580K will only run about 20MPH?

[kjl]

Just bought a phase 1 580K turbo 4x4, ext-hoe, cab. Drove it home over the road about 20 miles (retiring the old 530ck gas).

The machine is a shuttle shift with a torque convertor. I was surprised that it really had some trouble climbing hills in third and fourth. I had to shift down to second and creep up the hills. The wife was following behind with the flashers on. She said, climbing the hills I was less than 10mph. Flat pavement I was only running 20mph. This was in fourth gear running at close to redline. The machine does not smoke, sounds good and does not appear to be slipping. Any thoughts or comparisons with other 580K owners?

 

[kjl]

Just bought a phase 1 580K turbo 4x4, ext-hoe, cab. Drove it home over the road about 20 miles (retiring the old 530ck gas).

The machine is a shuttle shift with a torque convertor. I was surprised that it really had some trouble climbing hills in third and fourth. I had to shift down to second and creep up the hills. The wife was following behind with the flashers on. She said, climbing the hills I was less than 10mph. Flat pavement I was only running 20mph. This was in fourth gear running at close to redline. The machine does not smoke, sounds good and does not appear to be slipping. Any thoughts or comparisons with other 580K owners?

Just to clarify...
flat ground in fourth at close to redline, machine ran about 20mph
when I hit a hill in fourth, the machine slowed immediately and I did not dare leave it that way because I think It would almost come to a stop.
So i would stop and put the machine in second and then it would climb the hill fine but at only around 8 mph at near redline.

 

[Tinkerer]

Did the engine rpms drop when the machine slowed on the hill in fourth gear ? If they did drop was there any black smoke from the exhaust ?

 

[1977 680E]

I feel that this is a normal speed, not to sound rude, but you bought a backhoe not an indy race car. lol

 

[robin yates uk]

normal road speed on a JCB is around 24/25mph. Check the torque converter oil is the correct spec.

 

[illinoisboy]

my 580 k is the same way, slow as hell, i even get passed by a blue hair from time to time!

 

[fpgm04]

580K phase 1 top speed is only about 20 mph.
Phase 2 was faster by about 4…5 mph.
Not knowing how steep the hills are that you reference, it is hard to confirm, but the slowdown and downshift you describe is not unexpected on a phase 1 K.

 

[kjl]

Did the engine rpms drop when the machine slowed on the hill in fourth gear ? If they did drop was there any black smoke from the exhaust ?

Yes (I think, judgeing by the sound, to be honest I did not look at the RPM at that moment)

No black smoke

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Sounds about right to me. My super K would go about 24 wide open, and 8 to 10 on an average hill. Small hills could be done in third, but any more than 5 or 6 percent had to drop to second. Makes for a long trip if you go very far.

 

[kjl]

580K phase 1 top speed is only about 20 mph.
Phase 2 was faster by about 4…5 mph.
Not knowing how steep the hills are that you reference, it is hard to confirm, but the slowdown and downshift you describe is not unexpected on a phase 1 K.

This is good news, I have a case 530 that seems to roll a little quicker. I know nothing about this 580k as I bought it today. I asked the seller and he said it would run almost 40mph, that is why I was concerned. I think he was just off on his estimate.

 

[kjl]

I feel that this is a normal speed, not to sound rude, but you bought a backhoe not an indy race car. lol

thanks for the first part of your answer, the second part is not so much, just trying to learn if it's normal or a problem lol

 

[JDOFMEMI]

.... I asked the seller and he said it would run almost 40mph, that is why I was concerned. I think he was just off on his estimate.

He must have clocked it going downhill in neutral.

 

[Tinkerer]

Kjl, You are getting a lot of good information here so far. But each individual machine with very many hours is different in the way they run. I think you need to determine if the engine is producing full power and is operating at the correct RPMs at full throttle. Also you need to determine if the torque converter is transferring full power to the transmission. There is an outside chance that there could be small deficiencies with one or the other, or even both.

 

[stumpjumper83]

hopefully you didnt buy the 580 for its transportation qualities, In my opinion it sounds about right, when going up any ammount of a hill, I had to shift a super m down a gear or two. Does it have good hoe power, like pick the backend up at idle?

 

[joeeye59]

My JD 310c did the same thing, not that I'm comparing JD to Case... but moving along real nice on the flats, but when going up inclines is slows right down, so rather than red line it I creep along... being I don't smell anything like you always do when ever a reverser is pushed too hard, I figured its normal??? or at least its okay??

 

[kjl]

hopefully you didnt buy the 580 for its transportation qualities, In my opinion it sounds about right, when going up any ammount of a hill, I had to shift a super m down a gear or two. Does it have good hoe power, like pick the backend up at idle?

Yes, the hoe power is strong, it will pick the backend off the ground at idle. No, I did not by the machine for transportation qualities. It's a home owner machine (stumps, landscaping, tree planting, pond etc) although, occasionally I'd like to do some work at my moms and would need to travel about 7 miles. My 1960 530ck and JD350B are only about 10K pounds and I could move them with my 9 ton trailer and Ford 7.3 diesel. I'm pretty sure my truck would not like pulling a 16K pound 580K.
Thanks for everyones help!

 

[stumpjumper83]

By the time you hook the trailer to the truck, load the backhoe, chain it down, drive there, & unload the backhoe it would have been faster to road it. Besides thats asking alot out of your pickup brakes.

 

[AU.CASE]

Sounds about right to me. My super K would go about 24 wide open, and 8 to 10 on an average hill. Small hills could be done in third, but any more than 5 or 6 percent had to drop to second. Makes for a long trip if you go very far.

Yup, mine exactly the same and do I have hills!



Great thread, confirms to me that an 8060Kg machine is normal when it travels where and how it does.