As the title states how do I check and drain the rear end and also what type of rear end oil does my 1980 980C wheel loader take?
You might have got a bit more visibility posting in the Wheel Loader section but hey ho...... When you say "rear end" I assume you mean the rear axle differential & final drives..? Are you planning to do the front axle also..? First thing is the machine needs to be on level ground. You'll find a drain plug on each final drive (photo 1) and one on the bottom of the differential housing. 1. Move the machine so that the drain plug on one final drive is at the 6 o'clock position, remove the plug and allow the oil to drain. Move the machine again (or jack up the other wheel and rotate it) so that the drain plug on the other final drive is also at 6 o'clock and repeat the process. Refit the plugs but leave them loose, they will need to come out again. 2. Go underneath the machine and remove the drain plug on the bottom of the differential housing (photo 2), allow the oil to drain. Refit and tighten the drain plug. 3. Remove the fill plug (photo 3). Fill the differential with oil up to the bottom of the fill plug hole. 4. Move the machine so that the final drive drain plugs are at the 9 o'clock position. Fill each final drive until the oil level reaches the bottom of the plug hole. Reinstall & tighten the plugs. 5. Recheck the oil level in the differential. Reinstall & tighten the fill plug. The requirement is an SAE50 oil meeting Caterpillar TO-4 specification. The quantity required for both axles will be somewhere in the region of 50 US gallons (170 litres), but always fill the oil the the level plugs rather than putting a certain quantity in it. It sounds as though you don't have a manual for it. They can generally be downloaded from the web for about $50 in Adobe pdf format. To identify the correct manual for your 980C would require the machine Serial Number.