1830 drive motor whine

[Guinter810]

I bought a 1830 a little over a year ago. The drive motors always whined. I know the older skid steers are known to whine from what I read online.
I have no drive issues just slightly noisy.

Is this normal? Or something I should be worried about. The machine Doesn't get used hard or often.

Machine calls for 10w30 with additive. I believe I'm running aw46 with anti-foam. I previously ran 10w30 and didn't make a difference(had leaks and was easier to buy aw46 in bulk)

 

[Gearclash]

Old hydros growl and whine a lot. Just the way they are.

I would advise against using any type of AW oil in a skid steer. The ZDDP (anti wear additive) level is about half that of a top shelf hydraulic oil, and even less than half of a good engine oil.

 

[Guinter810]

Old hydros growl and whine a lot. Just the way they are.

I would advise against using any type of AW oil in a skid steer. The ZDDP (anti wear additive) level is about half that of a top shelf hydraulic oil, and even less than half of a good engine oil.

You would recommend going back to 10w30 with the zddp?

I've read so many different things about fluid and these old machines. A lot stating AW is fine. Others say to run top shelf oils. Others say synthetic 10w30.

 

[Gearclash]

The ZDDP (Case HTO) was expensive, and I think is now no longer available. I switched to using Mobil 424 in my 1835Bs. Mobile 424 is a top shelf hydraulic oil that has a viscosity of 10W-30. The total ZDDP in it is probably lower than an engine oil plus HTO, but knowing that Mobil 424 (and any hydraulic oil that is equivalent) is designed for hydraulic systems that use axial piston pumps like a hydro in these skid steers, I am not worried about it.

 

[Guinter810]

When I get home I'm going to check the buckets of fluid I pit in to see how much zddp it has, hopefully I can search it.
I did order enough zddp to cover my system. I guess I'll get some 10w30 and change it out. Just sucks. I just put 7-8 gallons in a couple months ago reading AW will be fine.

 

[Gearclash]

I think there are different viscosities of AW. Do you know what "number" AW you put in? If it is about the same viscosity as 10W-30, it would probably be fine just to add a ZDDP additive and leave it. As I recall, AW oils tend to be in the mid 3 digit figures of ZDDP in PPM. Top tier hydraulic oils are in the very low 4 digit figures, so about double. For what its worth, Case used to call for 10W-40 engine oil for the hydraulic system, so if your AW is a little on the heavy side I wouldn't worry about it unless you are going to run this machine in cold weather, as in well below freezing.

 

[Guinter810]

It's Cam2 promax AW46. I'm in Pennsylvania so it will get freezing temps here….. But I keep my machine indoors and let it warm up before operation. Only time it gets used in cold weather is to move snow in my driveway which takes about 20-30 minutes then it's back in the garage.
I thought aw46 would be fine from all the posts I read before but I must not of realized the amount of zddp was low compared to what I need.

The zddp I ordered comes today, my guts telling me just to add it to the system and call it a day.

 

[Gearclash]

I just looked up the viscosity of AW46 and it is supposed to be a 20 weight oil. That should be acceptable for your climate, a little heavy for winter and a little light for summer. We used to run 10-40 engine oil in the gas 1835B in my signature and it seem like that oil was too thick in extreme (sub zero F) cold weather as the gear pumps would cavitate for quite a long time until the oil warmed up. If you hear a howl from the pumps when the oil is very cold, that is probably what it happening, slow the engine down until the howl goes away. I think cavitation shortened the life of the gear pump on the above mention machine.