Brand new to the forum. Have a Case 580c that I purchased a couple of years ago. I've done a lot of work to the hydraulics, replaced all the hoses and rebuilt all the cylinders. The issue with the starting has been there since I purchased the machine. It doesn't matter if its the first start up or its been running all day. It demands a shot of the juice. It runs great once started.
Does it use much oil?
No, holds oil level well. Doesn't smoke while running.
I would try pressuring the fuel supply and see if it starts without the starting fluid. Does it have a mechanical primary pump with a priming lever? If not try pressurizing the fuel tank. If it started with either of those it is probably losing prime at a supply connection.
The 580c is a gravity fed system Right? No supply pump?? Some models, depending on the year, had electric shut off's & some had manual/cable ***-off's.. Which do you have? It may be something as simple as the manual shut off lever isn't going ALL THE WAY to the run position?? even tho the knob is pushed in completely..?? Easy enough to check.. the lever on the inj. pump, on the engine side, has 2 stop screws.. 1 to run & 1 to shut off.. Just MAKE SURE the lever is hitting/resting on, those screws.. How about the last time the fuel filters were changed?? OR the tank was cleaned..?? You know there IS a petcock on the bottom of the fuel tank.. to drain gunk..? The last one I drained was SO FULL of garbage, I had to get a coat hanger to bust up thru it.. & THEN about 2 gallons of "stuff" ran out of it.. NOT GOOD, especially when the guy was putting 5 gallons of fuel in at a time & calling it good.!!! How about valve adjustments?? Probably never been done.. Have you checked ENGINE TIMING? That's easy to check also.. Theres a # of things that IT COULD BE.. you have to start eliminating them before you get into BIG MONEY fixes.. Like poor compression & a bad head & rotor in the injection pump.. HOW ABOUT> slow cranking speed?? that'll getcha EVERY TIME.. IF its turning slow, it'll never start on its own.. The NEG cable on that machine is ALWAYS loose.. take it off, clean it GOOD, reposition it & tighten the snot outta it.. How about the correct battery?? 900/950cca's seems about right.. w/ a GOOD working starter..
thepumpguysc helped me get my 580ck going with simple tips that worked! My problem was the fuel shut off linkage inside the cover on injection pump was not actuating all the way. I cleaned it up and still a little sticky. What I found was if you push knob in and pull throttle lever to wide open and back to idle it adds tension to the spring and bumps linkage to all the way open. Worked perfect every time after that. I did clean out that cavity with seafoam. This is a great forum that has a wealth of knowledge. I have been helped many times and I try to return advice when ever I can.
yep 580c was gravity fed
Thanks for all the info. I wish I would have joined this forum when I was rebuilding my Case 450c dozer. ( I tend to learn things the hard way). I will get to checking all these things. Thank you!
Have you changed your fuel filters? That's how my 580C acts when its do for filter change.
I think my 480c has an engine and is setup very much like your 580c. I can verify for you that it should start right up with no ether. I can't believe how well mine starts. And mine smokes when it's running. But I left it outside all winter and didn't start it at all. I just went out to get it going last week and it started right up after it only turned over about 3 revolutions. I can't believe it, especially for a old diesel.