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).

 

[tbergman]

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?

Will do the cleaning and checks you suggest. I am confident the clutch is not slipping or it would not bog down as much as it does when I push against an immovable object.

 

[tbergman]

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

To be clear, I never want to spin the tracks, but thought the machine should have plenty of power to do that...but it does not, well, except when I am sitting on a pile of rocks...and then I certainly try to avoid spinning the tracks as it rattles my old body way more than I like.

 

[mopardude318]

Brian that is a very nice Dozer. I知 in the market for one and I will also look for a case 310. We got a lot of rain this year and the runoff over flowed the creek bed on our property. I probably have several hundred yards of dirt I need to push back up to build up the embankment.

This pic the water is about 4 feet deep.

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.

 

[1010]

Find out what transmission you have, converter or direct drive type? Converters are like you described.
Once you find out what you have see if there is a filter/fluid that could be changed.
CAT and Deere both made convertor tractors, they were especially popular with road work spreading materials. Simply because the smoothness was much easier on the operator. Some folks just didn't like the softness.

With a convertor the engine shouldn't change tune a whole lot, but the forward momentum will slow. They will barley spin the tracks and not at all in certain materials..

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Brian that is a very nice Dozer. I知 in the market for one and I will also look for a case 310. We got a lot of rain this year and the runoff over flowed the creek bed on our property. I probably have several hundred yards of dirt I need to push back up to build up the embankment.

This pic the water is about 4 feet deep.

While I love to look at water, I do not envy those that have to deal with the damage that it can do.

Thanks for the complement, That dozer is-was my very first tractor that I ever purchased. It's been a good machine over the years, not perfect, but it gets the job done. I would love to have a cat D5 for dozer work around the ranch. It would get things done much faster than the 310 does, but still small enough you are not over whelmed. We have an old D6 for disking, but that's about all it's any good for any more.

Hey, don't forget about those diverters for your Kubota. You need those other sets of remotes to be at you finger tips, not out back as they are now.