We just got the extendahoe seals replaced, buttoned it all up up, backed up and the left wheel locked up suddenly. I pulled forward and it sorta worked for 20 feet, then did it again. I backed up again and went back and forth a couple times and now it won't do anything, just tries to drive in circles. I put the pads down to get the wheels off the ground and try to spin them by hand with it in neutral. It spins about 6 inches by hand then locks up. If the gear shift is in gear, it sorta moves the gear shift a little. One of the guys wonders if this could have something to do with a differential lock sticking? Wouldn't that affect both wheels though? I initially thought it was just draggy brakes, but maybe it's something else? Not sure where to look first, anyone else had this happen?
It sounds like something wasn't assembled correctly. Do you have a service manual or parts breakdown? Did this work properly before the repairs were made?
The Extendahoe seals were all you worked on?
I would bet it's the brakes.... The 580's brakes are very problematic when they start to wear out... and a lot of times before
had the same problem with my bh when I bought it last year. here's what I would do with the wheels off the ground pull down on arm that the brake shoe rod is connected to see if it is frozen on pivot pin what happing's when you use emerg brake it is strong enough to move arm up however if pin is frozen return spring is not strong enough to return arm to brake off position hope this helps
Pull the brake housing on the side that is affected and see what happens.
Okay, will do once the mud level under the hoe reduces to the non-swimming amount. Talked to the Case dealer today and he thought it could be brakes grabbing, or maybe the differential lock somehow malfunctioning. I notice the pedal that I think is the diff lock is sort of stuck, like you can't depress it and inch or two like normal, so maybe it's somehow connected to that?
The diff lock is on the right side and collar is notorious for locking on stub shaft if it's not used very much, which it usually isn't. I wouldn't think it would cause the left side to lock up.
Yeah, I would've thought there'd be some other symptom, but it really doesn't act like the brake is holding it from turning, heck, you can spin the wheel by hand, but only for about 6 inches.
I really doubt it's the diff lock.... maybe a .0001 percent chance of being that Once you pull the brake housing you'll know... and if it isn't the brakes that ain't good... because after that it's a gear issue
How painful would it be to get the rearend apart, anyone done that and survived? I guess there's not many parts in there but I'm also guessing they're pricey...
Not too hard.... just a lot of work. One good thing about 580's... there are plenty of em' out there Have you checked the fluid in the rear? a lot of them get water in and makes a mess! and will cause problems sooner or later. Oh... and there's more parts in there than you'd think
Is it realistic to try to rebuild one, or is it like my Dodge duallie where they told me to just find another one because they're really tricky to set up right?
If you like a lot of extra work and money for parts... but if it's just an occasional use small jobs farm machine I'd just find a donor.... still gonna be $$$$$$$ It's going to be the brakes anyways
Raise the machine with stabilizers and front bucket enough to get a 5gal bucket under drain plug under transaxle and see what comes out with oil. If there are any chunks come out then you know your problem is in there. You can also remove the rear cover and see if you see anything.
That is the sides of the brake expanding. The wheel brake cylinder applies the center band, but the little ramps and balls in the brake assembly apply the sides of the brake, which really do the major stopping. I had the same problem on my 480c, except I can usually back up to make it release. Like someone else mentioned, my shafts and linkages at the top of the transaxle were rusty and frozen, causing most of my problem. The rest of my problem is oil contaminated brake lining.
Setting up a rear end on a pickup truck or rear wheel drive car is not "tricky". You need to set bearing preload and backlash. You need a dial or beam type torque wrench to set preload using turning toque. Backlash is measured with a dial indicator. I have been in the auto service industry for 30+ years. Most guys are too stupid or lazy to actually slow down and pay attention to what they are doing. I have a Cat backhoe and never touch a 580 rear end but I would imagine it is similar. Just take your time. Not rocket science.
A lot of times one or more of the springs will break on the disc causing the lockups, it will go from working to not in a split second.
I have worked on a few 580 axles and they are a bit different than a ford 9 inch
Here's some of the brake blowups.
Just for newbies like me who do not know how the brakes work, in the picture below #16 tightens around #12 to start the braking action, but #13, #14, and #15 are part of #12. As the band stops the OD of the 12, 13, 14 15 assembly, the back hoe tries to keep going, still turning the splined shaft in the center of #13. This rolls the balls #14 up ramps inside the assembly, this expands the 12, 13, 14, 15 assembly, pulling against the springs #15. This is what the flat brake lining #22 is for, that is mounted on the sides of the assembly, and as the assembly expands it rubs against the transaxle housing and the thick brake housing #1.
Thanks all, that's very helpful I took two videos, one trying to move the diff lock lever, which didn't look like it moved anything close to what it should (I think)? And the other showing how I can move the right wheel by hand fine, but the left one just locks up after about 6 inches. Also, I zoomed in on the brake assembly, which doesn't really seem to be restricting its movement? It "sounds" like something inside is locking up the left wheel, like a gear sound. The driveshaft spins fine in both forward and reverse, just neither wheel drives. I looked around in the book, but didn't see anything obvious.
Had a wheel like that lock up once a few teeth had come off the crown gear and one got jammed, 30 years ago so don't remember the details.
You need to check three things, make sure that the transmission is actually in neutral, and check your side gear shafts inside your brake housings also and you may have bad spider gears in differential.
How hard is it to get the brake housings off and look at the side gear shaft, just a few bolts, or heart surgery? If it's not that, how hard is it to get to the spider gears? That sounds really hard, especially because this backhoe isn't mine anyway, it's my dad's. I love him, but uh...
not to big of a deal 4 bolts one clevis one hose however it is heavy may need to lower it down on a floor jack
Okay, will take a look. Would that make the differential lock thing not move hardly at all though? I'm not sure how the two might be related. I'll head over and see if we can get that brake cover off.
The brake housing is held on by two bolts and two nuts and your brake line and return spring will have to be removed. Another thing to check is the brakes themselves they may have come apart. Be sure and just pull the brake housing and not the backing plate too.
Last time this happened to my buddy we took the brake housing off and I cant remember exactly what it was, but something in the ball and ramp system was cocked. It took about 10 min of staring at it to figure out how it worked while listening to buddy try and tell me what was wrong with it. I believe in that last picture #15 is a spring (might be 3 of them) and one was out further than the other and thats what tipped me off
Yesterday we tried fiddling with the diff lock, since we thought that lever really should move more than almost nothing like it is now. While messing with it with the motor running, the right wheel started locking up, then we messed with it some more and the right wheel unlocked and started moving like normal. The left wheel wouldn't unlock though still. Wouldn't it seem to have something to do with the diff lock then? Maybe if we messed with it more the left wheel would free up? It seems like that lever should move at least an inch or two? I don't quite understand how that brake gear assembly fits in, does it tie to the big gear on the axle, or how does that thing integrate with the rest of the system.
It was not abnormal for the Diff lock mechanism to rust fast, the rod should rotate easily where it enters the diff lock cover, there is also a spring mechanism in the lever on the shaft that should have motion then try to turn the rod against spring pressure, if I were looking for your problem I would remove the brake before anything else, if the diff lock was engaged the wheels would both turn the same way
Did you ever get that thing unlocked? I am having the exact same problem on my tractor.
No, but I'm very convinced it's in that weird brake linkage assembly thing that's unique to 580's I think. I haven't gotten back to working on that rig yet, working on another 580C without a shred of brakes first :/
I got mine moving again today. The initial symptom was that when I went to move the tractor, only the right rear wheel spun. I raised back of the tractor off of the ground in neutral and the right rear wheel spun freely, but the left rear wheel only rotated back and forth a few inches in a way that felt like a locked steering wheel. I removed the brake cover on the left side, and instantly, the wheel spun freely. I found that the boot cover for the link rod had deteriorated, allowing mud and foreign materials to build up under the cover. Consequently, there was a significant amount of rust throughout the assembly. I was pleased at how easy the covor was to remove.
Welcome to HEF, Justin ! It is amazing that a simple thing like a rubber boot can cause so much damage. It is bad when a boot is missing from a gear shift lever to. More so if there is no enclosed cab on the tractor.