Champion Grader

[hill grader]

Hi all,I'm new to the forum .i would like to say i have imported a 726a 3 from the states to wales uk it had done 5000 hrs ex goverment .It was taken apart then put in a 40 ft container and shipped over (i have never done this before,my nerves were a jangling) but it turned up and 3 of us got to work puting it together which took one and a half days.
It started first time (cummings) and everything looked good.the only thing not working was the front wheel drive (oh Sh** !!) ,we needed to get the machine to work so went off grading all was fine ,we were still trying to sort out the problem,yippee it was the switch on the brakes that had gone so would not turn the front drive on it took us a while to get the wireing diagrames but at leased we are now sorted the part cost £120 ouch .
anyhow great machine love it,ihope it is reliable . Can anyone tell me what to look out for on the machine as in its weak spots.
Thanks all great forum ,i will post some pics when allowed .

 

[Abscraperguy]

Coltur,
You should try Jade Equipment - http://www.jadeequipment.com/pages/default.aspx

They are about the only people that have made it their business to keep these older Champion graders running.

In my dealings Jade has always been terribly expensive and service not always good. Whenever possible I deal CW Enterprises http://www.cwenterprises.ca/ or there was a wrecker I dealt with out of Ontario but the name slips me.

 

[crbearden]

I recently bought a 700 Champion with a 6cyl detroit. Only has 1500 hours. It was used for mixing asphalt for a small state highway department district. They went to contractor supplied asphalt and idled the grader. Every hydraulic cylinder needs rebuilding, but it runs and operates great. We will start rebuilding it next month for sale. I have an old mechanical 112 Cat for grading my work.

 

[562C]

we recently purchased a very old 600 series Champion grader (without a manual) with a 671 Detroit diesel. I beleive it is a 1960's vintage. It runs very well still however we are now encountering some steering problems. It has a Sheppard steering box Model 514 I beleive, which we are having trouble finding any info on. THe grader has trouble steering to the right - to the left is not a problem. ANy sugguestions on what might be the cause or any info on a website that we can trouble shoot the the inner workings of the Sheppard sterring box?
Thanks
Coltur

I've got an old 562 with the sheppard box. THere's relief valves in the box. I had trouble with mine, figured out the pump was bad. Changed the pump last spring, wound up splitting the box wide open becuase someone had been messing with the relief valves trying ot "fix" it.
Updated to cylinder steering like the newer ones. Used a 2 1/2" X 10" cylinder from Princess auto and a control valve off a massey 300 combine. Took about half a day to do. Works better than it ever did before, spent about 300 bucks and any idiot can fix it.

 

[ledsel]

In my dealings Jade has always been terribly expensive and service not always good. Whenever possible I deal CW Enterprises http://www.cwenterprises.ca/ or there was a wrecker I dealt with out of Ontario but the name slips me.

Same experience here.

 

[cummins05]

LOL you bought a champ with a Cummins LOL

I also agree jade is a expensive outfit to deal with I had an older gentlmen that I was working for and we wanted a newer second grader well we basicly gave up dealing with jade on the purchase and bought a 143 from cat with much less hassle for less money.

SO I think that says it all I just wish they could have been delt with Champ graders are my fav

 

[DEERE310SG]

There is lot's of Champion graders up here in New Brunswick too.
The gov of New Brunswick run's lot's of them too.

Kyle

 

[Grader4me]

There is lot's of Champion graders up here in New Brunswick too.
The gov of New Brunswick run's lot's of them too.

Kyle

Yup..they sure do...

 

[proteksandblast]

I lived in Goderich for many yrs and have alot of friends whom were employed by Champion. I believe Champion started at the airport in Goderich, which now is home to Sky Harbour Aircraft Refinishing. The building in Goderich I believe has been sold to locale fabricator whom builds cabs for Hitachi. It was a shame to see Champion sell to Volvo, they built an exelent grader there. My company ProTek Sandblasting & Painting was started just outside of Goderich. I remember donating our services to the antique club. I believe it was a late 1800s horse drawn, donated to them by the Muskoka Airport. Definately some history there.

Bryan
I remember when your family purchased the smaller grader line. You got a great machine, and there is alot of ppl whom are glad to know that the Champion name is still in the industry. I have a friend here in Ontario that owns one of your machines and he loves it.

 

[JBF]

Jade makes a lot of their own parts for Champions and in my experience they build them way to cheap, then they overcharge for them.

 

[Motor Grader]

Thanks proteksandblast, I miss the old Champion days so much. Things were going so good right up to Volvo coming in. I have alot of good friends in Goderich. Dad and I went up for the auction just before they shut the plant down. I'm glad we were able to get the compact grader back from Volvo. Not sure if you knew or not but my Grandfather and Dad started building the compact graders back in 1980. We sold out to Champion in 1993 and went to work for them. We continued on when it became Volvo. They never purchased our building and just paid us rent. So buying it back from them made sense. Nothing to move. We are still here today. Been building compact graders for 30 years. I do miss going to Goderich though. Used to be up there all the time.

 

[Walleyewatchers]

I am looking at a 1980 740 A with a 671 Detroit. What was your fuel consumption on your 31 hr. I have been running a 720 A with the 6 cyl Cummings. I get about 3 gallons per hr @ 2000 rpm and 5 gallons per hr @ 2500 rpm.

 

[ITSCARGO]

Dimensions of a Champion 730A

Good morning: Does anyone have the dimensions of a 730A mortorgrader?

-Agent-, Champion is one of the oldest names in motor graders. They actually built horse drawn pull type graders back in 1886 followed bu the first hydraulically powered grader in 1936. Check out http://www.championantiquegraderclub.ca for more information about where Champion started. In 1997, Volvo Construction Equipment bought the Champion Motor Grader line which consisted of a factory in Goderich, Ontario that built the large 700 Series as shown in your pic and a factory in Charlotte, NC that built smaller compact size graders. In 2004 Volvo divested the compact grader line and my Dad bought the company and the Champion trademark. My and my Dad's roots run a little deeper than just 2004 and you can get the whole story at www.championmotorgraders.us. We still build Champion graders today that range from 13,000 lbs to 24,000 lbs.

The 700 Series Graders built in Goderich, Ontario would be rebranded Volvo in 2000 and model numbers changed to the G900 Series. The G900 Series graders are going through some major changes as far as production. They have shut down the factory in Canada and a new addition in an existing Volvo plant in Penn. is in process where the plan is to move production. In the intrim production is being covered from an existing plant in Brazil.

I've given you a very small look into the history of the Champion graders. Its a long and exciting history at least for us grader lovers anyway! If you are looking for more information on larger graders over 24,000 lbs then go to www.volvoce.com and if something smaller is what you need try www.championmotorgraders.us for a complete line up of compact and production class graders. I hope this helps!

 

[Graderfan1981]

Here is a online brochure from the Champion 730A:
http://www.volvoce.com/SiteCollecti...eries IV/Ch 730-730A-736A IV 21 730E(9411.pdf

On the last sites you find the dates.

 

[Fatgraderman]

Good morning: Does anyone have the dimensions of a 730A mortorgrader?

What year/ series are you looking at? All of them had 8.3 Cummins engines- really good engine, only issue I seen was head gaskets. Midway through the series 3 they upgraded the clutches on the 8400 transmission, I doubt there's any of the earlier transmissions that haven't been rebuilt with the morfe aggressive frictions. Partway through the series 3's (around serial #24000) they changed to a "slip-fit" wheel bearing and 24 volt electrical. The slip fit wheel bearings are not so good. I'm not sure what the change up was there but it wasn't until the tail end of the series 4's that they figured out a fix. We rebuilt many sprockets. Starting with the series 4 was variable displacement hydraulics, valves were moved to the frame before the cab and the front frame was redesigned with "Moveable Blade Control System" (Cat style center pin), and a slight cosmetic change to the front of the frame with the toolbox moving to the passenger side tandem. Series 5 got the cab painted black and a "joystick" gear shifter. And series 6 got a new pinstripe and the air conditioning moved from the cab roof to under the seat. And I think with every redesign they invented new places to stick grease zerks- had they come up with a series 7 I'd probably be spending all my Saturdays greasing . Best machine I ever ran was a pre 24 volt series 3 (although it was a 740).

 

[Fatgraderman]

I should rephrase that. All of them after 1984 had Cummins 8.3's.

 

[Kelly Johnson]

Does anyone have specs on a Champion D-560HD, such as year produced, power plant, etc.? Thanks

 

[cuttin edge]

Does anyone have specs on a Champion D-560HD, such as year produced, power plant, etc.? Thanks

Probably has a Detroit or International engine. Manual Transmission. I think they started making them in the 50s. Probably a 12 foot moldboard. Before my time.

 

[Kelly Johnson]

Probably has a Detroit or International engine. Manual Transmission. I think they started making them in the 50s. Probably a 12 foot moldboard. Before my time.

Thanks, I’m looking at a CL posted D-560HD whose owner is stating it’s an 1980ish rig which doesn’t sound right. I’ve got a serial number just no where to reference it.

 

[DB2]

I should rephrase that. All of them after 1984 had Cummins 8.3's.

Not all of them. I have a 1990 740 with an L10 and a 99 with an M11.
Regarding the 560 there was also a 562 and a 565. Not sure what the difference was though.