Hey Guys, I have recently purchased A 1973 Case 580B backhoe. When pulling the boom all the way up tight to the tractor, is there something special I need to do to get the latch to lock the boom up into transport mode? It will just not come up far enough to get it into the locking claw I will call it. Any tips or tricks will be helpful, I have learned so much already just reading!! So glad I found you all here
When the boom is straight up, push the control lever in the down position. This will push the boom overcenter & into the transport position. You need to do this in one continuous flowing motion when raising the boom. Have the revs up a bit so the boom carries some speed on the way up.
Thank You, I will try this when getting it back from mechanic
If the pins and bushings are a little sloppy it can be a tad bit tedious to get it over center. Luckily I have the extendahoe so I just extend it and push the boom back. To unlock it, push the boom handle forward until the boom stops, then hold the lock lever back while you pull back on the handle very slowly until it moves over center. My C tends to want to go over center pretty quickly so I have to be ready for it. I've gotten into the habit of lifting the dipper arm slightly to make it want to go over center and just hold back on the handle until the boom cylinders catch the weight. Probably due to slop in the whole system on mine. Yours may work smoother. Takes a bit of practice to get used to. I'm still working on that part.
It also helps to have the tractor level or nose slightly down. The manual states to have the engine running at about half throttle to get a little momentum on the boom to go over center. Timing is key... Dave