RTV 900 - lost steering

I would have told you to buy the cheapest hydraulic fluid you could buy and flush with that 2 or 3 times and then drain and fill with SUDT.

But I'm sure you'll never do that again.

This is meant for the next guy to make that mistake.

Perhaps that little bit of water was still in the system, giving you problems this time.



Merry Christmas

Cassey said:

I looked up the process before posting, it seemed simple enough. The only question is what happened? Is it cold related? And what should I do with the old fluid? Burn it? (This is a farm, got to use it for something!)

Suspect I should wait until its over 32F.

Cheers.

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I save all of my old oil an use it in my chainsaw instead of going out and buying oil to lube the bar an chain.

TWO GUNS said:

Dennis,
Kubota, and many other companies has it this way. For it is unlawful to put a
fully hydraulic steering system on a steering axle just for the reason for " IF " a engine
goes dead, pressure goes dead, one could not steer.
So they have these type of systems where they are " Power Steering ", but still have control over loss of pressure .

No steering shafts going to steering boxes on these machines ......

Sure hoped I explained this correct ......

P.S.
Most Swamp machines, Moster Trucks, Earth moving machines, most with
Big Wheel and Oversized steering has fully hydraulic steering, that is why they
are not allowed on public roads...... and let me add, ( that is not the ONLY reason, but one of them ..... ) <>>>>>

........... two guns

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It called a hydraulic assisted steering systen.the steering wheel acts as the pump.we install them on just about every boat I ever built.you could have gotton trash in the system .just like brake hoses if they erode from the inside a piece of the hose could have tore a o ring in the pump.

Had another thought.

Flushing the steering system;

1 - remove the return line from the reservoir tank.

2 - position the return line so it dumps into a 5 gal bucket.

3 - start the RTV and turn the steering from lock to lock as many times as it takes until all the fluid is pumped out into the 5 gal bucket.

4 - add 1 quart of cheap hydraulic fluid to the reservoir and repeat step 3, remove drain plug and drain anything left in the tank.

5 - re-install drain plug and return hose onto reservoir tank, fill with SUDT2 and enjoy.

This would completely flush the system and the small amount of cheap hydraulic fluid would readly mix with the SUDT2 giving you a good working steering system.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't remember there being a hydraulic filter on the steering system for the 9s, but my 11 had one, and because it was tied into the dump box cylinder it's reservoir did both jobs, supplied oil for the steering and dump box.

Before I would take everything apart in case its in the steering wheel control.......I would take a cutoff wheel and cut the plastic off towards the bottom of the dash.....was looking at my manual when I had my 900....in case this would happen to me...I had the Curtis cab on mine to which would really be a pain to take all that apart....would be much easyer to do that then take all that apart...the 1100 the control is away from the sterring wheel. You can always attach the plastic with some home made straps imo. Or you may not even need it on there other than looks.

Art

Super UDT TWO? I had to look at my jug and sure enough, the last stuff I bought was SUDT2. However, my owners manual claims I should use UDT or SUDT - no mention of SUDT2. I'm guessing that is newer stuff?

I actually feared the wife (always blame the wife when she isn't watching) added water, but it would have displaced some oil and raised the level in the reserve. Fortunately the reserve is right where it should be.

Great news folks. Two weeks have gone by and we are back at the farm. First thing I did, even before unloading the dog, was to hop in the Kubota and test the steering. It was 44F today and I figured if it was a ice problem, today should have fixed it.

Much to my joy, the steering is working perfectly, so the ice theory seems valid. Of course, a fluid change is in order and will be done tomorrow. Not sure how the water made it into the system, or how much there is (other than it can't be much or the reserve would be over the H mark), but the fluid is due to be changed anyhow. So that will be tomorrows job.

I sincerely appreciate all the GREAT help this forum has provided.

Thank God !!!

Your back in business !!!!


........... and yes, the Kubota Super UDT2 is the newest !!!!



........... two guns

Thank you for the update Casey. That is wonderful news . collie

Post replacement report: the fluid was definitely emulsified - it looked like an off white salad dressing. I flushed with some Champion 4000 I had available (UDT rated), three times, until I couldn't see any more contaminates. Filled with the Champion and it sure steers a lot easier now!

Did a quick oil change (no filter) since I was messy anyhow. It only takes 3 quarts, caught some semi-synthetic oil on sale for $1.99/quart, figured that was a real cheap $6 maintenance item.

Much to my annoyance, I can't find my records of when the unit last went in for service. I think it was around 275 hours and its at 420 now. Oil was due, it was quite black.

I'd like to wait until somewhat warmer weather, although today wasn't bad at 45F, to replace all the fluids and filters. Since economics are forcing me to do my own maintenance, I suspect it would be a good idea to "baseline" and get everything changed.

That leads me to my next question: Any recommendations for mail-ordering filters? Neighbors are recommending I just go to ORilley and have them cross match... Honestly, I'd think a good FRAM is probably just fine. Looking for the 2 transmission filters and an oil filter (yeah, I'll change the oil again, that part is cheap).

Oh, while researching Super UDT, it appears JD Hy-Gard meets or exceeds the Super UDT spec. That might be easier to find than something that meets our more unusual Kubota brand stuff. Both my tractor and RTV are speced for UDT or Super UDT for everything - can't see boosting that up to SUDT2 just because Kubota wanted to change additives.

Cassey, as far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as a good Fram filter. Do a little research and note that Fram puts too much filter media into their canister resulting in the filter to be bypassed due to differential pressure. Compare it to no filter at all, for that what it is when bypassed. There are many other Fram attributes that easily turn me off on that name.

Others have previously mentioned to stay with the Kubota tranny filters, whereas the engine filter can be cross referenced with a GOOD Wix filter.

I believe you are best with staying with the Kubota oil. Seems like someone previously mentioned issues with non-Kubota tranny oil. You'd probably be fine with a good diesel engine oil for the engine.

Much to my surprise, and pleasure, the owners manual just recommends good old fashion SAE 10W-30, with CD, CE, or CF API service classifications.

Odd, depending on which web page I look at, CD and CE are considered obsolete and CF may or may note be (it was the standard back in 1994). I checked the Kubuto lubricants site (http://www.kubota.com/part/Lubricants.aspx) and their 10W-30 oil is rated API SF (the 1988 standad), SG-SL (1993-2004), and CF-4 through the current CJ-4.

Spent a bit of time trying to figure out the difference between diesel engine oil and gasoline engine oil. Apparently many diesel engine oils boast multiple gasoline specifications as well, as was the case with the Kubota oil. I'm still very unclear if there is a real difference, or not. e.g. Can one safely run SN oil in a diesel engine designed for the much older CD->CF specifications? At least within the S-series and C-series, the later letters are suppose to be downward compatible.

Update: Found one link that diesel engine oil contains more detergents than gasoline engine oil. That would imply use of Sx rated oil would lead to a buildup of deposits in a diesel engine and in fact use of Cx rated oils may cause problems in gasoline engines since they would clean better, initially clogging filters and transfer paths with cleaned up crud. Good news, viscosity is the #1 issue. It doesn't appear that if you make a mistake and put gasoline oil into your diesel that you will cause immediate harm, one should just be able to replace it with diesel engine oil as soon as possible.

Casey, It has been my experience - which does not necessarily mean it is right - that JD 15w40 motor oil worked great in my RTV's engine. The '05 I had ,had no blow by and used no oil even when I sold it at 4200+ hrs. I use it in my "new " 2011 model with the same 902 engine as well. I changed the oil like recommended. I will use a Wix filter but no other off brand on the engine. They are almost the same price as the oem filters..at least here. I will only use Kubota filters on the transmission. If you go with a cheap transmission oil, you may not have the additives to provide wear "protection". Last time I was at the bota place , the salesman pushed a bucket of the cheap "Gold Bond" or something like that.. stuff.. saying it worked just fine and had had no complaints. Well , I can give him some!! -- strange annoying noises etc.. I had wondered about the JD Hyguard but I doubt I would try it- it would cost about the same ...but would be more convenient.. but the doubt would be there. bordercollie

My local Kubota dealer said they uses hyguard and standard 303 multipurpose hyd. fluid in their rtv 900's. Hyguard is about $60 for 5gal. and the 303 costs about $25. I have been using the 303 for over twenty years and no problems. My 900 has close to 4000 hours on it.

Mike W. Mount said:

My local Kubota dealer said they uses hyguard and standard 303 multipurpose hyd. fluid in their rtv 900's. Hyguard is about $60 for 5gal. and the 303 costs about $25. I have been using the 303 for over twenty years and no problems. My 900 has close to 4000 hours on it.

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Thanks for the honesty! I'm using MFA's top end product (about $60 for 5 gal.) and not having any problems. Don't have your hours yet though.