Case 648 update 2. Its alive!!!

We spend most of today working on the little case. Just to recap Im the new owner and was told it hasnt run in 10 years.

We cleaned out the carburetor, what a mess! I believe its been 10 years!

Son had absolute confidence it would run, I had my doubts. He kept saying once we get it running. I kept saying if we get it running. Then he said of course its gonna run were the ones working on it! Thats exactly how his grandfather was, no doubt in his mind it wouldnt work.

We let the cylinders soak for a week in ATF just to make sure the rings were loose and give it a little lubrication. Test 1 was for compression. It does. Test 2 was for spark. It does. Changed the oil and filter and fed it fuel from a temporary tank. It started so quick it took us both by surprise!

The Onan engine runs really smooth. We just couldnt help ourselves, we had to try it out!


Now that we know it functions we can continue down our list of things it needs. Were having trouble feeding it enough gas to keep it running so we may need a new pump. We need to clean the gas tank up. Rewire the electric system. 1 tire for sure. The sun baked it for all this time its rotten. And I think the drive linkage will need to be adjusted. Its hard to check that with the temp tank on the ground next to it! As always thank you for following along with us and for your thoughts and knowledge! We will update as we continue!

The feeling when something starts immediately after working on/or overhauling is almost priceless. I've worked on single cyl briggs to 600 hp race engines and every time they immediately start is a thrill.

One more picture of the machine. I moved it about 20 feet but it sounded a little creaking so some adjustments may be needed.

Denny K
Your absolutely right, thats a feeling that never get old!

His smile says it all !

Congrats on the 648.

I'm not sure what engine the 648 has... I know on my 646's the Onan was fed via a vacuum powered pump. My first machine came with that pump replaced by a little electric unit. My second came stock. The second was a PITA to start all the time, so I replaced the pump and hoses, etc... Still sucked until I went to an electric pump. Yes, I know you shouldn't need to do that, but I also get tired of fighting with a system that should work, but somehow doesn't...

I probably don't need to tell you, but you're really going to want to drop the hoe, and subframe/counterweight to work on the forward/reverse linkage. Any wear in the banana plate, and ball joint fittings in that linkage will have a significant effect on the travel function. If it's cranky I'd just start right off with a new banana plate.

There are a couple different specific forums out there dedicated to the Case garden tractors, and 64x machines. The wealth of knowledge there is invaluable, and they're also excellent at sourcing parts, which is becoming harder...

Tslinger
This is our first experience with the small Case tractors so any
advice you have we appreciate it. The engine in this one is an
Onan B48M. This one was also fed by a vacuum pump but it was
already replaced with an electric pump like yours was.

I see the what your saying. The hoe and subframe are really in
the way to do any work to the rear end. Not looking forward to
that! We got the gas tank off today and to start cleaning it up
and found some pinholes. Glad we took it off to check.

Looks like your still get a workout! They look good!
Thanks!

Steve A W
Yes it does! I think seeing his smile made me more proud than the engine starting!

If you don't have the manuals, go get signed up at https://www.casecoltingersoll.com/

As for dropping the hoe and subframe...
Assuming you've got it running, it isn't too terrible.
You can take the weight off the mounting pins by sitting it on the feet, and bucket. Drive the pins out. Make sure you're not in a bad spot in case something shifts a little when they come out. The hoe is heavier than it looks. Shut down. You can then break the hydraulic connections, and disconnect the hoe. Reconnect the lines on the tractor.
I usually turn the tractor around then and park next to the hoe.
I run a strap under the weight, and over the crossbar on the boom. Use the boom to take the weight off the mounting pins for the subframe. Take those pins out, and let the frame and weight down. That weight is 500#, so stay clear of that thing.
Now, you're down to a regular 648...

I can't help much with the engine, the 646 has a CCK. Your hydraulic circuits are a little different as well due to the power steering.

You will absolutely want to get the cover off the rear end, and clean that all out. They're notorious for leaking, and ending up full of water.

Check over the frame, loader towers, and loader boom for cracks. The hoe is really way too strong for these tractors. My machine came cracked in half, with both towers half cracked, and cracks all over the loader.

That said, if you take the time to put things right, there is no stronger machine in the size/weight class. 700# of lift on the bucket per the manual. I've been able to just pick up enough with mine to take all the weight off the rears to the point I had to extend the hoe, and throw some weight in the hoe's bucket to be able to move. While they share a lot of the garden tractor components, and concept, these machines were sold through the Case industrial dealers. They are rock solid machines once you get the feel for them. You've got the end of the evolution in the Case line, before it was sold to Ingersoll. Ingersoll made changes in their 6000, and 7000 series, that made some improvements, but those are minor.

Tslinger

Luckily a binder with all the books came with the machine. Ive
been looking them over in the evenings. Now would be the time
to take a look at the rear end since we already have the fuel tank
off to get fixed. What oil are you running in yours? We went
around and greased all the fitting today and I didnt notice any
cracks. I did see some old welds on the frame. Glad you brought
that up I take a closer look. As for the engine, we do have it
running good. It does need new wiring. We cobbled it together
for the moment just to make sure the engine would run. Thanks
for explaining your procedure for removing the back hoe. Having
never been around one of these its really nice to here from
somebody who has done it. I do have a Case 830 with a loader
on it so I may be able to chain the weight to it to get it off. Here
is a picture of it unloading the 648.

Im glad to here they are good machines. It certainly looks like a
stout setup! Thanks for your help. We appreciate it.

The general favorite seems to be 15w-40 in both the engine and hydraulic system. Some folks will run 20w-50 if their pump, or drive motor is getting tired. Under no circumstances should you run regular hydraulic oil in the system. It doesn't hurt anything, it just doesn't work...

On mine, there's a grease fitting underneath the back hoe boom knuckle. It was missing when I got mine, and tends to get ripped out when that area bottoms out loading/unloading the machine on a tilt bed trailer... Terrible location... I greased mine, and then removed the fitting, and put a plug in to keep dirt out. No idea if that's a stock location.

Likely not an issue on your machine due to it being a later model... Once you get in the rear, check the bolts that hold the diff together. They were using bolts that had a tendency to shear early on. If that happens you loose either high or low, I don't recall which. The real issue at that point is you can have the broken piece roll under a gear, and punch a hole in the cast iron housing.

And on a safety note... The bolts that hold the top cover of the rear, also hold the rear to the frame... Once you pull them there's not much holding the rear in place other than the brake linkage, and the two hydraulic lines to the drive motor. Make sure you're all chocked in place, because you do not want to damage the hydraulic lines. They're no longer available (unless the 648 is different than my 646), and they're too short/obnoxious for a local shop to make. The bends are too tight to make with a hose as well.

There are likely more manuals on the site I posted than you have. They've managed to get the more detailed hydraulic service manuals and such that the dealers had. You can do most anything with the regular parts, and owners manual, but some of that other info can come in handy...

Parts support will be a mixed bag. Some of the parts for the D-100 will be available through a Case Construction dealer, as they put that hoe on everything imaginable for a long time. Parts for the tractor have some availability through the old Ingersoll Tractor dealers. (there are a couple regular posters on that forum I posted that are extremely helpful) After that, the second hand market isn't horrible, but it also isn't nearly as robust as say something from Deere would be. Most things you'll need are usually more general in nature anyway like basic engine service parts, so that's no issue.

I'm not familiar with the 830 personally. Never been a lot of Case around the area I'm in. Guess there just wasn't a dealer handy... Looks like it'll handle whatever your lifting needs will be on the 648. I got by with just an engine hoist for most of what I've had to do that I couldn't use the machine itself for. No room in my 1/10 acre suburban yard for anything bigger at the time... Now, there's room for more toys...

SV

That ad says there were pallet forks available for it. I bet they are pretty hard to find now.

Finding the OEM units is tough, though I've seen it done.

What I did was I bought an adapter that is still made to put a mini skid quick attach on the front. Then I just bout readily available forks. I believe Paladin makes that adapter. I ordered it though on of the dealers on the other site.

There's a check valve setup that should be added when using the forks as the regular hydraulic circuit can tend to dump the bucket function a bit before it curls up. One of mine didn't do that, but the other did, so I added that bit of plumbing.

Forks on there are unbelievably handy. My machine without the hoe tends to just live with the forks on. /Still haven't welded the mini QA plate on to the bucket... Some day...

Tslinger

I might have to look into that in the future. I guess I should make
sure the machine works as it should be for I get into adding
attachments! But it would be handy!

They might be ? Thats quite the outfit anyway