Case 780 TLB; 680 TLB

[jfh0jfh]

That was the biggest Case ever made, Quit making them when they shut down the Indiana plant in '92 or thereabouts. They share drivetrain pieces with the
W series loaders. The local water utility had one several years ago.
It could flat put a hole in the ground.

I wouldn't be surprised if that machine would go 12,000-14,000 hours, no joke.

If you don't plan on a gazillion hours/yr, give it some thought. If you get it cheap enough and it should ever break, you'll have lots of $$ left over to fix it. If it never breaks, you can laugh at all the jokers driving new $87,000 machines and eating bologna sandwiches for lunch.

I'm starting this as a new thread - quoting ScottAR and Builder - I hope this works and is allowed.

Does anyone else know about this machine? Or do either of you know more? The only decent 4WD I found is in AZ. It really is my kind of machine. It's a hair lighter than a JD 710 but really an equivalent. And much cheaper than the 710 it seems - I'm still looking into that.

There's also a 680. Lots for sale - up through 680L - but all I found were 2WD.

 

[Builder]

I'm starting this as a new thread - quoting ScottAR and Builder - I hope this works and is allowed.

Does anyone else know about this machine? Or do either of you know more? The only decent 4WD I found is in AZ. It really is my kind of machine. It's a hair lighter than a JD 710 but really an equivalent. And much cheaper than the 710 it seems - I'm still looking into that.

There's also a 680. Lots for sale - up through 680L - but all I found were 2WD.

Would you please post links to the machines you're referring to?

The other thing I learned about older CASE backhoes is that they were very reliable and cheap to fix compared to newer ones like mine. They can be very economical to run, but like anything else that is old, you don't get the bells & whistles and anything could break at any time.

Thing is, if you don't mind a dated-looking machine, think of all the up front costs you save..........

 

[ScottAR]

I know they have W series loader parts in em. The loader diff and trans., air brakes, and 5.9 cummins engines. (The later ones anyway, earlier ones had 336 cases or 336Turbos)

Only the 680Ls and 780ds were available with 4wd to my knowledge. I have a
780c brochure and all the pics are 2wd machines. The later ones had single lever loader controls. The earlier ones were 2 lever. I almost bought a 680e a few years ago but the guy selling it gave me the creeps.

The 780s have 18 ft dig depth and it's 21 or 22ft with Xhoe. Big boy toys.

 

[jfh0jfh]

Would you please post links to the machines you're referring to?

The other thing I learned about older CASE backhoes is that they were very reliable and cheap to fix compared to newer ones like mine. They can be very economical to run, but like anything else that is old, you don't get the bells & whistles and anything could break at any time.

Thing is, if you don't mind a dated-looking machine, think of all the up front costs you save..........

Post what links - to 680s/ 780s for sale? It's easy enough to search machinerytrader on these models. I'll find the link to the 780 in AZ if that's what you want.

Yes, I don't want an SM for that reason - parts cost & repair complexity. An SL is just right for me. Or an SK but hard to find a low-hour unit.

 

[jfh0jfh]

I know they have W series loader parts in em. The loader diff and trans., air brakes, and 5.9 cummins engines. (The later ones anyway, earlier ones had 336 cases or 336Turbos)

Only the 680Ls and 780ds were available with 4wd to my knowledge. I have a
780c brochure and all the pics are 2wd machines. The later ones had single lever loader controls. The earlier ones were 2 lever. I almost bought a 680e a few years ago but the guy selling it gave me the creeps.

The 780s have 18 ft dig depth and it's 21 or 22ft with Xhoe. Big boy toys.

Thanks Scott. I'll look around a bit and see. I've seen some 680Ls but 2WD.

My JD 510 (early pre-letter model) was close in size ~ 17.25' digging depth. I like these bigger machines.

 

[jfh0jfh]

I know they have W series loader parts in em. The loader diff and trans., air brakes, and 5.9 cummins engines. (The later ones anyway, earlier ones had 336 cases or 336Turbos)

Only the 680Ls and 780ds were available with 4wd to my knowledge. I have a
780c brochure and all the pics are 2wd machines. The later ones had single lever loader controls. The earlier ones were 2 lever. I almost bought a 680e a few years ago but the guy selling it gave me the creeps.

The 780s have 18 ft dig depth and it's 21 or 22ft with Xhoe. Big boy toys.

I looked at a 780 today but didn't operate much. It feels top heavy, more like a loader designed for flat ground.

Then I talked to an older gent who once worked for Case. He thought they were designed to meet the needs of some specific company and Case sold whatever was left. Perhaps something like AM General and the early HumVs.

It's an impressive machine but I'm betting resale is awful. I'lll rn this one again and see how it is on inclines.

 

[Builder]

You prolly already know this, but the heavy hoes sink pretty bad in soft stuff. I really don't know what you're doing with this machine, so that might be a moot point.

 

[jfh0jfh]

You prolly already know this, but the heavy hoes sink pretty bad in soft stuff. I really don't know what you're doing with this machine, so that might be a moot point.

Yes, that's a big factor. But the TLBs I've had (all 2wd) were all horrible on wet ground. it's clay here so not too soft but slick when wet. I run my JD 4310 4wd tractor w/ loader & hoe in the mud but even that's a challenge to move uphill w/ a load.