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Choice of oil for Komatsu final drives.

crazyj

New Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
1
Location
Alberta
Hello all, new member here and hoping for a little advice. I recently purchased a Komatsu D65E-6 dozer and I want to change the oil in the final drives before I put it to work. I've operated Cat dozers in the past but have no experience with Komatsu. Is the Komatsu a wet brake setup and if so can I run Cat fdao or regular 50w ? I was checking out oils produced by Shell and came across this bit of info • Compatibility - Shell Spirax S5 CFD M 60 is fully compatible with all seal material employed in CAT equipment; and is also compatible with Shell Spirax S4 CX oils and oils meeting CAT TO-4. Shell Spirax S5 CFD M 60 should not be used in transmissions also containing friction materials (eg those with wet brakes or clutch materials). Use of Spirax S4 CX oils in those transmissions is recommended. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
 

John C.

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Jun 11, 2007
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12,870
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Northwest
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Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
One would normally contact a Komatsu dealer to get the right type of oil and not ask about what another manufacturer would use.

In my experience working with Komatsu, SAE30 weight engine oil was used in all Komatsu finals. You should call a dealer though and confirm that.

Good Luck
 

joispoi

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
1,284
Location
Connecticut
What John said. Komatsu specs different fluids than other manufacturers. It's best to get a printout from your dealer.
 

ncnswlogger

Active Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
25
Location
northern new south wales australia
Hello all, new member here and hoping for a little advice. I recently purchased a Komatsu D65E-6 dozer and I want to change the oil in the final drives before I put it to work. I've operated Cat dozers in the past but have no experience with Komatsu. Is the Komatsu a wet brake setup and if so can I run Cat fdao or regular 50w ? I was checking out oils produced by Shell and came across this bit of info • Compatibility - Shell Spirax S5 CFD M 60 is fully compatible with all seal material employed in CAT equipment; and is also compatible with Shell Spirax S4 CX oils and oils meeting CAT TO-4. Shell Spirax S5 CFD M 60 should not be used in transmissions also containing friction materials (eg those with wet brakes or clutch materials). Use of Spirax S4 CX oils in those transmissions is recommended. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Sae 30. Dad owns a 1988 komatsu D60E-8 "direct drive. We use caltex "chevron" delo silver 30 in the final drives, transmission/steering clutches and master clutch. Not sure if sae 30 is used in transmission/torque converter in a D65. Also your 65-6 would be wet steering clutches
 

Twisted

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
389
Location
MN
SAE 30 engine oil. Putting too heavy of oil in them and running in cold weather will cause a lack of lubrication to the top bearings.
Don't try to second-guess this.
 

willd8r

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
129
Location
Australia
Occupation
dozer operator Cat D11R
Interesting The forestry corp run a few 65's & 85's they had final drive problems at low hours so they ran one with 30 in one side 90 in the other. The 30 side failed early as usual the 90 side was good did the same again, same problem so 90 in the winter 140 in summer months and those machines did big hours with no final drive issues again.
 

Twisted

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
389
Location
MN
That's interesting to hear. I can see how 90wt would work better for lubricating the gears and bearings under most conditions but how cold did get there? I've been told many times over that 30wt was the only option. Dealers, operators & mechanics have all concurred.
I've considered other options with the modern multi-grade oils but I'm a little shy as it's a big expensive repair if a person guesses wrong. Anyone else want to chime in with some hands-on experience?
Twisted.
 

jughead

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Nov 1, 2007
Messages
284
Location
soddy-daisy tn.
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retired
a little off topic but my manual calls for 10wt hd motor oil for the hydraulic system. i havent been able to find any. has the requirement been changed and if so what should one use. spent an hour on the phone today with dealer and anyone else that would listen still dont have an answer
 

Nige

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Jun 22, 2011
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29,313
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G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
a little off topic but my manual calls for 10wt hd motor oil for the hydraulic system. i havent been able to find any. has the requirement been changed and if so what should one use. spent an hour on the phone today with dealer and anyone else that would listen still dont have an answer
AW32 hydraulic oil would be fine for that system.

As a comment regarding final drives and oil viscosity, remember that engine/powertrain oils and gear oils use different viscosity classifications, so an SAE30 engine oil (or TO-4 for that matter) is approximately the same viscosity as a 90-wt gear oil. A 140-wt gear oil is a slightly higher viscosity than an SAE50 engine/powertrain oil.
 

Twisted

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
389
Location
MN
That is true but also easily confused.
Some oils are tested at 100*C & others at 40*C. It really depends on engine oils vs. industrial oils vs. others. Engine oils are designed to start at cold temps but run at higher temps. Industrial oils are not designed to run at such high temps. Not as far as their classifications anyway.
Here is a link to help explain things a little better than I can. It has a chart to compare the different oils along with their classifications.
http://www.doolittleoil.com/faq/viscosity-sae-iso-or-agma
 
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