Hi guys, I am new to the forum and just started lurking here and learning about my 580K that I just bought last month. The 580K has a leaky fuel tank and I saw it before I bought it and thought no big deal it is just a hose or a filter or something. After reading here and doing some investigation I found that the fuel tank is cracked at the left rear engine mount like many of them I am finding. I have been doing some hunting around for a used tank to replace it with the M or L style (see attached picture) with no luck yet. Anyone have any good leads on a used fuel tank??? Local case dealer said they could probably fix the existing tank but the engine has to come out so the crack can be welded and there is no guarantee that it will not crack again. I am thinking replacing the tank is best if I can find one. Thanks for all the great info on here, I am going to be asking more questions as I fix up this backhoe. I have a lot of parts on order for it already to fix it up some, and am working on a quick attach modification for the front loader buckets now. Thanks for any help on the fuel tank.
I have a 92 sk and i thinks mine is cracked in the same location, You can buy a new tank for the L and M models for 1250 or 2500 i think. try coleman equipment.
My memory must be failing, because as I recall, the fuel tank on my K was a part of the frame. The towers on either side that hold up the ends of the loader arms form part of the tank. The stress of working the loader hard fatigues the steel and the welds that form the fuel tank. Most of the damage on mine was on the inside, and the engine had to come out to repair it propperly. In my case, the cause of it was many many hours running a compaction wheel. The load transfer to the front of the machine while doing this was the primary cause. If I recall, it happened on mine at about 5,000 hrs or so. When I upgraded to the L, the tank was seperate, a bolt on like in the picture above. That, and much beefier loader towers, and the L series never had the problem. Your picture above looks like a tank from an L to me. If I am correct in what I remember, you will never find a newe or used tank for a K, because it is part of the frame.
Jerry, I'm pretty sure Shep wants to fit a tank (as pictuered) of an L & fit it in place of his step on his K. Personally, I've never seen this done before & am wondering if - 1) there is enough room to actually fit the tank & not have the front wheels hit it when turning on full lock. 2) whether ground clearance will be an issue :beatsme edit- 3) where do you put the battery?
Alrman Funny you mentioned that. I almost raised the possibility, but it has been too long since I was around a K to remember enough to have an idea of whether it would work. It seems to me that when I had them both at the same time there was some reason why it would not work, but that was a lot of years ago. My best thought is that ground clearance would not be an issue, but that the front wheel clearance, and/or rear wheel clearance was the issue. On the other hand, it is not too much work to pull the engine out of one, and if the fuel tank is leaking, there is a structural problem with the frame, that if not corrected will continue to get worse with use. To me, it makes sense to pull thge engine, purge the tank and weld it properly, then reinforce the crack prone areas, as well as put a wrap on the upper pin holes where the long pin attaches the loader arms to the frame. Look at an L or newer for ideas in doing that. I did the cracked area, and plated both sides, as well as reinforced the frame and the loader arms at the attachment points. This solved my problems for good, and when I sold it at nearly 9,000 hours of mostly hard use, it was better than new, in that area.
Yes alrman, I was actually looking for the newer style tank to replace the existing cracked frame tank. It appears from what I am told that one will fit with little trouble and it solves the tank problem for good. The local case dealer said they had done some tank repairs to the frames before with varying degrees of success, some stayed fixed and others cracked again, normally beside the welds.... I am open for other ideas, I have not bought a tank yet and the backhoe is sitting on my new concrete pad leaking diesel everywhere because I filled the tank up and did not know there was a crack. Now I need to go run it around doing something until the fuel level gets low again.
If you do replace the tank with a new style mounted one please keep us posted, as i will likely be doing that as well in the near future. Any idea if there is a fuel pump located in the frame tank? Maybe its just the sending unit for the gage and gravity fed to an external fuel pump
mines cracked too.. I just try and not fill it.
mines cracked up by the bucket mount, only leaks if I fill it,, My hydraulic tank is cracked in the same spot.
Don't worry, soon enough the crack will go down the side until it all leaks out.
any luck finding a used tank to mount on your backhoe??
I have a 73 580b, the tank was cracked when I bought it, I removed it, took it to my mechanic, he brazed it and so far so good, costed 25.00 for his work. May help for a good while for you also best of luck