When it comes to final drive motors, gear oil is the quiet workhorse that makes everything else possible. It cushions the gears, keeps heat under control, and prevents metal-on-metal destruction. But here’s the catch: when gear oil is neglected or handled the wrong way, it can turn into the very thing that shortens the life of your machine.
One of the most frustrating things about equipment failures is how often they sneak up on you. Your machine might sound fine, run fine, and get the job done—until one day, the final drive gives out without much warning. A common culprit? Gear oil that’s quietly been working against you instead of for you. Gear oil is supposed to lubricate, protect, and keep things cool inside the drive. But once it’s contaminated, it stops doing its job, and the damage starts piling up long before you notice anything’s wrong.
In this Shop Talk Blog post, we talk about gear oil contamination, signs to look for, prevention and maintenance tips, and what to do when the damage is done.
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- Reman Final Drive Motors: Affordable, American-Made, and Eco-Friendly
Gear oil is easy to overlook—until something goes wrong. A noisy final drive, worn planetary gears, or sudden power loss can all point to a single cause: lubricant failure.
Many don’t realize that gear oils are engineered fluids, not just oil. They’re packed with chemical additives that do far more than reduce friction—they help your equipment run cooler, cleaner, and longer. These additives reduce wear, prevent corrosion, fight sludge, and help the oil survive extreme pressure and temperature. Without them, even top-tier base oil won’t cut it.
This Shop Talk Blog post covers what gear oil additives do, how they work, and why they're essential for protecting your final drive motor gearbox. And whether you operate compact track loaders or full-sized excavators, knowing what’s in your oil helps extend service life and avoid costly repairs.
Here are a few other Shop Talk Blog posts you might be interested in:
- 3 Things You Should Know about Gear Oil for Final Drives
- Gear Oil Part 1: How to Troubleshoot Gear Oil Problems with Your Final Drive
- Gear Oil Part 2: How to Check and Change the Gear Oil in a Final Drive Motor
If there’s one thing we know here at Â鶹ֱ²¥ Final Drive, it’s how we wish people would maintain their final drive motors. That’s why we’ve come up with this comprehensive guide to final drive motor maintenance. It touches on more than just the final drives, though, because issues such as track tension and even a dirty undercarriage can impact the performance of your final drives and cause premature wear.
We know that it’s vital to keep your skid steers rolling year-round and that the key to their reliability and performance lies in maintenance.
In this Shop Talk blog post, we’ll discuss the that will increase their uptime, reduce repair costs, and extend their lifespan.
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The planetary on your final drive motor generates tremendous amounts of torque and requires lubrication to provide high performance and extend the life of its components. In this Shop Talk Blog post, we'll talk about lubrication's role in preventing planetary failure.
Discover the detrimental effects of gear oil contamination on your final drive and learn how to prevent it. This comprehensive guide provides valuable insights into the various forms of contamination, their impact, and essential preventive measures.
Do you own a CAT 320, 325, 330, or 336? Read on to learn about the most common causes of final drive motor failure on these machines.
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There's a reason why we encourage our customers to regularly replace the gear oil in their final drives. Gear oil is inevitably going to degrade, or age, over time. Find out what that means to your final drive motor.
Here are a few other blog posts that might be of interest to you:
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How familiar are you with common lubricant additives, especially when it comes to gear oil?
Here are a few other blog posts you might be interested in:
