Traction Is something wrong with my dozer?

[tbergman]

I have a case 550 long track dozer. It is old, but works okay. I have been using it to clear my land, and it just seems to be underpowered, because when I try to push over a tree that is too big, the engine bogs down, and almost never has the umph to spin the tracks, which are probably 50% worn, so there is not that much on the cleats to dig in. I would have guessed that this machine should be able to spin the tracks if I put it up against an immovable object? Am I wrong about that? I also have a similar impression of my Case 580 M backhoe, which is incredibly sluggish when traveling. I watched some youtube vids of an operator driving a Deere and it was powerful, responsive and nimble when transporting a load, while mine is wimpy, slow to respond and sluggish.

Am I just expecting too much or have these machines got powertrain issues?

Still learning...

Tom

 

[Alan W.]

Engine on the dozer sounds weak. All of the tracked loaders and dozers I did own would spin out. As for the 580m they were dogs. I bought a new one and the old 580k I had would leave it in the dust. Knew another fella that bought a 580m same time I did and his sucked also. Nice hoes just no power.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I have a case 550 long track dozer. It is old, but works okay. I have been using it to clear my land, and it just seems to be underpowered, because when I try to push over a tree that is too big, the engine bogs down, and almost never has the umph to spin the tracks, which are probably 50% worn, so there is not that much on the cleats to dig in. I would have guessed that this machine should be able to spin the tracks if I put it up against an immovable object? Am I wrong about that? I also have a similar impression of my Case 580 M backhoe, which is incredibly sluggish when traveling. I watched some youtube vids of an operator driving a Deere and it was powerful, responsive and nimble when transporting a load, while mine is wimpy, slow to respond and sluggish.

Am I just expecting too much or have these machines got powertrain issues?

Still learning...

Tom

What gear are you in, how much throttle? I have 2 older Case tractors, a 310 dozer with over 10,000 hours and a 580 e with about 8000hours with original engines and both will spin tracks, tires no problem. Now they will not do it in 3rd gear, but the dozer in 1st or 2nd and the 580 in 1st. They both seem to have plenty of power for old warn out machines.

 

[ultrarunner]

When my Dozer bogged down I found the air cleaner just about plugged... normally I never operated in dusty conditions... but I had been and the restricted airflow greatly affected performance...

Just an idea.

Not related but I found I needed to pay more attention to the radiator fins... saw it was running warmer than usual and it turned out to be partially blocked fins...

 

[seasled]

Have you checked/replaced your air filter, sounds like air starvation ? Just a thought

 

[thepumpguysc]

After REPLACING the filters.. CHECK to make sure the throttle on the injection pump is going to full travel..
Its not uncommon for the linkage to get worn & a little sloppy & not reach full travel..
Just make sure the throttle lever is hitting the stop screw @ max throttle..
That stop screw controls the engines HI idle rpms.{max} & can be checked w/ the engine off..
The "max fuel" is adjusted inside the pump, so theres no help there..

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Your dozer should spin the tracks, but it has a torque converter that tries to keep the tracks from spinning...

Spinning the tracks waste a lot of power and is hard on the machine, also when pushing a bigger tree over, you are pushing down on the dozer, loading/weighing it much more, making the tracks much harder to spin, because of the added down pressure on the dozer.

It does sound like your tractor is down on power a little though...

SR

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have a case 550 long track dozer. It is old, but works okay. I have been using it to clear my land, and it just seems to be underpowered, because when I try to push over a tree that is too big, the engine bogs down, and almost never has the umph to spin the tracks, which are probably 50% worn, so there is not that much on the cleats to dig in. I would have guessed that this machine should be able to spin the tracks if I put it up against an immovable object? Am I wrong about that? I also have a similar impression of my Case 580 M backhoe, which is incredibly sluggish when traveling. I watched some youtube vids of an operator driving a Deere and it was powerful, responsive and nimble when transporting a load, while mine is wimpy, slow to respond and sluggish.

Am I just expecting too much or have these machines got powertrain issues?

Still learning...

Tom

Make sure that you have adequate fuel delivery (clogged filters, clogged tank outlet, crimped fuel line, etc) and make sure that the air filter is not clogged. is the clutch slipping?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Make sure that you have adequate fuel delivery (clogged filters, clogged tank outlet, crimped fuel line, etc) and make sure that the air filter is not clogged. is the clutch slipping?

What clutch??

SR

 

[tbergman]

Engine on the dozer sounds weak. All of the tracked loaders and dozers I did own would spin out. As for the 580m they were dogs. I bought a new one and the old 580k I had would leave it in the dust. Knew another fella that bought a 580m same time I did and his sucked also. Nice hoes just no power.

That sounds right. Thank you. I will try some cleaning to see if that might help (air and water).