I have a Montana tractor L44. The tranny fluid is low. Supposed to use
factory oil, but no one has any. I have a 5 gal partial of universal
premium hydraulic fluid, which doesn't tell me much. I used it in the
hydraulics, and it worked fine.

The manual suggests tranny OIL, and the geek at Napa told me they have
transmission oil at around $44 per 5 gal bucket.

How can I be sure that I get the right oil for the tranny? How many
different basic oils are there? Then you have fluids, like power steering,
but let's stick to fluids used on a loader/backhoe. I see crankcase oil,
tranny oil, and hydraulic fluid.

Can anyone give me a primer on the basics so I don't screw it up with the
wrong kind of fluid?

Steve