Changing Hydraulic Oil

[JDToumanian]

I had seen this thread before I bought my excavator, and I was alarmed by the darkened oil coming out (contaminated with metallic wear particles) that seems to be accepted as normal in these small machines. I also read in a different thread that someone here has been using 'whatever oil he has on hand for his full-size machines' with no ill effects. So I've decided to follow that advice. I'm using John Deere Hy-Gard, since there is always a drum or two of it around here for my full size machines. It may be a little heavy for these tiny machines, but it has nearly the best, if not THE best anti-wear properties of any hydraulic oil you can buy. So we'll see how it looks after I get some hours on this thing and do the first oil change...

Jon