So I have done some light work and started familiarizing myself with the new to me Case. So far so good but definitely need to get those brakes working right. What else should I have to support the Case? Fuel additives (currently I use Stabil, Ethanol stabilizer, and Marvel Mystery Oil in my gasoline engines)? Common spare parts (filters, links, pins, etc.)? Accessories (definitely want a narrow trenching bucket and a home made front mount work platform)? Other advice? What should I do to keep it running well (this is my first diesel and hydraulic equipment)?
When I took possession of my Deere 310 (my first backhoe), the inspecting dealer suggested a fluid service. Since I didn't know the exact history of the unit, and I had some extra money, I replaced all breathers, filters, and fluids to start from the beginning. Any rusted trim bolts and nuts were replaced with stainless. Any questionable hoses replaced too, and the bent brackets on top of the stinger were bent back, and hoses re-positioned. I put biocide in my fuel, and will add anti-gel when it gets cold. Cleaned the interior, and exterior, and greased every joint until grease oozed out of the joints. I also replaced batteries since the ones that were installed were from 2016, and I didn't want to worry about the unit starting in the cold when the driveway needed plowing. Took apart the front grill, and cleaned all the crap out of the radiator. Deere told me to grease every 4 - 8 hours depending on how hard I was using it. They suggested oil change, oil filter, and two fuel filters every year, and the rest every two years. I don't use it enough to change them on an hourly schedule. I wield a leaf blower after using it to get rid of dust, leaves, and other junk. Deere also told me there was a shortage starting of filters, so I bought a spare oil filter and two spare fuels. Also bought two cases of grease (Lucas Mining and Construction Grease from NAPA), and 3.5 gallons of oil to have on the shelf.
I totally agree on the greasing. I'm pretty cynical about the need for two fuel filters per year. If you add only clean fuel and keep it neat a fuel filter should last many hundreds of hours, even thousands. I have drained my water separator and never had even one drop of water. Previous owner of my 580K I believe did poor maintenance and probably never changed the fuel filter. It finally clogged up on me at 5000+ hours. I changed it, then changed it again after a few hundred hours, cut open the previous one and it looked brand new. I just took apart the fuel filters on my Deere 450 and, with a few hundred hours on them, they look like new. Also, I question the need for yearly oil changes on a well broken in engine if it is not used much during the year.
Well, I’m filtering and water separating the fuel at the storage tank / pump, use a biocide, and keep the tractor tank clean, so maybe I can go two years.
If you aren't working the machine as a construction company would I would not change filters or engine oil that often. Once a year is probably enough. A business depending on this machine is out hundreds of dollars per hour if there is a breakdown. Also a professional is going to run up many more hours than a homeowner would.
Here’s another thought. Two fuel filters, are $60. Messed up injectors would probably be thousands. And I hear injectors do not deal well with any sort of dirt or crud. Being safe for $60 might be worth the expense.
... Yeah fix the brakes if they need it. I have a colleague that has a funny story about his hoe going off a 15 foot embankment because his brakes weren't working well. That was a mess I'm glad no one got hurt. When I got my first real machine I was lucky enough to find a mechanic who is really friendly and shows me not only how my machine works but also the ins and outs of the excavation business. So yeah, go out of your way to make friends with your mechanic and the other operators in the area
I had a track loader for 18 years and I liked it very much but it was going on forty years old. I thought a backhoe would be more useful so I sold the loader and bought a newer backhoe. I like it as well but I would say it's far more dangerous than the loader. Be very careful and get the brakes fixed.
If this is the 580ck, then you don't have to be as worried about the filters as somebody with a more modern injection system. Don't let any of the filters go five or ten years, but changing them too often doesn't do any good either. Plenty of evidence that new oil and filters introduces more dirt and wear than running the old ones in most cases. the thing to look out for is fuel going bad, especially biodiesel, or any water contamination. If your tank has any rust, water, slime build up, and you don't run a full shift very often, then I'd consider using a small plastic tank for fuel, and fill the metal fuel tank with used engine oil, or used hydraulic oil, just to keep it from getting worse, and help to keep the fuel fresh. The last thing you want is a bigger quantity of fuel sitting around getting stale, which it will if you don't use it a lot. Stainless steel is a bad idea, it will cause rust in any steel it touches from galvanic corrosion. SS on SS like a bolt on a nut will gall worse than almost any other metal, always use antiseize with SS.
Your comment reminds me of a 94 Ford Explorer I had with a 5 speed back about 2003/2004. A little off topic but reinforces the need for good brakes. The E Brake was getting a bit weak but I was putting off fixing it since the weather was starting to get cold and my garages are not heated. On the day I telling about I came home, and parked at the bottom of my driveway to get my mail. My girlfriend got out to walk up to the house with the dogs that needed to relieve themselves. I put it in neutral, left it idling, set the E brake, hopped out, left the drivers door open, and went around the rear of the vehicle to mail box about 20 feet beyond the vehicle. About the time I reached my hand out to the mailbox in the corner of my eye I saw the Explorer rolling backwards, cresting the crown of the road, and accelerating towards the ten foot bank on the far side! I took off like shot after it, arcing across the road to be on the drivers side of the chase!! It went down that bank, through some uncut brush and second growth trees headed for the open cut hay field and towards the forest tree line about 100 yards away on the other side of the field. Amazingly it had narrowly missed all the trees that might have diverted it or tore the open drivers door off! I went down the bank in a single bound and landed mid stride running full speed after the Explorer now in the open field. My adrenaline must have really kicked in because I dashed fast enough to get along side of the open drivers door mid field. I grabbed the top of the door, with my left hand, and simultaneously leaped and pulled around it as I tucked myself into a sitting position midair to slide in under the steering wheel and into the drivers seat! From there I just braked to a stop about 20 yards from the forest edge, put it in four wheel drive (field had about an inch of snow over still unfrozen wet ground) and drove it up and out the trail the farmer used to access the field. As I pulled back into the driveway my girlfriend was still open mouthed and wide eyed having seen the whole adventure from the upper end loosing sight of me only for the instance after I went over the bank. She said she never saw anyone fun as fast as I had. I know what I did, but not how I did it!! I can't imagine doing such now, nearly 20 years later! I realize how lucky I was to not end up being ran over by my own vehicle!!
When I bought my hoe, I thought I’d be using it maybe twice a year. Once it arrived, I use it nearly every day. Take the trash down to the street. Scrape mud out of the paddock. Bury dead bodies. Move gravel. Turn over the composting manure pile. Lift telephone pole fence posts. Pull T posts. Lift the snowplow into the pickup to take to the machine shop. Unload palletized loads from delivery trucks. Dig up the vegetable garden. Haul weeds from the same garden. Plow snow. Move snow. Haul dead trees. Dig out stumps and rocks. Move the bowed out barn wall back onto the concrete block foundation. I don’t know how I got along without it.
This is the exact statement that my father made several years ago!! I prodded him for years to buy a TLB, but he said what am I gonna do with that?? He found a deal, bought it, and loved it!
I didn't want to mess around with Jerry cans when my hoe holds 33 gallons. I also worried about diesel going bad if I put a large tank in for storage. So I added a 115 VAC fuel pump, filter, water separator, gallon meter, and nozzle to my home heating tank, and I use that to fuel the hoe. I do add biocide and antigel to the hoe's tank. My home heating oil company confirmed that there was a limited about of biodiesel in their product, and that it was low sulfur. Being inside, my home tank is warm, and not prone to condensation, and I use up all the fuel a lot quicker than if I had a special tank for filling the hoe. The diesel will always be fresh. Plus, pulling a nozzle out to the hoe and filling is a dream compared to lifting dripping, heavy jerry cans. Plus, it gives me piece of mind knowing I have 275 gallons of fuel available in case of a snowzilla apocalypse. And my heating oil company delivers, instead of me having to hassle with the gas station.
Although it lacks a three point hitch, I'm so glad I went with the hoe instead of a Kubota or backyard tractor like everyone else in my neighborhood.
On top of everything you don't pay road tax on the fuel.
Ha ha yeah the industrial grade construction equipment is the real deal, no messin' around. My first machine was a little toy Kubota that broke in half. If I ever want to get another little machine that can run farm attachments it'll be a skid loader.