My '00 500 sportsman basically sits all year except for a few miles hunting season and plowing my driveway all winter.
I changed out the hub oil this fall with type f transmission oil. it's been very cold here at night down to -15 and the hubs are not working 75% of the time making it very hard to plow snow. I thought the manual said type f was ok or recommended but is this too thick for such cold temps?
I did rely on the 4X4 in november hunting and did not have any noticeable problems.
I have some dodge synthetic transmission fluid that has a funny smell to it, I wonder if I can use that stuff? I think it has something to do with the dodge clutches... I don't see what's special about the hilliard, it's just metal and aluminum. i'm broke and already have it, i might try it.
should the cold and hub oil viscosity have no affect on hub operation? because i will look in another direction.
I should add that the electrics work, speedo, awd light and the reverse over-ride button.
any advice please?
I changed out the hub oil this fall with type f transmission oil. it's been very cold here at night down to -15 and the hubs are not working 75% of the time making it very hard to plow snow. I thought the manual said type f was ok or recommended but is this too thick for such cold temps?
I did rely on the 4X4 in november hunting and did not have any noticeable problems.
I have some dodge synthetic transmission fluid that has a funny smell to it, I wonder if I can use that stuff? I think it has something to do with the dodge clutches... I don't see what's special about the hilliard, it's just metal and aluminum. i'm broke and already have it, i might try it.
should the cold and hub oil viscosity have no affect on hub operation? because i will look in another direction.
I should add that the electrics work, speedo, awd light and the reverse over-ride button.
any advice please?
Polaris ATV Expert
Retired and loving it!
Retired and loving it!
Type f was what was used on the first couple years when the awd came out. It never was that good to begin with. We could see quite a bit of difference between it and the Demand Drive hub fluid when it came out especially in cold weather. Cold weather lock ups even in non awd mode were less common when the new fluid came out.Erratic operation was cut in half at least. Yes cold weather does have an effect on hub engagement. Take a sheet of metal and place it on an incline,pour a little type f and also Demand Drive Plus hub fluid on it.The Polaris oil will beat the type f to the bottom as it's actually a thinner fluid,better suited for cold and hot weather situations. Most people on this forum wouldn't use any thing else.Plus one bottle will last you at least a couple years or more.
ok thank you.
I know these questions get asked a million times.
I should not have put in type f. now it's -10 -15* at night and it won't work right, go figure? The manual I downloaded says demand drive fluid or type F transmission fluid. But that's not necessarily correct. I dug up my polaris owners safety and maintenance manual ( thin basic booklet) and it says " premium hub lube".
The high tomorrow is -1* and I have to figure out how to get the type F flushed out of the hubs, I'll be working outside. I've had this machine since 2000 and never had problems like this. I need to get this type F out of the hubs before I grenade them.
I do want to test some oils on an inclined plane in the cold tomorrow and see how they flow.
thank you again
I know these questions get asked a million times.
I should not have put in type f. now it's -10 -15* at night and it won't work right, go figure? The manual I downloaded says demand drive fluid or type F transmission fluid. But that's not necessarily correct. I dug up my polaris owners safety and maintenance manual ( thin basic booklet) and it says " premium hub lube".
The high tomorrow is -1* and I have to figure out how to get the type F flushed out of the hubs, I'll be working outside. I've had this machine since 2000 and never had problems like this. I need to get this type F out of the hubs before I grenade them.
I do want to test some oils on an inclined plane in the cold tomorrow and see how they flow.
thank you again
just pull the hub caps off and drain out the oil and clean it out with a rag (I used carb cleaner spray and then wiped off the spray) and then reinstall the hub caps and put in the demand drive fluid and no more issues. don't over fill it wither.
I didn't get the hub oil changed today it was -20* wind chill. 
I did mess around with the oil though. I put some premium hub oil, some synthetic +4 dodge transmission oil and some type f on an incline plane to see how they performed in cold temperatures.
I'll try to tag a picture. on the left is the dodge +4 synthetic, in the middle is the regular type F and on the right is the polaris demand hub oil.
it's important to note, and I tried to highlight in the photo the piece of metal is dished. the outside inch and a half or so is angled. it's a rear dolly of a snowmobile dolly set.
I'll try to explain what I found but i really just did this for myself so please just take this FWIW. ambient temp is about -1* oil temp is guess 10*? in my shed?
I i put the synthetic +4 and type F on at the same time. ( i only have two hands). the synthetic +4 started to flow slightly quicker than the F and consistent all the way to the bottom of the plate and OVER the angle at the bottom of the plate.
The type F was sluggish to start flowing but did seem to somewhat match the synthetic +4 down the incline BUT seemed to just stop as shown in the picture? maybe i didn't use as much or it didn't stay together as well, but it just stopped. it slowed to a creep and stopped.
The polaris hub oil by far was the fastest to start flowing with no delay, it was impressive. But the farther it moved the slower it went. Halfway down it's probably the same as the syn+4. I'm sure it would have flown to the bottom of the plate but my hands were freezing.
I did mess around with the oil though. I put some premium hub oil, some synthetic +4 dodge transmission oil and some type f on an incline plane to see how they performed in cold temperatures.
I'll try to tag a picture. on the left is the dodge +4 synthetic, in the middle is the regular type F and on the right is the polaris demand hub oil.
it's important to note, and I tried to highlight in the photo the piece of metal is dished. the outside inch and a half or so is angled. it's a rear dolly of a snowmobile dolly set.
I'll try to explain what I found but i really just did this for myself so please just take this FWIW. ambient temp is about -1* oil temp is guess 10*? in my shed?
I i put the synthetic +4 and type F on at the same time. ( i only have two hands). the synthetic +4 started to flow slightly quicker than the F and consistent all the way to the bottom of the plate and OVER the angle at the bottom of the plate.
The type F was sluggish to start flowing but did seem to somewhat match the synthetic +4 down the incline BUT seemed to just stop as shown in the picture? maybe i didn't use as much or it didn't stay together as well, but it just stopped. it slowed to a creep and stopped.
The polaris hub oil by far was the fastest to start flowing with no delay, it was impressive. But the farther it moved the slower it went. Halfway down it's probably the same as the syn+4. I'm sure it would have flown to the bottom of the plate but my hands were freezing.
