hydro oil

[Ric]

What brand oil do you use to change your hydro oil? I have a raptor sd with zt 2800 pumps. the manual says use 20w50 sl/sm it doesn't say anything about synthetic or not. does anyone know what they are filled with at the factory. I ask because my overflow is empty and i want to fill it up to the cold line.

Do and use what the manufacturer/ manual calls for, if it calls for a synthetic then use a synthetic if it calls for plain old 20w50 then use it. I ran the 2800 drives for 1400 hours total and used the plain 20w50 and never had an issue. I wouldn't recommend changing viscosity. If your manual doesn't say anything about synthetic then I wouldn't use it.

 

[90b4032]

I've had my Raptor SD for about a week and plan to use Amsoil 20w50 since it's what I use in my motorcycle.

 

[SARG]

Ferris suggests the Mobil1 15w50 in the manual.

 

[turboawd]

Ferris suggests the Mobil1 15w50 in the manual.

well, 15w50 and 20w50 are both a 50 weight at high temp. the 15w will flow slightly better when cold.

 

[Ric]

The thing about hydro oil or oil is every manufacturer is going to tell you to run a different viscosity oil, Ferris will say one type or viscosity, Cub Cadet will say a different viscosity, Hustler will say something different, Toro says run there Hypr-oil. If you want to know what to run for oil refer to the owners manual that came with your mower/product for details on repair or servicing of your unit and do and use what it says.

 

[gundog]

Synthetic oils are a better oil. May be overkill and of not real benefit under normal conditions, However, I prefer to use a synthetic of the proper viscosity as it a superior oil and will perform better in both low and high temperature extremes. A synthetic oil will also not break down as readily as a conventional oil and will provide protection better protection should you happen to exceed the specified oil change interval (not recommended). A synthetic oil of the proper specifications will most certainly not cause any problems and will have an advantage over a conventional dinosaur oil whether a full synthetic such as Mobile One(hydro cracked base 3) or a 100 % synthetic such as Amsoil, Royal Purple, etc. (base 4 PAO or base 5 ester). A number of manufactures are actually specifying a full synthetic oil for use in their hydro's such. Ferris, Gravely and Hustler in their Super Z HD recommend Mobile One 15W-50 which is a full synthetic oil (base 3).

 

[man00]

I would use what ever the manual calls for..On mine it says 20w-50 conventional, I also called HydroGear they said the same "Conventional"

 

[gundog]

I would use what ever the manual calls for..On mine it says 20w-50 conventional, I also called HydroGear they said the same "Conventional"

May not be necessary to use a synthetic oil, but it certainly won't hurt anything. In fact a number of manufactures using HydroGear recommend Mobil One which is a full synthetic. They may just make this recommendations as they warranty their machine and all warranty claims will come through the manufacture. With a new machine I wold be using what the manufacture recommends if for nothing more than for to be in compliance for any possible warranty claims.

 

[kraky]

Fwiw...just had mine in for hydro oil change and a couple other items needing tuning.
My hustler dealer used Kawasaki 20-50w synblend....charged $5.75/qt.
Got an xtra court when i picked it up just in case I have to top off later. Seemed like a fair price for manufacture named oil.
Dang filters were $16 a piece though...ouch...lol!
They did a great job on all points so no complaints over all!

 

[Ric]

Synthetic oils are a better oil. May be overkill and of not real benefit under normal conditions, However, I prefer to use a synthetic of the proper viscosity as it a superior oil and will perform better in both low and high temperature extremes. A synthetic oil will also not break down as readily as a conventional oil and will provide protection better protection should you happen to exceed the specified oil change interval (not recommended). A synthetic oil of the proper specifications will most certainly not cause any problems and will have an advantage over a conventional dinosaur oil whether a full synthetic such as Mobile One(hydro cracked base 3) or a 100 % synthetic such as Amsoil, Royal Purple, etc. (base 4 PAO or base 5 ester). A number of manufactures are actually specifying a full synthetic oil for use in their hydro's such. Ferris, Gravely and Hustler in their Super Z HD recommend Mobile One 15W-50 which is a full synthetic oil (base 3).

Whether synthetic is better oil or not is a matter of opinion. HydroGear themselves said to run "Conventional" in their drives as man00 already stated and who better would know what to run than them/the manufacturer.
Depending on it's application it's use, (synthetic) can be beneficial in colder or hotter temperatures. As far as a drive unit on a lawnmower goes there is no real benefit I can see.
You say Ferris, Gravely and Hustler in their Super Z HD recommend Mobile One 15W-50 and maybe they do and I'll have to pull some PDF files/manuals and check just out of curiosity. Toro also says you can use the Mobil 1 15w50 but they also say if you select that type changing the 15w50 or 20w50 synthetic oil should be done every 250 hrs while the oil they recommend you use can be changed every 500 hrs so I don't think at least for me it's very beneficial to run 15w50 synthetic. I'll stick with what the manufacturer says or recommends.