Case 444, worth spending a few bucks on it to repair?

outsidezion · Dec 26, 2013

Bought an '86 Case 444 a number of years ago. Really good shape. But it has always had an electrical gremlin and now the electronics are totally dead.

I had a custom bracket welded for the use of a rear-mount cultivator (lifts/lowers, etc), has the snow blade, belly mower. These things are tanks. But, I have a compact tractor and the Case 444 has languished.

Is it worth bringing her back to life? The other think I don't like about the Case is the sloppy steering. The teeth are shot I'm sure.

amigauser · Dec 26, 2013

The big tire Case/Ingersoll lawn tractors go for pretty good $$ around here on Craigslist. Probably worth fixing.

Red Horse · Dec 26, 2013

My two cents, I would take an old Case/Ingersoll, or Deere 318 over most of the new plastic crap built today. How much can it cost? As long as hydro and motor are okay.

outsidezion · Dec 26, 2013

Points taken. The electrical gremlin just wore me down: every time you go to use it (and those times are so rare) it would let me down.

Will_C · Dec 26, 2013

I'd fix it. I had an '87 448 that I traded on a Kubota back in 2000-I had to do it financially, but I've regretted not keeping that tractor ever since. It plowed snow far beyond what I would have expected it to do.

Will

Botabill · Dec 27, 2013

I had a case 444. It was a fun machine and pretty useful but didn't stand a chance against my modern Kubota compact tractor. Bought it for $500 and sold it for $2000. The case 444 has a strong following and as far as I know they could live for ever with periodic repairs. If I had a huge garage and unlimited funds it'd still be with me. The worst thing about them is for a 6 plus foot guy the cabs are cramped and they are only 2 wheel drives..

Xfaxman · Dec 27, 2013

outsidezion said:
Bought an '86 Case 444 a number of years ago. Really good shape. But it has always had an electrical gremlin and now the electronics are totally dead.

I had a custom bracket welded for the use of a rear-mount cultivator (lifts/lowers, etc), has the snow blade, belly mower. These things are tanks. But, I have a compact tractor and the Case 444 has languished.

Is it worth bringing her back to life? The other think I don't like about the Case is the sloppy steering. The teeth are shot I'm sure.

The sloppy steering, can be fixed with shims.

Lots of good info in this thread: Case / Ingersoll

outsidezion · Dec 27, 2013

Xfaxman said:
The sloppy steering, can be fixed with shims.

Lots of good info in this thread: Case / Ingersoll

My wife isn't going to be happy as to where you guys are pointing me. Thanks for the link. I am very interested in the shim option.

oldballs · Dec 28, 2013

My Case 448 is a 1983 model that has pushed a lot of snow and pulled many a downed pine. Even though I have had a couple of CUT Kubotas, I keep the Case ready to go for pulling trailers and small stuff, but don't use it for mowing anymore. If you can work that electrical problem out, you'll probably be glad that you still have it. There are several dedicated Case/Ingersoll sites that are quite helpful as well as this one on TBN. Cheers, Mike