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#1
07-01-2023, 10:50 PM
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Case backhoes
I’ve been wanting, or thinking about getting a back hoe. I need to do some work on my septic field, or install a new one. Not sure yet, and have a couple other projects for one around the yard. My brother wanted me to buy a friends couple years ago, but I declined back then. Earlier this year, I was over at said friends, and seen the back hoe. I looked it over, and it started me thinking more about it. His was an old international Harvester, I believe. Gas motor. I actually went and looked at it yesterday afternoon. It fired right up, even after sitting for a couple years. It looks like it could be put right to work, although there are several things that could use some repairs. Several bushings could be redone and such. One plus to this one, was it was 4 miles away, easy driving distance home. No cab. Guy originally wanted $5000, but said he would come down to $4000 for me,also since I told him that’s what they were asking for the one I seen earlier. Earlier in the morning, I had went and looked at my foreman’s fathers Ford 3500 loader backhoe. It had a cab, but most of the glass has been broken out. It started hard. Carburetor got flooded, and I think one plug never totally fired up. It would need new spark plugs probably. A 3 cylinder gas motor. Since this one was about 30 miles away, I would have to hire someone to haul it home for me. I then looked at 2 case backhoes at my friends place. Actually my old property that I am selling him. These were both diesels. Which I was figuring that would be better long term, especially if it does not get run a lot. I usually have been having better luck with diesel equipment vs trying to keep gas motors running after gas goes bad , ethanol, etc… He threw some numbers out, and one matched the price of previous two gas ones I looked at. It was the older case. I think it might be a 1970 Case 580CK, according to the manual I have. It has several cylinders that need some rebuilding. Several head seals leaking, and most of the pins and bushings could use some attention. But it will dig now. And I have a slight fuel leak on top of the injector pump. It has a roof/ ROP cage. It fired right up and purred pretty well. The other hoe was a case 580C construction King model. Full cab, one cracked glass. It also fired up, after figuring out the fuel tank shut off valve. It died after couple minutes, but fired up again after getting valve open. Being the nicest looking one, and the newest, something between 1978-1985, it needs the most work to get running and digging. The first main issue is a rear wheel. They had the rims loaded, and it developed a leak around the valve stem. I’m probably should not consider fixing it, but will dismount the tire to make that decision. Or have to find a new used: new rim. The swing clylinders need to be resealed. Friend capped them off to keep them from leaking out constantly. And couple other cylinders need some seal replacement too. Well, as you guys can probably guess by now, the 2 diesels came home with me today. My wife said I should counter offer the guy and see what he says vs the deal he told me last night. He accepted it. So my afternoon was spent getting them home 8 miles from his place. My plan was to drive them home. He thought he would haul them on his 3 axle trailer. That’s how he had hauled the older one home last year. I had fun driving it up onto it. He had put a scissor Jack under the back of the trailer to help support it while loading, and halfway up, the Jack failed, and trailer dropped 5” making me wonder what happen and tractor rolled back down the ramps when I stopped. Oh yeah, I’m thinking the brakes probably could use some adjustment on both units. We managed to get it loaded and strapped down. ( don’t tell Ron how crazy we are. His trailer is missing one wheel, but the axle was ratchet strapped up to the frame. And it hauled it home a couple years ago this way, so we figured it should make it another 8 miles.   Well, less than 2 miles down the road, there was a big pot hole in the road he couldn’t avoid, and I seen several springs come flying out from the trailer. The ubolt plate gave way, and the trailer deck dropped onto the tire. I then unloaded the backhoe, with trailer in the road where he stopped, lifted the trailer up with the loader, he put the leaf springs back in to shim up the trailer bed, to nurse the trailer back home, and I went along the way driving the backhoe home. Luckily, I had my wife in the car to follow me. My friend ended up backing the trailer 2 miles back to his house since we forgot to put a strap onto the axle to keep it in place, then came back to follow along. I managed to get the first hoe home. Then the new plan became, take the rear tire off, and take it back to switch out with the leaking rim on the other hoe. Then drive that one home too. The rim on the newer one fought us a bit, trying to get it off. Plus being loaded with liquid, made it a bit heavier. But we finally prevailed. And I made it home with the second backhoe. I then switched the tires back around, because being like a kid in a candy store, I wanted to dig a bit to play. I started to dig out some tree stumps that I want removed by my pole barn. And what better way to find all the leaks I need to address. Now the story goes, later this month my wife and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary. So I got us “Him and her” hoes. I should be able to fix up the newer one, and then sell it, getting most is not all my investment back, ending up with the other one for almost free, but I’m just tempted to keep the newer one myself, or both. Who knows. That way when I die, both my kids can have a hoe, and they don’t have to fight over one.  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________
Brian You don't know what you don't know.  "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." John Wooden 
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#3
07-02-2023, 03:24 PM
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I-ve had my 580B for about 15 years now, first thing I had done involved replacing the "main bull gear" in the tranny. No probs since, likely because the guy who might abuse it ALSO hasta FIX it (me)
If you decide to only keep one, I would without question choose the 580C - 1 - it's quite a bit newer, likely parts availability will be better/longer 2 - It's a newer design hoe, the CK only has ONE boom cylinder. The 580C has duals. Stronger boom lift, more functional in "crane" mode. 3 - Has a cab, not a biggie to me (ROPS only) living in balmy O-regano, probably more necessary in your neck of the woods. 4 - I'd keep whichever tires/wheels do NOT have fucking Calcium Chloride - one of my older tractors is about to become a 4500# paperweight because of the loaded tires. Replacing rims and tires would cost more than I paid for the whole thing. Also, f'n loaded tires are HEAVY. If I MUST do stuff on a side hill, I keep the stabilizers within about 5" of the ground AND swing the hoe uphill and extend it with the bucket curled and less than a foot off the ground. I've pretty much turned my 580B into a 11,000 pound swiss army knife - chain hooks on the 2' hoe bucket and 7 2" hitch receivers on the loader bucket (pics to follow) I made "tinker toys" that fit the receivers, to include tees, ells, 45*, 90*, vise mount, small winch mount, extra (reversible) hydraulic motor feed, slip on forks, a 2'x6'x8' brush bucket, etc. If I and the air compressor and the hoe all died on the same day, I MIGHT come in second on the wife's replacement list (but I doubt it)  The "tinker toy" pics are in a different file, if curious just ask... Steve
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#4
07-02-2023, 11:05 PM
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Quote:
Please post pictures. Always looking for more ideas to steal. I have been thinking about some modifications already. I think a thumb on the hoe is a must. I was thinking that if I can’t easily find another valve, maybe I could tee into one of the stabilizer cylinders, with a line bypass valve, and use that control to run the thumb cylinder. Looking thru the owners manual, it looks like if I could find a 4-way bucket, that would be an awesome upgrade. I spent some time running the CK today. Probably lost a gallon or two of hydraulic fluid thur the leaking heads, but am trying to take down a large maple tree stump. Actually 3- 16” diameter trees in one stump. I think I have a 6-7’ trench around the root ball, probably 12’ in diameter. But now I need to start under cutting the dirt out. I cut the upper part of the trees down last summer, and left the trunks about 15’ tall, so I can hook high to pull over. My end loader would not budge it yet. So on to plan b to start digging under the stump a bit. After this project, I will have to address the cylinder heads. And then there are many cylinders that need new bushings/ bearings in the mounts. I would like to tighten some of those up. But that might wait til I get my big K&T #4 vertical mill into the shop and set up, in case I need to bore the mounts out for bushings. Then later I will start working on the 580C. I am probably going to keep them both. It’s not like I really need to sell one. I just need to get rid of some more scrap to offset the cash outlay. I guess these machines will offer more return on my investment than the scrap piles. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________
Brian You don't know what you don't know. "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." John Wooden
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#5
07-03-2023, 03:42 AM
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Two??? that's not fair when some of us don't even have one!!
It's not a bad idea to keep both, backhoe parts are heavy, you can use one to handle the bits you take off the other for repair! 4in1 is a great tool, but a lot more weight on the front of a 2wd machine.
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#6
07-03-2023, 01:16 PM
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If you want a 4-1 bucket, plan on building one -I've been looking for one for more than a decade, only way even SLIGHTLY possible is to buy a machine with one on it, swap yours, sell that machine with a regular bucket...
Thumb yes - Tee into stabilizer, yes - a non-hydraulic thumb is next to useless. If you have a LOT of stumps, it'll be worth building a single tooth ripper to replace the hoe bucket - that's on my "tuit" list, at least 1" thick AR400, then cut some 1/2" AR400 into "dominoes", 2-1/2" long by about 1-1/4" wide, then cut one end of each domino at 45*, overlap the dominoes along the inside curve so that the 45's make wide saw teeth, weld 'em up - then if a root is too big to break, just crowd the root and lift. a few times and you're done WITHOUT a 4x4 hole to fix (UNLESS your trees have a massive tap root)... Steve
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#7
07-03-2023, 01:24 PM
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A few pics -
Shelf with several toys - so far there's 3 pairs of extenders; 30", 48", and 72" - one of the 48" has a 1/2" thick picking eye centered for a spreader. Brush bucket + hydraulic sickle bar Brush bucket side mount (1 each side) Brush bucket, vertical cutter mount Brush forks + cutter (marginally useful, I've had better ideas  )
Last edited by BukitCase; 07-03-2023 at 01:32 PM.
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#9
07-03-2023, 01:42 PM
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Last one for now - some tinker toys used for container roof build. The half over the container was mostly welded in place, the half over the open area is 3 identical 8x12 modules that bolt together, can be removed later if/when necessary.
Second pic just confirms how demented you can get while working alone  Please direct any questions/comments to the 3rd rubber room on the right... Steve
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#10
07-04-2023, 08:47 AM
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The best bucket I have found for digging stumps with a case 580C is an 18". It is small enough to have good power digging and undermining, and the bucket sticks out far enough from the side of the boom to be able to hook the side of the bucket on roots. A ripper or frost point does not work well in my experience. There is not much surface with a ripper when prying roots whereas the bucket has some width to it to push against the dirt. Something that might help to prying roots at the stump with the bucket is to undermine the stump or root and unroll the bucket to pry with.
Another common problem with the 580C is cracking between cylinders. When they came out with the C model they bored out the 188 diesel to 207 and this left little block material between cylinders. I ran one for years with it cracked and had no problems other than a rougher idle. The twin boom models can hit the stabilizer pad and ruin the cylinder. If the stabilizer is up and the boom is to the side it can hit when to boom is lowered. I bought a new 580C and had it about a week before I discovered this the hard way. Pictures tree falling and 18" bucket stump work. House demolition. This took about 4 hours. Last edited by willyfixit; 07-04-2023 at 09:13 AM.
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