Just bought a 1998 580l with 2850 hours. Whenever I buy a machine I like to change all the fluids and filters. When I drained the transmission pan, the fluid initially was very thick (was cold), but more importantly there was about a thimble full of sludgy metal attached to the drain magnet. When I removed the suction screen there were little black metallic flakes attached to it. Not many. Inside that screen, the magnet had abt half a thimble full, or a little less of magnetic black sludge. I ran a magnet through the drained fluid. All in all I'd say I had just less than a half an ounce of gritty black junk (no silver looking stuff). I'm guessing it had the original Case filter as it said Case. Was very rusty and I needed a 3 ft breaker bar to turn it loose. The machine had no problem before I switched the fluid and none now. When I put it in first or second it does so with a nice jolt. Feels great. I will say when it's in 3rd or 4th, if there is any rise at all in the road it slows right down. Is this normal? Is the amount of debris just normal wear and tear for a machine that hasn't been serviced since new? I know I'm probably over thinking this, but I'm loving this machine and want to keep it going for years. Thanks in advance.
I'm assuming this is a shuttle shift transmission, and a series 1. It doesn't sound too serious. I would recommend changing the fluid and filter again in 50hrs. This is because with new fluid in it will loosen off any debris that was stuck to the side walls, and plug up your filter quickly. Your machine will slow down under load in 3rd and 4th due to the gearing. Hard to say over the internet what is normal, due to so many factors. If you want to know your transmissions health, its best to do some torque stalls, and watch your engine rpm. A weak torque converter will have higher than expected rpm under a stall. The spec for the 580l is rather broad, so its a bit harder to yield good test results. low idle 900-975rpm high idle no load 2325 - 2425rpm Torque stall 1850-2300rpm Hydraulic stall (loader only) 2000-2300rpm Combined loader + torque stall 1040-1500rpm A common issue on these transmissions was for the snap ring to break in the control valve, this would cause low clutch pressures and weak drive.
Gary, Thanks. When I can tomorrow, I will try to check the torque stalls. Meanwhile tonight I'm trying to find out where the parking brake switch is or where to find a good service manual. I'm hearing from a few people that as far as the transmission goes, I'm only looking for trouble that's not there.
The results are in: Idle 950 Full throttle 2400 Third/brakes 2100 Hyd/brakes 1400 But here's the new wrinkle. Checked the machine pushing dirt today. When I push the differential lock and meet high resistance it makes a methodical clunk in the rear end. I'm guessing somethings broken or maybe the pedal can be adjusted? Thank you for the stall information. I think the machine seems in specs.
You will hear/feel a clunk as it engages but once engaged there should not be anymore clunking. Hope you know not to engage it while spinning the wheels. Only ease into the throttle after the differential pedal is down.
I've had diff lock on a bunch of tractors. This one starts a heavy thunk (only reason I have a glimmer of hope) on tire rotation. That's whether I come in from neutral or not, but alays with the wheels stopped. In every way I start slow. Had someone jump in the cab and push the pedal when machine was off. I can manually get the lever going in the rear end to rotate about another ten degrees(quarter inch) I don't have a lot of hope that that will get it, and even if it does I'm not sure I can trust it under load. I have all the adjustment left, so I will use it. So the good news today is the tranny seems good. Bad news is there might be something bad w the rear. I guess I can avoid the diff lock, but I can't avoid the tranny. Silver lining! Thanks guys. Any additional input would be great.