We have a Case 580K with 7233 hrs that I'm afraid is at the end of it's life . The Hyd tank is cracked where the front axle welds between it and the fuel tank. For the life of me I don't see how to or even how to get to the crack to fix it,,,,,,,,,,,so.................... How common is this on machines with this many hours ? I assume it's not going to be repairable. If not what should I ask for the machine for parts ? Are there construction equipment salvage yards like the ag ones in MO ? Thanks all, Chris
I have never saw a hyd tank crank on a K series but the fuel tanks are known to crack at the rear engine mount. The fix is to install a M series fuel tank where the cab step is now. I have done many of these repairs.
I can't imagine an oil tank crack that would cause me to junk an otherwise good machine. Could you post a pic of where the crack is, just to satisfy my curiosity? If you can't get to the crack itself, maybe you could weld a patch over the whole area.If this is a good machine, I would turn it over if I had to, to repair it. I would certainly have a good independent welder (or several) look at it. As far as the machine's present value; burnt to a crisp and crushed, with no usable parts, you could get $2500 for it in this area. It's value as a parts machine depends on it's condition and it's options (4x4, 4-in1 bucket, extendahoe, etc.). There are 100's of construction equipment salvage yards in this country, one I have dealt w/ in Tn that comes to mind is Head Equipment, and Component Services is a Case specialist. You may want to list it in equipment for sale on here, too. Make sure you list the details about the machine. Good Luck
Have seen a few crack there - usually 4wd models. Everything is repairable - Depends on time & money - Have had to pull radiators / engines / transmissions to carry out some repairs. You just want to make sure it is right before you put it back together again.......
You have to remove the entire front end to get to see it with a flashlight. It's cracked all around the bottom of the pivot plate for the axle, where it's welded to the tank. across the bottom and up each side about 2-3" We determined even if we took the front weight off we couldn't get to it wit ha stick/wire,ect. so no chance to patch it I don't guess. My father is a very good welder and has all but given up on trying to repair it. Other than the hours it has a cab,2wd,extend-a-hoe, 1-2-and 3' buckets with a standard front bucket.
I would build another tank of the right size and find a place to mount it. That is if the machine is a good working machine. Or as Mo suggested get a tank from another model or brand. Besides it would give your FIL a winter project.
Hey if your too frustrated with it I'll trade you for my 580B, sounds like a good trade maybe a little cash my way to sweeten the pot!
I found both places websites. I'll be calling them in the coming days, Thank you. Is there maybe one more well known one I can get an avg. from to see what it's worth ? I have a guy on my forum that want's a price but I'm at a loss. I need to make time to check MachineryTrader and see what they go for in good condition.
Component services made me a decent starting offer on it today, at least I know where I stand as far as $$ goes. Need to find time to work on this more though.
Could you cut the bottom of the tank out and weld the crack from the inside? Then weld the access hole back together.
Now thats the kind of thinking that gets equipment going for another life cycle. I would try that before I scrapped a faithful ole machine.
How much of a chance would I be taking on catching the whole machine on fire though ?
There is always a "chance" of burning down the house but with some basic precautions it can be avoided. I am not an experienced welder on heavy equipment but I have done welding repairs on many tanks oil, fuel and water. With any welding you will get the inside of the tank hot enough to burn any remaining fluid that is in the tank, and at best carbonizing it and leaving a bunch of crap in the tank when done. the inside of the tank will not have enough oxygen to sustain any amount of combustion unless it is vented and open. You will need to empty the tank totally and wash it out with degreaser, hot water helps. I am taking out my backside on how this can be done on this particular tank on this machine but you can NOT weld the tank with any success with any fluid of any kind covering the part that needs to be welded. You also have to be cognizant of where the fuel tank and lines are running and how close you are getting to them with that repair.
the AWS (american welding society) claims that you can weld a steel tank after it has been filled with water for 24 hours. you still have to prep the crack for your welding method. you surely have a drain at the lowest point of the fuel line. shut the line off, fill up with water, wait a day, then drain. may have to refill with water a couple times if the leak is bad. I would also try to put something in there to clean up the inside of the crack.
Yes you will have to "prep" the crack with a V grind to get a full pen weld. sometimes if there is room, a patch that just puts a fillet weld around the patch metal will avoid any weld contamination from the crack/tank materials that will make the weld have porosity.
Epoxy rapair of pinhole in weld? I have two pin holes in the hydraulic tank of my Case 580. One is in the very bottom on the left side. The other is higher up. Since there is no pressure to speak of epoxy would hold but surface prep to get rid of the oil would be hard. There used to be a crayon that a person could rub into an oil leak crack and seal it. Anyone know anything about that?
I need morre information on the m-series tank. thanks.
I cleaned the holes with a pressure washer and welded them. I still had a seep that made a few drips a day. I took a can of spray on rubber and covered the welds where the oil was, after cleaning it again of course. A couple layers of the rubber sealed the leak. I used the kind they advertise for coating tool handles. Now when the weather warms up I will tackle the leaking O-rings.
I've repaired any number of cracked diesel fuel tanks (don't try this with tanks for petrol/gasoline FFS...!!) where the cracks were both small in size and well accessible without even draining the tank. The thing to do is fill the tank right to the neck with fuel, thus eliminating the air needed for combustion. Usually most cracks are on a seam where a pinhole caused by a minute defect in the weld has broken through. It's only the work of a few seconds to create a puddle of molten metal to plug such a hole. Doesn't work for bigger cracks though - I drain the tank and fill it with nitrogen. A hydraulic tank I wouldn't even think of draining it provided the crack was reasonably accessible and would just go ahead and weld it with oil in it. Having said that it's always a bit of a sphincter-tightener when you first strike the arc on it. Gives the Safety guys nightmares ..........
I have brazed a gas tank on a car. I drained it and blew it out with compressed air. I then hooked it up to an exhaust pipe for about 15 minutes. I brazed it then with the exhaust still filling the tank. It worked fine.
I just bought a Super K with a leaky fuel tank. It is cracked right beside the left rear engine mount just like you guys said. Where can you find the L or M tanks to put on to replace the frame tanks?? Anyone know where I can get a used one?? Thanks
Can you weld a full hydraulic tank with slight oil seeping through a previous owner's repair weld on the bottom of the frame/tank? 6011 stick or flux core mig? Any hints besides the "tightener"? I'd like to end the constant drip.
Yep, just like Nige says in post #19,above
The caveat to this is that apparently someone's been there before and tried to weld it but wasn't 100% successful. In this case it may be that some grinding is required to expose the original crack or pinhole in order to get a straight shot at it with a welding electrode. Welding over the top of a previous repair is not recommended. Although hydraulic oil isn't too flammable per se a certain amount of care will be required.
right, it's a crack on the bottom of the hydraulic tank that is built into the frame of the machine and though the previous attempt slowed it down, there is still some seepage so I get a slow drip. I'll do a little grinding and give it a shot but I'd take any suggestions for welding through oil besides keeping an extinguisher handy. Thanks.