A friend is helping me clear some land. He brings over a 580C from maybe 1975-1980 and clears about 3 acres, pushing over mostly small oak trees and juniper here in Central Texas. It was going strong. Then he loses reverse. He wants to get a new transmission (before learning how much they cost) so I suggest Lucas Transmission Fix because why not? So we put in 24oz (after removing an equal portion of old dirty oil) while it is warm and he gains reverse and loses forward. It will do forward a little bit while pointed downhill, but no power. At this point he's not convinced it is the transmission and thinks it may be a control module or gear box. I think he should change out all of the transmission oil and filter. Does anyone have any clue what is going on here? Anyone have any videos on rebuilding the transmission? Cheers.
Welcome to HEF @SR220noob The shuttle oil level needs to be checked with the engine idling. I doubt the can of Lucas has really done any good. Did the old oil you drained smell burnt? I think a service manual will serve you better than a you tube video.
We will check the level. I did not check the smell but we'll check it and report back. It just looked dirty but not overly black. It had the same exact problem as this other thread from 3 days ago: HeavyEquipmentForums before we put the Lucas in. We actually took out more than 24 oz, didn't measure it exactly, then put the Lucas in, then put some dirty oil back in to compensate for the difference, then later removed a little oil (because it seemed overfilled) which gave a little forward motion. So yeah, checking the level again seems called for, thanks for that. I found a very detailed video on rebuilding:
....Wait I think that is a different transmission... at least Grok AI and ChatGPT are both telling me that they are different.
580 C has a mechanical trans and no electric modules. And it should have a borg warner reverser, which is a self contained unit. I would check the fluid level and if its ok check the pressure relief valve,sometimes they stick. but the lucas should have taken care of that. Check the linkage to the reverser and make sure it is adjusted right and don't have a lot of slop in it. If it does need rebuilding and the clutches are wasted make sure you flush the cooler, cooler lines and the torque convertor or you will have the same problem very soon.
These things had so many different styles of transmissions, it's hard to figure what you have. I have the style that has a torque convertor and the fwd/rev shifter on the left side of the steering wheel. If you have the same style as mine,, you need to pull the little cast oil pan off the shuttle shift, and clean it all out and clean the oil pickup screen. You would be surprised how clogged up this can be. Then put new oil in it, mine fills through the dipstick tube like a automatic on a car. Like was said you need the engine idling to correctly fill the trans, the oil level is important for proper function of the shuttle.
Thanks for your replies, I will take pictures tomorrow of the transmission.
No pictures need if you tell us if you have a clutch pedal or a forward reverse lever on the steering column.
Mine is a 580K with forward/reverse lever on left of steering wheel,right side dash has shuttle shift 1st,second,3rd.Ball bearings came out?Cant find info on reassembly or adjusments? Help!
You need to start your own thread about your problem. Derailing this one causes confusion. Especially when they are two different machines.
He's got the automatic shuttle shift. He did as you suggested, and it was very dirty. He cleaned the pan, cleaned the screen, put a new O ring, and new fluid, according to the instructions in the 1976 service manual. (the backhoe is also from 1976). Anyway it is still the same now. It has reverse and no forward.
The oil did not smell especially burnt or unburnt. Couldn't tell. We got the service manual from 1976, that has proved helpful. Thank you.
This was found to be the faulty part inside of the transmission. We don't know what name may be attributed to this thing.
That animal is a belleville washer. In the manual referred to as clutch spring. Lives in the foreward clutch assy. If we're looking at a picture you already know where it lives. How do the clutches look?
I am not sure, was not able to get pictures of those. My friend rebuilt the transmission (his first time, with the kit from brokentractor) and it took him a month on his time off. He had difficulty removing rings and kept having to go to the shop for help. All rebuilt, it seemed to work fine for a while, about a month. Now reverse works but Forward is weak, again. I wonder if could be same problem again or if it could be the torque convertor (which he opted not to replace) or something else this time.
It seems like we have a similar or maybe the very same problem. I think these things were not flushed, although the torque convertor was cleaned out.
Not trying to be a dick, but if it took him a month to rebuild and he was back and forth to a shop for help, probably gonna be something wrong in forward clutch assy. Lots of parts in there with specific tolerances, there's 5 different thickness snap rings available for that assy included in the kits. Don't know your friends mechanical aptitude, but may need a do-over.
That's why I'm here, for your unvarnished opinion. Thank you.
a shim i guess.