Squizzy246B
Administrator
I had a bad experience awhile back when my business partner decided he would do me a favour and prep my CAT 246B for the next days work. Being the kind soul he his...he inadvertently filled up the hydraulic tank with diesel. :spaz
Anyway, cut to the chase..The machine was new and had whatever grade Cat hydraulic oil in it that it shipped downunder with. My local dealer wasn't exactly sure ("its the red stuff :Banghead" ) other than to say it will be a synthetic hydraulic oil. The only oil they had in stock (it was a sunday) that they could guarantee was compatible with what was in the system was a SAE 10W hydraulic oil.
I dropped the contents of tank, re-filled, started the machine cycled the hydraulics and changed the filter, just to be on the safe side. This got me working again.
Now summer is approaching and temps here will exceed 104 deg F. Our minimums are above freezing. Checking around the tech department and other operators most just run SAE 15W40 engine oil in the hydraulic system so that they only have one type of oil. The overwhelming consensus was that I would experience hydraulic fade with the 10W.
So whats the consensus. The manual says I can run CAT MTO (what the hell is that) "OR" 15W40 (API CH-4) the same spec as CAT state for the engine. I don't see that its a huge advantage to run the same type of oil given that the hydraulic system will only get a change once a year. If I stay with a dedicated hydraulic oil I know its definetley compatible with whats in the system.
The guts of my question (finally ) is SAE ratings don't tell you much about the oil type other than its viscosity performance.... I'd be reluctant to change to an oil type thats not compatible with the remainder of the oil thats contained in the cylinders and pipework and require multiple flushes.
Or doesn't it really matter that much :bash Easy with the brand names guys as a lot of what you may use in North America has a different name down here.
Anyway, cut to the chase..The machine was new and had whatever grade Cat hydraulic oil in it that it shipped downunder with. My local dealer wasn't exactly sure ("its the red stuff :Banghead" ) other than to say it will be a synthetic hydraulic oil. The only oil they had in stock (it was a sunday) that they could guarantee was compatible with what was in the system was a SAE 10W hydraulic oil.
I dropped the contents of tank, re-filled, started the machine cycled the hydraulics and changed the filter, just to be on the safe side. This got me working again.
Now summer is approaching and temps here will exceed 104 deg F. Our minimums are above freezing. Checking around the tech department and other operators most just run SAE 15W40 engine oil in the hydraulic system so that they only have one type of oil. The overwhelming consensus was that I would experience hydraulic fade with the 10W.
So whats the consensus. The manual says I can run CAT MTO (what the hell is that) "OR" 15W40 (API CH-4) the same spec as CAT state for the engine. I don't see that its a huge advantage to run the same type of oil given that the hydraulic system will only get a change once a year. If I stay with a dedicated hydraulic oil I know its definetley compatible with whats in the system.
The guts of my question (finally ) is SAE ratings don't tell you much about the oil type other than its viscosity performance.... I'd be reluctant to change to an oil type thats not compatible with the remainder of the oil thats contained in the cylinders and pipework and require multiple flushes.
Or doesn't it really matter that much :bash Easy with the brand names guys as a lot of what you may use in North America has a different name down here.