Hi all - first time poster so I'll give an introduction. Skip to the bold text below for the actual question. I'm not a pro when it comes to heavy equipment. These days, I'm a desk-jockey for a defense contractor but I used to run my own machine shop. I still manage the R&D shop at my current employer and I have my own personal shop for cash jobs and hobbies. I learned some basics of heavy equipment when I worked for my BIL as a young man. He has a pair of excavators, a JD 270 and a JD 330, which - at about 73,000 lbs. - should qualify as heavy equipment. He's also got his own highway tractors, lowboys, dirt scoops, tractors, etc. Unfortunately, he's now about 2000 miles away so I can't pick his brain as much as I used to. So I'm not a pro but I'm not a complete ignoramus, either! I've been browsing this forum for the last two years or so as I researched TLBs for my own property. I wanted something light enough I could tow myself, heavy enough I could move most if not all of my machine tools (heaviest is 7200 lbs. but most around 4-5k lbs.) and capable of some basic digging / trenching tasks around my property. I finally found a 1980 Case 580C backhoe in pretty decent shape and at a price that made it affordable for an amateur. Still not sure if I'll be able to lift my machine tools; supposedly the lift capacity at max height for the loader is a little less than 5k lbs. and the breakout force is about 7200 lbs. Over the past few weeks, I've been using the machine to move some bulk material about my property and creating a list of all the things I need to fix! It's too cold for me to get out there and really tear into anything now, so I figured I'd ask some questions and see what I can learn from the cozy comfort of my house. Brakes: The brakes only work some of the time. When they work, the pedals feel firm but they depress and the machine stops. Occasionally, the pedals feel rock hard and I can't get them to move even with all my weight on them. In those cases, the machine does not stop at all. Sometimes I can get the brakes to work by popping it into reverse and then popping it back into forward, all the while keeping my foot on the pedal. In that case, I can feel the pedal sink under my weight and then I know I have control over the brakes. It doesn't suddenly move like I was hung up on a mechanical thing. It feels almost like an automotive brake pedal when the engine is off and there is no more reserve vacuum left. The pedal is good and hard with no motion, then you start the car and it slowly sinks a little as the engine vacuum boosts your foot pressure. All that said, even when the brakes are working, they don't work great. On an incline, they don't quite hold the machine but they work fine on level ground. On an incline, I just leave it in gear and the engine braking works fine to keep things under control. So - these are on my increasingly long list of things to fix. But any ideas about what could be causing this? I've read a number of threads on the 580C brakes but nothing quite like what I'm experiencing. Probably, the best course of action is to just start disassembling and see how worn, rusty, and/or oily things are but figured I'd ask for opinions here. Hydraulic Cylinders: My steering cylinders, in particular, are leaking badly (along with one stabilizer cylinder and one loader cylinder). When I look for cylinder rebuild kits, I see kits for "single groove" and "double groove" versions. How do I know which one my machine has without actually disassembling the cylinder? Is this an early model vs. late model distinction and, if so, which did the late model machines have? Well this was a longer post than intended. Cheers if you made it to the bottom without getting bored...
Your brake issues could be caused by many things, stuck drum/disc assy , stuck linkage for the band that squeezes that assy, or maybe crap in the master cylinders..Time to start taking stuff apart...The early C's used a two piston assy for the cylinders, it's gonna depend on the serial number...If you don't have the service and parts manuals, I highly suggest you either download or purchase "The Books" online, they're cheap enough and worth their weight in gold if you're gonna keep the machine..especially the parts manual for ordering the right parts either from the dealer or online...
I have service manual and parts manual pm me if you need them
Welcome to HEF, Fasttrack !,
I have a 480c which is your machine's little brother. The hydraulic parts of the brake system are susceptible to the same problems as automotive brakes; rust and corrosion and water contamination in the fluid. You can get brand new what I would call "wheel cylinders" (case probably calls them something else) fairly cheap on ebay. You may be able to get rebuild kits for the master cylinders if you have problems up there. Another problem I found was the mechanical linkage around the brake system and the parking brake system really gets stuck and corroded. It took me a long time to get all that freed up, and then a lot of my sticking brake problems went away. The first thing you need to do if you have a floor in your tractor is to get that up and out of the way. It's a real pain, but it's best to leave that out, I find it makes working on the brakes much easier. I haven't put mine back in yet and have been using it like that. On the actual brake assemblies, they are actually not on the axles themselves, they are part of some stub shafts that come out of the gear box. The hydraulic part of the brakes actuates a band, and then that stops a rotating drum that has brake material on the sides. As the band stops this drum, there are balls with ramps that make it swell up and apply the sides of the drum to the brake housing surfaces. You can take these drum/ball assemblies apart and clean them up to make them work again.
Thanks for the welcome! I did download a parts and service manual, which I'm sure is going to be a HUGE help. Regarding the floor pan, my machine has the full cab with all the glass intact. I hear a lot of people say it's a pain to remove the floor; I'd hate to bust up the glass in the process of trying to remove it. I haven't found much in the service manual or on YouTube regarding removing the floor... Any thoughts?
This link describes how to figure out which pistons you have. Below the pic of the pistons it describes were and which part numbers to look for to determine which pistons you have. I used this guide while ordering mine and so far they have all been correct. Case Cylinder Pistons - 1-Pc vs. 2-Pc | HW Part Store
I have the full cab also. And I had the optional heater. So first thing was to drain the coolant a little bit and take the heater hoses off and make a bypass for that, and then take the heater assembly out. Then take the seat out. Then take loose the throttle pedal and other obvious pieces in the way. I remember having to fight the throttle pedal a little bit. And had to pull the plate back and then up. Then tilt it on it's side, and it came out through the door in one piece. I used a small cable lift I have with a long piece of metal c-clamped on it with a chain to help me lift it out. A engine crane would also probably work. No major cab removal is needed. When I put mine back in place, I am going to think about it a little bit and cut it up in pieces and weld tabs on the pieces so I can make it more manageable to install and remove.
I didn't have to remove the heater unit, it looked too fragile, didn't want to damage it..Don't forget the diff lock linkage button that comes through the floor panel, I disconnected the linkage underneath and left button in the floor...Your glass should be safe...worst part was getting all the crusty bolts out..Don't forget to check all the other 40 year old parts and hoses while you're in there, especially stabilizer control valve for leaks, lot easier access with floor out.. Before I put floor back in I installed access panels with hinges over brake assy's for easier access...Just roll back mat,open hatch for repairs,grease, adjustment...
Reading this thread brought back a lot of old memories about the 580C and brakes,early in my sewer and water career we had one that we used for service work,a lot of time it was used for backfilling behind our Insley 1500 since the loader was usually down,the cuts were usually 15 feet deep or more,that poor 580 was beat to death,owner of the company did zero maintenance,it had no brakes had to throw it into reverse to stop that 580 ran like that for years summer and winter have a ton of respect for that 580 C!
I got a 580c open station though the floor was pain to take in and out I've done it a few times now with fixing different odds and ends including the breaks. This last time around i took the plasma cutter and cut the floor in half made life much easier. The way i cut it the seat when its bolted holds down both sides and all the bolt holes still line up.
Thanks guys. I really like the idea of cutting up the floor and adding some access panels. We've got a few inches of snow coming down right now and I'm not eager to freeze my nuggets off working on the machine just now, but I'm filing all this advice away so I can start on it in the spring / summer. And JDT4430 - Thanks a bunch for that link. Very helpful. I'll start ordering parts and putting them on the shelf for better weather.
Gotta protect them nuggets, see ya in the spring...
No problem glad I could help.