2005 RTV 900 tractor hydraulic fluid, what kind and shifting difficulties

L

logfarmer

New member
HI all,</p>


I recently got a used RTV from my local dealer as part of the deal he did the 200 hour service for free but he used New Holland 134 oil which is what they put ineverythingincludingmy 2002 BX22. They claim that the New Holland 134 oil is the same or better than Kubota Super UDT fluid they do not stock any Kubota fluids just New Holland. I am having shifting difficulties it is hard to get out of gear if there is anypressureon the transmission when trying to change ranges or go into reverse. I did get a Kubota snowplow installed with the hydraulic angle which works well. I've noticed that when shifting after coming to a stop when plowing snow that it will shift easier as I am raising the blade with the electric lift it seems like it takes some of the pressure off the hydro and allows it to shift easierapparently the extra draw on the motor by the alternator helps this. So following that line of reasoning I tried putting the blade to its extreme position right or left and that seems to help shifting when Im not trying to lift the plow. I dont have the bed dump hooked up now but Im thinking that when the plow is off trying to lower the bed when it is already lowered would help it be easier to shift. At the 200 hour service the mechanic at the dealer went through and adjusted the linkage of the hydro and pronounced that it worked fine said he tried it all over the place at the dealer ship and it had no problems. As soon as I get it back to my place and put it on a hill it wont come out of gear and I have to shut the motor off to get it to disengage not all times and all situations but way too often.</p>


It will shift sometimes without to muchtroublebut it is nothing like when themotoris turned off then it shifts easily. I dont know exactly what to expect and what is normal for the RTV. I have read a lot about shifting dificulties and it seems to vary from person to person machine to machine.</p>


Ive read about the valve some have installed to reduce back pressure but I dont want to do that since we have a lot of hills and the engine braking is essential.</p>


I've tried the stepping on the brake to help change gears this seems to work some some of the time but not consistently guess I can live with it If I have to but Id sure rather not have to. I really like the thing we use it all the time my wife loves it, the 4 wheelers just sit now that we have it. But this range change thing has got me down.</p>


1. Should the range change be as easy when the engine is running as when it is turned off?</p>


2.What about the New Holland 134 oil should I replace it now or will it work OK.</p>


If so do the filters need to be changed also ( 200 hour service was about 10 hours ago)</p>


3. If it needs to be changed is simply draining the sump enough or is there some procedure to flush the whole system?</p>


Thanks,</p>


Martin</p>


</p>
 
Matin....First of all, welcome aboard. For me, the shifting problem, I also have an 05, is just one of the little quirks of these machines. My place is also hilly so I understand not wanting the coast valve fix. I really haven't found a "trick" for not being able to readily shift into or out of gears. Sometimes, a foot on the brake and shifting helps, sometimes not. Sometimes just a bit of high idle throttle helps, mostly not. Usually, I just wait a few seconds and it settles in and does what it supposed to do. "I live with it".............</p>


I really don't know about the fluid problem concerning the SUDT vs New Holland. I guess dumping the fluid in the transmission without a filter change would work just fine; but the purists may have a problem with that.............</p>


Anyway.........Merry Christmas and God bless..............Dennis</p>
 
Hi Logfarmer and welcome. I will leave the fluid advice to the pros on here, but I will only use SUDT. and kubota filters.I order mine from our site folks at Messicks even though I have a dealer{rude} near. Messicks will supply all of my goods from now on because they are nice and the shipping is reasonable. I also have an 05 and I use it every day here on this farm. {cattle ranch}. I have the same problem if the system is under pressureI have almost 2400 hrs on my unit . I would suggest maybe putting on the emergency brake and pumping the floor brake several times. If needed ,turn the steering wheel hard to either side so that you hear the steering pump whine for a second or 2. Then mine will usually come out of gear.I hope this helps some. Bordercollie</p>
 
Wecome to the forum logfarmer !!!!</p>


I also, like bordercollie, will only use Kubota Filters and fluids.Did they use Kubota filters ? Also, please understand, I am no pro, just a corn feed feller that's trying to help ~~~~</p>


Asstated on another thread onthis foum,knew of oneRTV owner that tried to save money and went with " another brand of fluid & filters " Not onlydid it like to drive him crazy, but the machine just about wouldn't hardly move after awile. He wasabout to dump the RTV. Then, one day at the shop, during a conversation,asked him where he purchased his filters / fluidsfor his machine. His answer was, " some JD fluid andfilter they cross-referanced at the parts house ". I asked him before he done anything else stupid ( again ), go to a Kubota dealer, get the OEM KUBOTA filters and purchase the super UDT fluids. He listened, and his machine run like new again .... </p>


Soooooooooo, in my heart, I believe that the OEM filters and fluids do make much difference, maybe not in shifting or some other situations, but in performance, it makes all the difference in the world, that I do believe !!!!</p>


Don't get me wrong, it is not nothing wrong with saving money and cutting corners.... BUT, if one can afford a RTV, he can afford to take proper care of it and stick with the OEM product. It only cost just a few more pennies to do it right, and go first class !!!!</p>


~~~~~~~~~ jamie</p>
 
I agree on the fluids and filters, but I have trained myself to pull the shift out of gear before I come to a complete stop. This procedure seems to allow the shift before the pump builds up pressure - I also use the COAST STOP and don't plan to modify the transmission. Jerry</p>
 
Wow,</p>


Thanks for the quick response's.</p>


As to answer Two guns first I am not really trying to save money byusingthe New Holland oil, it is what the local dealer where I bought both the BX22 and the RTV sells and uses. I am about 6 mies from Canada as the crow flies he is the closest dealer at about 40 miles away the next closest is right at 110 miles from home so if I want Kubota fluids its not that easy to go and get them. If it does seem to be the case that Super UDT is what I should use I can see if he will bring them in or I could mail order them. He dose not stock the Kubota fluids but he does stock and sell Kubota filters and parts which is what is in mine now. I have only ever bought the parts for the Kubotas from him. He says that the New Holland will work just fine in the Kubotas. The first time he did a service on my BX22 I questioned him closely on using non Kubota fluids as I had read the debates on this and other forums and he said they would work just fine. In the BX the New Holland 134 oil seems to work fine there are no hydro problems with it at all. I assume that since he sells a lot of Kubota tractors and RTVs he is trying to keep his inventory costs down by stocking one brand of oils and fluids. So its not about trying to save money itsaboutwhether my dealer is correct in his assertion that New Holland 134 oil is equal to the Super UDT for use in the RTV.</p>


He has been a good dealer in most all respects so Id like to support him if I can and buy from him so he will stay inbusinessand I dont have to go to Spokane (110 miles) to get something if I need it right away.</p>


</p>


To Dennis and Bordercollie,</p>


I will try the tricks yousuggestedit sounds like turning the steering wheel might be theequivalentof raising the plow till it clicks or moving the blade left or right to the stop and having the motor pull down and release some pressure on the hydro. I dont want to break or bend something in the linkage by pushing on the shift handle too hard yet I dont want to shut the motor off all the time either so I hope there is a solution or God will grant me more patience!!!!</p>


Martin</p>
 
welcome aboard!! you will find a lot of good folks on here and a minimum of controversy. while I run sudt in my rtv,if you are having good performance in your other kubotas in your cold climate I do not see a problem. a good trans and/or oil heater would probably do more good. I also own an 05 and the shifting reminds me of my old 65 chevy pickup with a three on the tree. you just learn to wrestle with it!! I often use a fair amount of force and blip the throttle to help with shifting. 4 wd can be the same way,but usually on the disengage.I run around on some steep hills and have NEVER shut it off. for some reason mine goes in to m range with rarely a problem so i just rock it forward a bit and shift to reverse. it will become almost second nature after a while. also the fuel caps on these things are frustrating. I got a "new " style cap from messicks and took the old gasket off my origonal and doubled up on the new one. end of leaking but still tough to get loose. these things are so easy on fuel that with it not leaking all over I have only filled up once since getting the new cap. Bill B. (don't take two guns or tommy too seriously,they grew up in the swamps down south!!)</p>
 
[quote user="logfarmer"]</p>


</p>


As to answer Two guns first I am not really trying to save money byusingthe New Holland oil, it is what the local dealer where I bought</p>


</p>
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[/quote]</p>


Martin,</p>


Please don't take it wrong, was not pointing the finger at you saving the money remark that was made by me. Didn't mean it to sound like that if it did..... I was stating that there are many people that don't want to spend the extra nickel for the OEM filters .....like the man I wrote about !!!</p>


Just like I said before, people will spend thousand of dollars on rifles and scopes, but will buy the damn cheapest scope rings and bases on the market to save money. And wonder why the scope will not stay set >>>> Just don't make sense to me .</p>


By the way, how many hours do you have on your machine now.... ? Do you plan on adding any accessories ?</p>


~~~~~~~ jamie</p>


</p>
 
[quote user="D&D Farm"] Sometimes, a foot on the brake and shifting helps, sometimes not.[/quote]</p>


You'll find that in the owners manual... its okay, I don't read them either. </p>


On the SUDT vs NH 134. We get NH 134 by the tanker load, so we have alot of reason to use it. It can be a substitute for Kubota UDT... but it IS NOT an equilivant to SUDT... infact I don't think I've ever seen anything claim to be. Its no majic juice, but it is different andyou'll find lots of storys from guys with RTV's who have noticed substantial performance differences by using the Kubota oil. It is expensive, thats why many dealers use other oils. In some of the newer tractors they are starting to okay stretching out the service intervals when using SUDT so that does offset the cost some. </p>


you'll find everything you need right here... http://www.messicks.com/TractorParts/Kubota/RTV900.aspx</p>


</p>
 
Boy o Boy this is what I needed to hear. Other people are having the same dificulties shifting that I am experienceing and have found ways to cope with it.</p>


I tried Bordercollies advice of turning the steering wheel to the stop to help shift and that worked pretty good, Ive also tried Jerrys technique of letting up on the throttle before comming to a stop it does seem to work but I will have to train myself to do that all of the time. Thankfully the fuel cap is not leaking at least not yet.</p>


Since Mr Messick has both the New Holland 134 and the Super UDT he is probably qualified to judge the relative merits of both. So I will check with my dealer and see if he will bring in the Super UDT and then change everything out and see what happens.</p>


As for the hours on the machine I bought it used at the dealer in August of this year with 158 hours on it. It had a windshield and wipers, a winch, headrests, rear view mirror, speedometer, glovebox, sprayed in bedliner, top, and I had a heater installed. Then just before the snow came after carefull reading and talking to the dealer I got the Kubota/Curtis snowplowwiththe hydraulic angle added. It works real good. I still have my old 73 chev 4wheel drive pickup with an old meyers manual angle plow for backup after I finish rebuilding the pump unit. It is still a good plow but it is theoppositeof the reasons I got the plow for the RTV It is almost new, its built like a tractor, it uses about 1/3 gallon of fuel per hour, it allways starts, it does not break down, and my wife can plow with it if need be. It now has 254 hours we use it for every thing. We have a 180 acre tree farm with our residence, the old house we lived in while building this one and another old bunch of shacks in a third location. So we are going back and forthbetweenthese and the mailbox and theneighbors, getting firewood, hauling brush, ect ,ect.</p>


Ive been looking over the RTV parts andaccessorieslist it would be nice to get a lot of the things listed but i need to start with lights for the back so I can see when backing up plowing snow at night. That probably means the need for aoverheadconsole of some sort to mount the switches, and a dome light so I can see the various controls when it is dark, a future radio and some speakers, side mirrors to see when backing up,possiblya back window to keep some drifting snow out.</p>


That should keep me busy for a while.</p>


Martin</p>


</p>
 
Martin,</p>


Sounds like you have a great set-up on your RTV. You are a very lucky person, not havingyour fuel cap a leaking. Many of us has just about went crazy with ours. Kubota replaced my whole fuel tank so that the threads on the tank and cap would match.I was told thatmatching threads was 99% ifthe problem .....Then, did what was suggested,put another gasket on top of the one on the cap, and itworked. But like was mentioned before., it's stillnot the easiest cap to deal with when it comes to " fill-up " time.....</p>


The lights you were talkingabout installing for backing up and seeing behind you. May I suggest the Peterson Adjustable Tractor Lights from Agri-Supply, Part # 16369 >>>>I have them installed on the front and the back. Use them coming out of the swamps almost everynight from the evening hunts....The cost per is about 14.00 each >>>>>they have rubber housing and are great working lights for the back of the RTV at night !!!! I have the switch for the back up lights in the spot beside the front headlights. Just popped out the hazard cover , and installed. No trouble at all, and them twoswitches are side -by- side for handy night time work..... Other switches for GoLight and other accessories are on the panel overhead !!!!</p>


May I suggest one thing that everyone needs on the RTV, and that's the high rise intake system. That would be the first thing I would doto any RTV ...... It will save you and your machine much headache, and on mine, seems to give the machine a little more pep becouse it can breath better !!!!!</p>


Where are you located ?</p>


Anything any of us can do to help, just throw a line in , most is on standby to always give a helping hand !!!</p>


</p>


have a good day,</p>


~~~~~~~~~~ jamie</p>


</p>
 
Martin,</p>


Congrats on your RTV, sounds like a nice one. I too stick with UDT fluid. If your dealer won't stock it, call Messick's!!! It'll save you the 80 mile round trip. I also have a local Kubota dealer that is only 15 miles away, they claim they are the "Worlds Largest Outdoor Power Equipment Dealer". When I called the parts department for a U-Joint, they asked me "What's an RTV?". I will only deal with Messick's.</p>


As Dennis mentioned, try bumping the accelerator a little to get it off of low idle to shift into gear.</p>


On your Curtis plow, sometimes the quick connects are difficult to seat when changing over to the dump box(to check fluids). Put the hydraulic lever in the "float" position & it will take the pressure off of the system.</p>


Cheers, Rich</p>
 
Two Guns,</p>


I forgot I have allready followed your advice and put the high mount air cleaner on the first time after checking the air filter. We have all dirt roads here like logging roads and in the summer it is very dusty especially after wearing all the grass off the road where the tires track then is gets real dusty. So that poor little filter was way over worked and verrry dusty. It now sits up high where is is allmost completely out of the dust.</p>


Martin</p>
 
Martin,</p>


Welcome to the forum and congrats on your RTV.</p>


UDT is fine for moderate climates. For extreme cold or hot, you'll want to use the Super UDT. </p>


For shifting, if it's stuck, apply the emergency brake, wait a couple seconds then it'll shift. The shifting will get easier as your hours go up.</p>


A block heater on your engine and tranny will also help performance in the extreme cold. When the fluids are warm, they'll flow better giving you easier shifting and peformance. Do a search on the forum for block heater. We have a couple threads that discuss options that work well.</p>


Brian</p>
 
</p>


Thanks Brian,</p>


I think a trans heater would be a good idea I have a block heateralreadybut the trans does shifteasierwhen it is warmed up now that you mention it. Ill check out the threads.</p>


Martin</p>
 
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