Cub Cadet Hydraulic oil substitute?

Comic Sans MS]I just bought a Cub Cadet LT 2180 with 160 hrs. Its in pretty good shape, thinking of changing transmission oil filter, & transmission oil. The cub cadet fluid is so $$$$$. Is their something else would work as good as the cub cadet fluid,but cheaper!!!!

robbiecox6 said:

Comic Sans MS]I just bought a Cub Cadet LT 2180 with 160 hrs. Its in pretty good shape, thinking of changing transmission oil filter, & transmission oil. The cub cadet fluid is so $$$$$. Is their something else would work as good as the cub cadet fluid,but cheaper!!!!

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Don't know about your 2180 but I ran the LT 1045 and it used the Shell Rotella 15w40 motor oil.

Just My Opinion - the manufactures have spent a lot of money in R&D when developing components which require lubricants. The chosen lubricant is some times 'off the shelf', other times it is specifically co-developed by the component and lubricant supplier who understand the conditions the fluid needs to operate under. I do not trust one size fits all - which many fluids suppliers claim . At the end of the day, other then engine oil, how often do you change out hydraulic or trans fluids. The benefits of using manufacture approved fluids outweighs the savings in the long run.

Again just my opinion. I tend to keep all my 'Toys' for a long time. When they are worked, they work hard. Why not have the confidence that they will continue to operate as designed.

I won't get into engine oil - seems to be a heated debate every time - but I do strongly recommend that what ever oil you choose, use it for the entire life of ownership. Do not switch brands just because of cost. I use Rotella in my Diesels and Castrol in Petrol engines.

I would use cub cadet drive system plus. But the older tractor like the 2135, 2145 , 2165 and 2185 came with Case IH Hy-Tran and then Hydro gear said to use the drive system plus.

DO NOT USE Rotella or Rimula in a 2180!

Drive System Plus Oil is a Shell oil made up for your and 2000 series tractors Hydro Gear trany, so that is what to use.

Motor oil you can get away with running any brand of oil in engine, but hydro's, you should use the proper oil!

I have an old 2165 (1998), and am changing the fluid. I've heard from all over, from people who claim they know engineers that work for CC, and they say that Rotella T6 Synthetic 5W-40 is exactly the same thing that CC uses in the hydro-drives, just re-labeled.

I've also talked with mechanics at C-IH dealers that still sell CC mowers, and they say to use the newest HY-TRANS fluid - it's still the industry standard for hydraulic transmission oil. I have access to this.

So, my question is: Which fluid to use?

Go to the makers web site and check what oil they recommend for your transmission.
Decades ago they all went to engine oil because it is cheaper and will do the job.

I have a sneaky that you have an Eatons in there in which case it will use hydraulic transmission fluid.
There is SFA inside the box that would be adversely affected by whatever oil is used.
The major concern is it is a low frothing oil or the box will pressurize and either blow a seal or leak oil out of the breather.

Boxes are one place where using a synthetic oil will really make a difference and be worth the extra cost.
Just be a little careful with the hot & cold viscosities, they are vital and transmission oils can use a different scale to engine oils.
So a 50w tranny oil is a 20w engine oil.
I got a load of trans oils really cheap at an auction.
Down here you can not auction an open drum of oil because you can not guarantee what is actually in there but you can sell a 13 gallon pump in an oil drum.
So I got 20 drums of various tranny oils designed for modern cars which I have been using in hydros for the past 5 years without any problem.

The caveat is I drop the oil oil , over fill with the new then run the tranny and do a second change just in case the new oil is not compatiable with the old oil

https://www.cubcadetpartsnmore.com/cub-cadet-service-manuals

see page 40 in manual

https://www.google.com/search?q=sub...ome..69i57.87265j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

synthetic blend, very expensive at $50 a gallon. I've been reading up on TUFFTORQUE, they suggest using their product or 5w-50 full synthetic oil.

A: This is a 20-year old garden tractor; and

B: Case-IH AkcelA Ultra Hy-Tran has been, and is, the premier hydraulic/transmission oil on the market. It has the highest water tolerance of any hydraulic oil sold, has the highest filtration efficiency to prevent clogging and cavitation, has the best wear protection of any oil sold, has the best friction stabilization additives to allow smooth operation, and is the standard by which all other hydraulic oils are compared.

Considering that Cub Cadet was owned by IH, and they are the developers of the hydrostatic drive, as well as talking with several Cub Cadet certified mechanics, I'm satisfied that the Hy-Trans fluid will work just fine.