But the manual says to use 10w30 engine oil. What is hydraulic oil if I cant use it in my hydraulic system??
There have been a few debates on this. Some say hydraulic oil, some say engine. I use engine oil. The hydrostatic pumps need thicker oil like 10W30, 15W40, 20W50. Hydraulic oil is simply too thin to lubricate the rotating parts of the piston pumps. Hydraulic oil is fine for a system that it is designed for like a forklift that has a gear pump and rams.
With that said, there are many different grades of hydraulic oil, some of which i'm sure are very close to engine oil thickness.
I'm not going to tell you what oil you should use, as everyone has their own ideas. I use 20W50 in all my machines, i live in Australia and we never get below 0C, its worked without a problem for me, so i'll stick with it.
If its a new machine with warranty, you will need to use genuine fluid to keep your warranty, but after that, you don't NEED to use their oil.
Sorry i can't be more specific, but as i said, everyone has their own ideas of what you should and should not use. To an extent, oil is oil, get the weight right and you can't really go wrong. Some use anti-wear additives, but i'm not sure if they really do that much. They may claim it does, but are there wear figures out there that prove without a doubt one brand is better than another?
