Case 580 CK, early 70's

Hope the price the price of the machine you are looking at is very low.If you have spare time and some tools you can get it in usable condition.

• Case backhoe parts price list

Did you just buy this on Ebay? I was watching one recently in NJ that wasn't running.

In regard to hoses - you'd be wasting time and money trying to make your own. Just buy premade hoses in standard lengths and they are dirt-cheap.
They come with male pipe thread ends but you can buy adapters to make them fit anything. Many of the those premade hoses are cheaper than you can buy just hose by the foot.

Steering is not hydrostatic - it is hydraulic.

When the word "hydrostatic" got popular around tractors - it was a reference to something quite different than a conventional "hydraulic pump and motor/cylinder" system. The conventional hydraulic system is usually low pressure and high flow - usually under 2500 PSI. The hydrostatic system was often low flow and extreme high pressure - often well over 10,000 PSI. In the context of tractors, I first remember hearing about it in regard to hydrostatic transmissions in the 1960s. It's kind of funny since we're discussing a Case. Case made several hydraulic-drive tractors - with low pressure hydraulic pumps and gear-motors - and made a point at one time that they were NOT hydrostatic - and therefore not subject to the heat and wear problems that hydrostatic systems had. The steering on the Case uses a moderately low-pressure, high-flow gear power-steering pump hooked to conventional hydraulic cylinders. The control circuit is done with a steering-wheel hooked to a small hydraulic pump. But, as a marketing scheme - it seems many call any steering system "hydrostatic" as long as there is no mechancial connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels.

And maybe it's all moot since I don't know what the word means to you, or to anyone at your Case dealer. I suspect they are just repeating something they read somewhere.

This engine is quite bulletproof. I suspect that cylinder may have been nearly liquid-locked with fuel or rain water. When cranked for starting the push rod(s) or connecting rod may get bent when the valve couldn't open. This happened to the Ford 429 in our dump truck because the (above-frame mounted) fuel tank filled level was above the carb and the float didn't fully shut off the fuel flow. So the gas ran into the opened intake valve leaving just enough fuel to lock the exhaust valve. Which bent the push rod when the cam tried to open the valve.

The steering is a hydrostatic system. The steering wheel is attached to a combination manual pump and control valve assembly. With a dead engine, no pump pressure, the steering will still function if there is oil and the plumbing is intact. Although if the machine is not moving the wheel is nearly impossible to turn manually. If turned slowly, or with no oil, it will just go round & round.

Don't be too concerned about the decomposing outer sheath on the hydraulic hoses. That layer is there mostly for abrasion resistance and it rots over time due to exposure to the ozone in the atmosphere. Hose only needs replaced when it leaks oil. Yes you can reuse the fittings if you have the right equipment and new collars... but most fittings are designed with the collar being crimped onto the fitting as a preassembly before swaging onto the hose. You'll need to find a swage machine for real cheap to make it worthwhile.

Good Luck, if you buy the Ol' girl.
We're all here to help you bring Her back to life. We consider ours the best-buy on the farm.
And welcome to Case ownership.