I am looking to buy a case 580 L series backhoe. Am looking for extendahoe, 4 wd, enclosed cab. Are there any particular problems to watch for or years to stay away from? If so, Why? Any advice is appreciated. Thank-you, Paul
Case has always made a good loader backhoe. The 580l was a solid machine, and theres still lots of them out working. The most common problem in them was the transmission shuttle snap ring breaking (in the transmission control valve) An easy fix, just annoying (theres also and updated snap ring if it breaks). Good transmission other than that. The engine is basically a 3.9 cummins, with some case exclusive parts. The differences between the 580l and 580l ser 2 is relatively minor (i think the ser2 had a viscus engine fan, and some minor cab changes and the engine became emissions certified) If you want to keep the machine for a while, you may want to take oil samples and sent them out for analysis. This will give you a good idea of what condition everything is in.
Check the upper and lower kingpin / ball joints on the front axle. The grease fitting for the lower is on the bottom of the knuckle. The grease zerk gets sheared off and packed with dirt if you dont catch it early, the impending doom is costly. The ball joint wears thru the bushing in the axle housing and eggs out the axle housing. Being that the axle is cast iron a repair is just not going to cut it. I remember a used front 4wd axle was around 4-4500 bucks and it was a real nasty job. You gotta drop the front counter weight. Enough rambling lol. The 580/590 L series are stout machines. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Make sure it does not have Priority Swing they put this on early superL's.
What is priority swing and how do I know if it has it or not? Will I be able to find slop in the front axle hosing and the ball joints by raising the front wheels of the ground with the loader and checking for movement?
at current time, we got one in the yard. At current time, we got one in the yard, you can review it thru this link: http://aiborusedconstructionmachinery.blogspot.com/2012/10/original-case-580-turbo-l-ii-backhoe.html
Blazin - i just bought 580k and trucker who floated it to final location indicated they seals on the ball joints looked rough - when i looked closely i could see a spring sticking out - not sure if this is normal or not. I've attached a picture - just wondering how you can tell if they need repairs....any advice apprecaited
L series was the best as far as qaulity. 1995 year had a problem with charge pump in the trans and muffler mount bolts would snap often. Series 2 had a few more horse, different frame shape, dif lock changed to a button, few other changes to. Ill swear by a Super L any day, know guys with 15,000+hrs still running daily all originial.
Why do you say this? Priority swing works fine. Some fine modern excavators use the system also. I would say it would not be the best for someone wanting to try to dig at low rpms.