Summer time has come, and with it the nice stink'n hot days are here. My hydraulics, which I rebuilt last winter, are working wonderfully. Now that's interesting to me, because they weren't working wonderfully all winter and through the spring. For months (cool weather months) the hydraulics just wouldn't be consistent about holding up impliments or responding to the quadrant. I blamed it on my lack of experience with rebuilding it, mystery dirt blocking the inlet, and other such things. I knew it was cavitating when the blasted thing would just refuse to lift on cold days, but I thought that was all the cavitation was doing. Now it's hot outside, and my heavy 90 wt gear oil is rather thin and runny. Or at least as thin and runny as 90 weight gear oil can be. Boy that three point hitch is working well! I position the lever, and the bush hog just stays right there. Lift the lever, and up she comes, as sweet as can be. Nothing else has changed. I haven't touched the hydraulic system at all. The only change is the weather, and it's gotten hot. All this is leading me to suspect that the heavy gear lube may not work as well as I thought it would. I just may have to try the 134D fluid, especially come fall and winter. I'm getting thoroughly spoiled by having a quadrant lever that actually works. I live in Maryland for a weather reference point. Just food for thought.
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