting the other fluids and filters. I do not like or recommend straying from the factory fluids when the machine is under warranty that way if there is an issue they cannot blame the fluid which will likely be the first thing they ask you.

[@pryme2013]

@@scottwalker19 True! I am looking at the bx1880. Probably the same process, so I watched your videos.

[@scottwalker19]

Well thanks for watching! I think the engine is slightly different as far as the dipstick location and maybe the oil filter placement but just be sure to read the manual for fluid capacities. They may be slightly different across all 3 models.

[@bombidude]

Are you supposed to change out the diesel fuel filter also at the 50 hour mark?

[@scottwalker19]

According to the maintenance schedule in the owners manual that is not required at the 50 hour service. I am not sure if different manufactures say different things but that is straight from my owners manual for this particular tractor. Thanks for watching!

[@wildbill23c]

According to the manual no, but I'd change everything at the 50 hour mark to get any break-in contaminants out of everything you possibly can, its only going to make your machine last longer not having foreign material floating around in all your fluids, and my fuel filters don't look too bad at 48 hours but I'm going to be under there to change the oil/filter and transmission fluid/filter, I may as well do it while I'm all dirty LOL. Its better to change them while the machine is still running, than to have one of them get clogged up out in the middle of a field working somewhere....preventative maintenance is a hell of a lot better than repairs in the field later.

[@gfl1957]

Manual does not call for fluid change at 50 hours.

[@scottwalker19]

Correct! But you are going to loose fluid when cleaning the magnet and changing the filter so why not change the fluid while your at it since you will have to buy some fluid anyways.

[@blessed7fold]

@@scottwalker19 Because the fluid is fully synthetic and also very expensive.

[@Phab4Phan]

The video was good except for a couple things. 1) no idea exactly where the screen filter is located because all shots were closeups. Rear access? Middle access? 2) 22 minutes could have been reduced to about 10 w/o all the pauses/extraneous chit-chat.

[@scottwalker19]

Thanks for the input. The transmission screen is on the left side of the machine looking from the back, you are correct that everything was up close, however it should be relatively easy to tell where i was working if you own the tractor and looked at it in person. The owners manual does a fantastic job of showing you where the transmission screen is as well. As for the length of the video the purpose was to show the process. The video was cut down significantly to show the important parts versus the actual time required. If you wanted the short and sweet version the owners manual sums it up in one paragraph and two pictures. However that may not be enough if you have no mechanical intuition. Thanks again!

[@countrymorgan2942]

Phab4Phan watch @ X2 speed..... problem solved

[@jeanniemiller9284]

@@scottwalker19 For this rookie Kubota girl....I thought the video was perfect! THanks!!!