I know this has been covered in other places but there is still a lot of debate.
I got my machine recently and drained most of the fluids, for hydraulic oil I used Valvoline VV41 which is AW 32 hydraulic oil.
The ride has still been rough and change of direction jerky. I read somewhere that AW 32 was too thin for the older bobcat machines. The bobcat parts guy told me "any 30 weight oil". So, does this mean that AW 32 is too thin? ISO 32 = SAE 10 weight oil. If the bobcat guy meant SAE 30 that would be ISO 100. I tried to get clarification from him but he wasn't sure, and he basically was telling me to not buy bobcat oil because it was over priced so I didn't want to press him for an answer.
I have 15 gallons of Primex AW ISO 100 but I'm not sure wether to drain my ISO 32 or not. I literally just got done plowing 30 minutes ago and the machine ran OK, I'm not sure if it would run smoother with thicker oil or not. It does tend to moan and whine a bit and I know I still need to redo the lift cylinder seals, also there is another small leak near the valve or port block. Maybe its sucking air and that is making the controls rough.
Oh, BTW, I am in northwest NJ and we get some cold weather here unlike the rest of the state because of our elevation, not uncommon to get days below 0F if that factors in oil choice.
Thanks for any info! (let the debate begin)
I got my machine recently and drained most of the fluids, for hydraulic oil I used Valvoline VV41 which is AW 32 hydraulic oil.
The ride has still been rough and change of direction jerky. I read somewhere that AW 32 was too thin for the older bobcat machines. The bobcat parts guy told me "any 30 weight oil". So, does this mean that AW 32 is too thin? ISO 32 = SAE 10 weight oil. If the bobcat guy meant SAE 30 that would be ISO 100. I tried to get clarification from him but he wasn't sure, and he basically was telling me to not buy bobcat oil because it was over priced so I didn't want to press him for an answer.
I have 15 gallons of Primex AW ISO 100 but I'm not sure wether to drain my ISO 32 or not. I literally just got done plowing 30 minutes ago and the machine ran OK, I'm not sure if it would run smoother with thicker oil or not. It does tend to moan and whine a bit and I know I still need to redo the lift cylinder seals, also there is another small leak near the valve or port block. Maybe its sucking air and that is making the controls rough.
Oh, BTW, I am in northwest NJ and we get some cold weather here unlike the rest of the state because of our elevation, not uncommon to get days below 0F if that factors in oil choice.
Thanks for any info! (let the debate begin)