case 580 k

[zcolt]

I am looking at buying an '89 Case 580 k, are there any known problems or ailments these loader/backhoes have or are known for that I should look for?

 

[brettliddicoat]

the farm i worked at had one and we beat it we would pick up rocks so big in the front that we would have to put that one down pick one up in the hoe and go back and pick that one up it would pick up a 20 ft long log about 18 inches in dia and drive around with it we did all kinds of work with it the only major thing i know of that we did was to add belly pans for when we did all the forest work and we had to do some injector pump work also though ours was a prototype that the did all the test on and that so you can judge for yourself

if you do get one i would buy the four in one bucket when you can afford it they are very handy

my .02

 

[Wayne County Hose]

I had a customer bring in the steering cylinder to be resealed. A steering arm wore through the housing and into the cylinder cap. Ruined the whole cylinder. Might want to give it a look.

 

[brettliddicoat]

yes we had to reseal ours also however any seal will wear out over time but i would give it a check also check the play in the front axle pins it you have some one work the bucket to pick the front wheels off the ground and see how much the main frame moves before the axle does this will show you any wear in the pins up there also check all the hoses and cylnders for leaks and such if you have any questions let me know

 

[AlanB]

The thing I noticed on the Case's that I looked at was the upper rear pivot point on the loader, many were cracked, and even more welded.

I was told they had fixed that on newer ones, but the older ones (rough) that I was looking at, it seemed to be a pretty common ailment.

 

[Builder]

I am looking at buying an '89 Case 580 k, are there any known problems or ailments these loader/backhoes have or are known for that I should look for?

Probably the most simple & reliable backhoe series ever built. Not gonna have a lot of bells & whistles, but they're cheap to own & operate because they're simple & reliable.

 

[zcolt]

Thank you for all the great input, it was very helpful. If all goes well I will be the proud owner of a 580K in the next week or so. If you have any other comments or suggestions for maintanence, please let me know!

 

[kmdigital]

I had one for a while. Is the gear shift floor mounted or console mounted? Floor mounted is Phase I and console mounted is Phase III. 1989 is the changeover year, and it could be either model, depending on when it was made.

Phase I is earlier and Phase III is later. Phase I uses separate shuttle shift tranny and rear transmission, and Phase III uses integrated shuttle shift transaxle. They use different transmission fluids, so it is critical on this model that you know which one you have. The Phase III has wet brakes and the other uses dry brakes. Wet brakes probably work better, and last a lot longer, but you don't EVER want to have to replace them. It requires unbolting the transaxle from the tractor, lifting the tractor and completely removing the stub axles.

Personally, I prefer the earlier version. They are the same transmissions used on all prior Case backhoes, starting with the "C". Easy to fix, and many used parts around. The later tranaxles are Italian made, and used on all later models up through the current "L" as far as I know. They work well, but plan on spending big bucks if it ever needs repair.


Other than that, look for cracks in the upper loader pivot arms. These are fairly common, and often welded. They don't seem to cause major problems if not overly abused. Also, look for cracks in the cross brace at the front of the tractor between the loader arms. Not real common in the "K", but very common in the earlier models. With each newer model Case reinforced this area more and more. It is very uncommon to have cracks in the backhoe area, except sometimes at the end of the boom, where the bucket attaches. Earlier versions had various weak points, but with the "K" model, Case introduced the cast steel primary boom, with a single interior cylinder. These things are virtually bullet proof, versus the previous welded steel booms. Look for excessive play in the pivot areas, as this indicates heavy usage or poor maintanence.

It has a very good Cummins engine in it, as Case every model starting with either the "E" (I think) uses this engine instead of the earlier Case engine. It is fuel efficient and starts w/o glow plugs down to below freezing. It is best to plug it in if it gets real cold, though many included ether injection systems to help start them.

Most of these have the Case 4 lever controls, but some had the John Deere 2 lever controls, which mine had and I think are much nicer and easier to use. This was an added cost option.

Is it 4x4? What is the price?

Good luck and happy digging.

 

[coopers]

go to HeavyEquiptmentForums.Com and ask there. The guys know a ton. I'm not familiar with the K's because I just don't like them so...

Blake
WA

 

[Builder]

go to HeavyEquiptmentForums.Com and ask there. The guys know a ton. I'm not familiar with the K's because I just don't like them so...

Blake
WA

Good idea, but beware. There's a lot of kids on there justifying daddy's purchase/brand warfare on there, too.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Probably the most simple & reliable backhoe series ever built. Not gonna have a lot of bells & whistles, but they're cheap to own & operate because they're simple & reliable.

Builder why don't you explain to us how you get the boom on a Case into the lock position?

I know how. But I'd bet anyone that's operated any other brand of backhoe would go crazy on a Case. Especially if they were wanting to load said tractor onto a dual tandem equipement trailer. With the boom locked in place they're so butt heavy that you almost have to steer with the brakes loading. Without it locked in you have no choice.

 

[BTDT]

 

[Builder]

Builder why don't you explain to us how you get the boom on a Case into the lock position?

I know how. But I'd bet anyone that's operated any other brand of backhoe would go crazy on a Case. Especially if they were wanting to load said tractor onto a dual tandem equipement trailer. With the boom locked in place they're so butt heavy that you almost have to steer with the brakes loading. Without it locked in you have no choice.

Pretty basic fare. You pull the boom towards you, then just before it hits the top, you pop the stick forward, let off the stick and it locks in place. I let my helper try it and he was able to do it after 2 or 3 tries.

I would have to disagree with you about them being "butt-heavy". In fact, they're less "butt heavy" than other backhoes because the boom rests over the cab more than other machines. Case actually angles the glass back from bottom to top on the rear of the cab to allow the boom to rest more forward than other models for a better front to back weight ratio and more manueverability.

I find my CASE is much easier to load than my Ford ever was and the same would probably hold true for other brands I've operated.

So actually, it's other machines where the boom is more cantilevered behind the cab creating the "butt loaded" problem you speak of.

Lookie here at this Case how the backhoe tucks up real nice & tight up to the cab in the side view picture: Case 580M 4x4 Backhoe - (eBay item 290182329025 end time Nov-23-07 08:52:06 PST)

Here's a CAT backhoe. CAT BACKHOE LOADER 416B DELUX CAB WITH AIR LIVE VIDEOS - (eBay item 320184080603 end time Nov-27-07 09:24:03 PST)

Check out this New Holland, talk about butt-heavy.
1997 NEW HOLLAND FORD BACKHOE, 555E, 4X4, X-HOE, A/C - (eBay item 300174651685 end time Nov-28-07 11:29:34 PST)

The Deere backhoe doesn't look much better:
John Deere 310SE Tractor Loader Backhoe - (eBay item 300172843062 end time Nov-26-07 09:24:22 PST)

That's the way my old Ford looked. When I drove it down the road, it bounced down the road much worse because the back was too heavy.

IMO and based on my experience, the Case locks up further & tighter, more over center actually making it less of a problem with Case than most other machines.

Hopefully that answers the questions for you.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Builder said:

Pretty basic fare. You pull the boom towards you, then just before it hits the top, you pop the stick forward, let off the stick and it locks in place.

Here's how I learned about Case, I believe it was a super M. I've got a relationship with a company that has in excess of one hundred backhoes at any give time. Nintey five percent of those are Cat. Most of them now are 420D's. OUr relationship is a lot like the old one hand washes another thing. I do some of their welding and when I need a backhoe for a day or so I make a phone call and then go pick one up.

After one such phone call I was directed to the Case. The boom was up in the locked position when I arrived. I had a dual tandem gooseneck flatbed with dovetail behind my truck. When I headed up the ramps the first thing I found out was you had better have the FEL as low as possible or you better be good at steering with the brakes.

A couple of days later I was done with the job and pulled the Case up to load it back onto the trailer. I pulled the main boom back and it wouldn't lock. I figured I had clay blocking it open. So I cleaned out the clay from where I thought it might be the problem.

It was still blocked so I cleaned out everywhere that clay could cause an issue. When that didn't work I attempted to load the tractor with the boom unlocked. Even with the FEL down the front wheels weren't close enough to the ramps to get slapped much less kissed.

It was late in the evening so I called a friend that I thought might know a little bit about this contrary beast. He laughed and told me to pull the boom back. And just before it hit close to home shove the lever forward hard and fast. It was a Case.

It worked first time I tried.

I've loaded quite a few Cats, 416s and 420s, on dual tandem goosenecks and never once felt like there could be a problem.

The closest thing I've found for thrills like that on the loading was a Drill King pier drilling rig a friend let me use on occasion. No steering wheel, joystick because it's an articulated machine. By joystick I mean a floor gear shift lever between your legs. You shoved it left to turn left or right to turn right. Did I mention it was super sensitive?

It hasn't had brakes in years. Not a problem because the machine is all hydrostat, forward and reverse on one pedal like on a Kubota. You push the pedal forward to go forward and rocked it back to reverse. To stop dead in your tracks you just put the pedal in the neutral position.

12X16.5 R4s and a machine width of just over eight feet. And oh, the fun part, six cylinder gas Ford industrial motor with a pull throttle. And the only way it had the power to load was to give it full throttle and have about thirty to forty foot running start.

One time my brother was working with me. When it came time to load he walked away and told me to call him when it was over. His nerves couldn't take it. It was exciting because you only had one shot and it had to be dead on.

 

[Builder]

I guess if you only do something once or twice, it must seem hard.

Thousands of Case backhoes get loaded & unloaded off trailers everyday round the world. It's about as easy as shoving a sandwich in the pie hole after a few tries.

 

[coopers]

lol, I remember my first day trying to figure out the **** locking procedure of case. Now it's no big deal and I actually prefer it over other backhoes. I worked with a guy that would slam the hoe back because he pushed so hard forward on the lever and sure enough, he broke the latch. Of course it was blamed on me and I proceeded to show him just how well I could lock the hoe and how smooth it was! haha...anyway, Builder is right about the weight ration on case. They did a nice job in getting that hoe positioned correctly to avoid a lot of *** heavy bouncing moments on the road.

Blake
WA

 

[Builder]

yep, once you get the hang of the Case (takes a couple tries) then you'll like it better than the others. Watching the boom come flying back at your face feels a little scary, but you get used to it.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I guess it's what you're used to. Around here Cat is king. The ones I have access to all have excavator controls, logic being a hoe operator can jump into a trackhoe and be immediately productive. Of course there's two kinds of excavator controls. But with the Cat it's really simple to switch to the one you're used to using if the machine is on the other circuit.

 

[Builder]

I guess it's what you're used to. Around here Cat is king. The ones I have access to all have excavator controls, logic being a hoe operator can jump into a trackhoe and be immediately productive. Of course there's two kinds of excavator controls. But with the Cat it's really simple to switch to the one you're used to using if the machine is on the other circuit.

My Case has pilot controls. With a simple flip of a switch you can switch from backhoe to excavator style controls. Piece of cake. Even for a helpless yankee like me.