The tale of TWO 644 Loaders...

[thebuildist]

Congrats, Gerry! You may need an intervention some day, but surely not yet. You're just getting started!!

Bob

[JSinMO]

I've been getting a little seat time with the yellow 644 in the last few days - as many of you mentioned it's quite handy for moving stuff around the yard.
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First modification was a pair of D rings on the upper bucket webbing,
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Really handy having a dedicated anchor point for chains and shackles...
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I've finished the teardown of one of my old, rusty Sidekicks all that was left was the drivetrain - so much of the frame and body had disintegrated - final cleanup was shovelling rust flakes and chunks off the lawn afterwards
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I was happy that the 644 could actually lift the engine/transmission/transfer case up and out of what was left of the frame.PXL_20240611_195204048.jpg
Unfortunately the ass end was a little light and traction was non-existent - doing a 1 wheel burn out and leaving a shiny brown skid mark in the yard.
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After the powertrain was out I was able to pick up and move the remainders of the frame and continue removing front axle parts
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Back for a 2nd try at the powertrain, with the same results, even after filling the weight box with more concrete pavers
- I probably could have moved if I had a set of chains on the tires (maybe)
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...and there it sits - plan "B" is to split engine/trans and move the parts separately, I just didn't want to be kneeling down on the ground fighting with the bolts...
BTW, engine + transmission + transfer case probably weighs around 375 llbs

I think this is one of those situations where you find plenty for the loader to do once you have one!

The chains I put on the 446 absolutely helped, but it still spins and with chains it can leave quite a mark in the grass!

There’s just no substitute for counter weight. Maybe you could find a way to hang some weight of the back of the weight box.

[DavidBarkey]

@RoamingGnome Gerry , try running the chains off the back of the bucket so to put the centre of weight closer to the tractor just make sure you have it secured to the front of the bucket so it can't swing back into the grill . Moving it back even a foot will change the weight distribution a lot . Someone smarter than me can do the math on that .

[Harry]

Gerry, I like the D-ring idea, better than a welded hook on the bucket. When lifting high enough to get what ever you’re lifting off the ground, I’ve found the pick wants to swing and hit the grill. I’ve always thought a grill guard would be a good idea. I haven’t got around to building one or two. Harry

[DavidBarkey]

Gerry, I like the D-ring idea, better than a welded hook on the bucket. When lifting high enough to get what ever you’re lifting off the ground, I’ve found the pick wants to swing and hit the grill. I’ve always thought a grill guard would be a good idea. I haven’t got around to building one or two. Harry

Good point Harry .Do the 600 series have the same snap fast on the front as the 400 series for mounting one ?

[Harry]

No snap fast on the 600’s David. There are a couple of mounting holes in the frame though. Harry

[RoamingGnome]

...and the saga of the Case contagion continues

When @Eugen decided to sell his 2nd 644 Loader I convinced Kelly that it would be better suited for work up at the property because it has a 3 point hitch and hyd PTO on the back... It took a little time but with a bit of convincing approval was given, the deal was done and we were making the treck to Port McNicoll with a U-Haul trailer in tow... (my trailer is only 8' and the loader needs just a bit more room than that...)

The round trip is a long drive, we picked up the trailer from U-Haul at 7:00 am, were at Eugen's around 11:00 am, loaded up and finally arrived at the property by suppertime... I didn't have the energy to unload that night

The next morning I took the trailer with the loader up the hill to the clearing and unloaded it...
Brake parts for the red one are MIA (actually they're on the yellow loader) but both loaders need brakes, and the one I'm keeping needs some serious upgrades because of the steep hills on the property. It is probably going to end up with disc brakes on the rear axle like @DavidBarkey made for Frankie. I took my 195 down the hill last fall to park it in the shipping container for the winter - I appreciated the fact that while it didn't have a holding valve, it did have old school disc brakes on the rear axle and they worked pretty good when the I didn't have the travel lever perfectly in the retarder setting...

So now I'm the proud owner of 5 little Case tractors + 1 big Case backhoe...
Both the 644 loaders have little things that need fixing and having the yellow 644 at home in the city will give me the chance to prototype and test fit any parts before I take them up north and install them on the red loader...

once all the little things have been tweaked I'll be selling the yellow 644...

...that was the deal

[Toolslinger]

once all the little things have been tweaked I'll be selling the yellow 644...

...that was the deal

Otherwise known as you'll have it forever since the fixing never quite ends...

[RoamingGnome]

Otherwise known as you'll have it forever since the fixing never quite ends...

[DavidBarkey]

What is Kelly's favourite colour ??