Buying a budget Case 580C tractor for land maintenance and snow clearing -Maine

[p0opstlnksal0t]

Ive found a Case 580C with a 3pt hitch/PTO, heated cab and no backhoe. price is 8k. what should I look for when i go see it? Does anyone know what the lift rating is on this tractor? would a 3pt hitch backhoe later on down the road be anywhere near as useful as the original backhoe that came on the Case 580 series?

 

[DJ54]

I'd say the most two important things, other than starting, and running looking for smoke, etc., would be the transmission, and brakes. Make sure it will pull itself in all of the gears. 4th may be a little sluggish, if you don't have room to run. Make sure the shuttle works properly, shifting from forward, to reverse. Be at a complete stop, before changing direction. It has a torque converter in it, and it would be like shifting your car, or truck from R to F, and could cause damage. if you're not stopped before changing directions.

Of course, there is the normal checking of the fluid levels. Look for milky hyd., oil. Pull the trans. fluid dipstick, and look for proper level, and even smell it, to see if it smells burned. And engine oil.

Check brakes, to see if it stops well. These have pretty decent brakes on them if in proper operating order. Brake assemblies are a little tough to see with the cab on. You'll have to get down low, or crawl under the side, just ahead of the rear wheels. The main thing to look for here, is oil seeping below the brake assy. There are usually drops of oil hanging off the bolts, and/or case.

I went to TractorData, to get the lifting specs for the loader. It's the first in the listing here: TractorData.com J.I. Case 58C industrial tractor attachments information

A 3pt. hoe would probably be better than nothing. It will be a job to put an OEM hoe on it, do a job, then remove, and put the weight back on. The OEM hoe will have a lot more reach, and you may even find an extenda hoe for it. Depending on what you plan to do with it, it may be easier to rent a mini excavator, and have the loader tractor as support, especially if you're putting in tile etc. Trench with the excavator, add gravel if needed, and backfill with the loader. Helpers with experience help here too.

 

[p0opstlnksal0t]

I'd say the most two important things, other than starting, and running looking for smoke, etc., would be the transmission, and brakes. Make sure it will pull itself in all of the gears. 4th may be a little sluggish, if you don't have room to run. Make sure the shuttle works properly, shifting from forward, to reverse. Be at a complete stop, before changing direction. It has a torque converter in it, and it would be like shifting your car, or truck from R to F, and could cause damage. if you're not stopped before changing directions.

Of course, there is the normal checking of the fluid levels. Look for milky hyd., oil. Pull the trans. fluid dipstick, and look for proper level, and even smell it, to see if it smells burned. And engine oil.

Check brakes, to see if it stops well. These have pretty decent brakes on them if in proper operating order. Brake assemblies are a little tough to see with the cab on. You'll have to get down low, or crawl under the side, just ahead of the rear wheels. The main thing to look for here, is oil seeping below the brake assy. There are usually drops of oil hanging off the bolts, and/or case.

I went to TractorData, to get the lifting specs for the loader. It's the first in the listing here: TractorData.com J.I. Case 58C industrial tractor attachments information

A 3pt. hoe would probably be better than nothing. It will be a job to put an OEM hoe on it, do a job, then remove, and put the weight back on. The OEM hoe will have a lot more reach, and you may even find an extenda hoe for it. Depending on what you plan to do with it, it may be easier to rent a mini excavator, and have the loader tractor as support, especially if you're putting in tile etc. Trench with the excavator, add gravel if needed, and backfill with the loader. Helpers with experience help here too.

Thanks for the information!

I'm having a hard time finding info on the 3 pt hitch lifting info though. I was able to find the loader ratings.

 

[dodge man]

I would think it would be pretty tough to add a back hoe to it the was factory built.

 

[p0opstlnksal0t]

I would think it would be pretty tough to add a back hoe to it the was factory built.

Im just wondering if there are any big 3 pt hitch mounted backhoe's that would even come close to matching the performance of the factory case 580 mounted backhoe units?

 

[DJ54]

The Case backhoe units were mounted with brackets. He'd just need to find a used complete backhoe someone has removed, or one in a salvage yard that is complete with brackets. Here is a link to Case Construction, showing the Case 33 hoe, and all of the parts & pieces. Official Case Construction Equipment Online Parts Store and Parts Look Up. Parts for Case Equipment and Construction Equipment. Parts Store for Case Wheel Loaders, Case Excavators, Case Skid Steers, Case Original Parts.

Again, depending on what he plans to do with the hoe, even a 3pt. would be better than a shovel. The biggest problem I have with a 3pt. hoe, is having to climb back to the seat to use it. Where the oem hoe, you just spin the seat around, set, and dig. And the 33 hoe would be a PIA, to hook, and unhook, even for every now and then use. That's why I suggested renting a mini ex. You could buy a lot of rental hours for what either would cost, plus time savings with the other 2 options. Just my opinion...

 

[dodge man]

Maybe its just me, but running the hydraulics, installing the controls, gettting all the parts installed, would be a job trying install a factory hoe on a unit that didn't have one. Maybe if you had a junked one sitting right beside the one you want to install it on.

The problem with three point hoes is if they don't have a subframe. Its suppose to be hard on the tractor and can break stuff. This case units like you are looking at seem pretty stout. There is a small town near hear that has a Case580 and I was looking at it one day. Kind of unique and the first one I've seen without a backhoe. I don't know this for a fact, but as tough as they seem on the back end, it might hold up a lot better to a 3 point hoe without a subframe.

 

[jenkinsph]

If you need a tractor loader with 3pt hitch and pto this could be a good choice. I do not see many with the pto option either, they seem to be rare. The industrial loader is much stronger and more durable than ag fel of similar horse power. Lift capacity is 4,700 lbs. Most of the time these landscape loaders are equipped with a fel and rear box blade (Gannon industrial model).

If you need a backhoe then buy that configuration turn key.

An add on 3pt backhoe isn't even close to a factory 580 hoe. I have used several Case 580 hoes pretty good machines imo. I have also operated a few 3pt hoe attachments all of them seem to be a let down after running the real thing.

 

[strum456]

I have a Ford 345d, which is about in the same category - industrial loader tractor with 3 point and pto. The only difference is my 345 is 4x4.

I think you are going to have 2 problems with this machine:
1. Traction
2. Limited ways to get more traction

IMO, it is going to be nearly useless for snow removal. I have ATTEMPTED snow removal with a 2wd 580 WITH a backhoe, and it was not pretty. With chains and a lot of weight in the back, the 580 you are looking at would work great. But, I would question if chains are a possibility with the minimal clearance between the tires and the cab. Chains large enough to wrap those tires will not be cheap either.

I don't find myself getting a whole lot of work done with my 345d unless it is in 4x4, and that is with big wheel weights, a box scraper and a 500 lbs steel weight mounted to the rear of the box scraper. All that is needed just to keep the rear end on the ground. The front axle takes care of forward motion.

 

[crazyal]

It looks like a unique machine but I don't know how useful it would be. On flat ground with a good set of chains and you would be able to remove snow. I would find out how much HP the PTO has. I'm thinking it should be able to power a rear snow blower very nicely. The only problem would be if you got stuck while going in reverse. You can use the loader to push you backwards but not really forwards. That being said there are a lot of farmers with 2wd tractors that use them for snow removal. I don't think putting a backhoe on it down the road would be a viable option. Just seams like you would put too much money into it or end up with something too small. Do you have any other uses for it other than snow removal and a backhoe?