Shifting Issue on Case 480C

[tlamberton1]

Hi everyone,

First time posting in the forum and I'm quite the newcomer to heavy equipment, hopefully this thread hasn't been posted by someone else already. I'm looking at potentially buying a late 70's Case 480C to use for clearing off a building spot on a piece of land I just bought. I went and looked at it last night, has 3500 hours, engine seems strong, everything functions, didn't feel any slop in the pins or bushings.

It has the 4 speed transmission with the F/N/R column shifter. Put it in first gear and left off the brake, started moving forward. I then stopped and attempted to put it in second gear, would not go and heard a grinding sound. Guy who is selling it said that you need to shut the engine off, shift into the gear you want, and then re-start it. I did have the shifter in forward when I was trying to shift gears.

Curious if anyone knows why it won't shift into second gear. I did not try third or fourth gear as I was fixated on playing between first and second to see if it would go. I'm wondering if the idle may have been too high and would not let the transmission shift. I didn't think to idle it all the way down last night and try that, only thing I did was idle it up to see how the engine sounded.

In all likelihood, I wouldn't get out of first gear while using the machine but having trouble shifting gears makes me a little nervous. Could be a weird quirk for being an older machine or I could buy it, use it a few times, and transmission goes.

If anyone has had similar issues, would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks

 

[alrman]

Welcome to HEF @tlamberton1
To shift between any 4speed gears you must have the FNR shuttle lever in neutral.
If second grinds, while it is in neutral & the machine is not moving, then there is likely a shuttle rebuild required.
There is no syncro on first or second gear, only third & fourth.
If the owner told you to shut down the engine to engage second, that may indicate it has a problem with the power shuttle.....

 

[tlamberton1]

Hi @alrman,

Thank you for getting back to me and thank you for the suggestion to put the shuttle lever in Neutral. I will be going back to take a look at the backhoe on Saturday, I will see if it will shift while it is in Neutral.

For curiosity's sake, if the shuttle lever is in neutral, should I drop the idle lever down to the lowest idle setting before shifting?

Also, any idea on what the cost would be to rebuild the power shuttle?

 

[franklin2]

Not sure if it's a good idea to buy a older machine like that if you can't do your own work. Shop labor costs can be quite high and you have to pay for transport also.

Think of the driveline on that machine like a automatic car trans which drives a 4 speed manual. If you put the shuttle in forward or reverse, it is putting pressure on the 4 speed part and will make it hard to get out of gear. I have a 480c myself.

 

[alrman]

Generally, Yes, you decelerate when you shift gears with the 4 speed - as you would in any manual transmission car or truck.

Cost of a rebuild will vary - if you are handy with tools & have a service manual - depending on what is wrong, you will buy most of what you need for around $200 - $600
The planetary is expensive to replace - but most times it is ok to refit.
If you need to pay a professional to do it for you you will expect to pay between $2-3K Again, depending on the parts required.

 

[cosmaar1]

I can compare this to my life about 12 years ago. I bought an old muscle car for cheap thinking I was going to fix everything. It’s still not done and undriveable, yet if I spent a couple extra thousand I could have had a better car and been driving by now. Lesson learned there. Cheaper and older is not always the best combo unless it’s been well maintained, stored inside, etc.