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.
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
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.
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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:
You probably have memories of childhood that involve either riding a Ferris wheel or wanting to ride one. They seem almost magical as the massive wheel full of passengers turns slowly, lifting everyone up into the sky for a few moments. You may not be aware of it, but many Ferris wheels and tracked machines have something in common: hydraulic final drive motors.
Final drive motors are hydraulic motors with a speed reducing, torque multiplying planetary gear set. In this Shop Talk Blog post, we’ll talk about planetary gear sets, the parts that make them up, and how they work. We'll also look at some examples taken from actual final drives and then discuss how to maintain your gearbox.
Here are a few other blog posts you might enjoy ...
Is your final drive gear box overheating? Is it hot to the touch, or does it steam when water comes into contact with it? That could be the sign of some serious problems that you need to investigate. In this Shop Talk Blog post, you'll learn step by step how to properly troubleshoot problems with an overheating gear box on your final drive motor.
A customer sent in a Hy-Dash brand final drive in for repairs. The symptoms were quite simple: the tracks on one side of the machine had been losing power and finally refused to move, so he pulled the track drive and brought it to us. In this Shop Talk Blog post, we are going to look at what caused this kind of catastrophic failure and how you can avoid a similar fate.
Top Compact Track Loader CASE TR340
Last year, Equipment Today named the CASE TR340 CTL one of their Contractor’s Top 50 New Products. CASE compact track loaders have long been popular because of their quality, reliability, and power. One of the facts of life, however, is that even the best piece of equipment is going to have parts with a limited life span, including final drives. In this blog post, we are going to talk about your options when it comes to replacing a CASE hydraulic final drive motor for a compact track loader.
