I understand that any lube on a track chain is likely to attract dirt and increase wear. That said, the cacophony of screeching, squealing metal as my undercarrage travels the rocky desert is a little much to bare. Is there any dry-lube product that would ease the stresses on the track chains while leaving them relatively dust free? Either that or something like chain lube for motorcycles? It seems like chain lube works well in other applications, it would be nice if there were some options for dozers and excavators as well. Thanks for any info. -Sean
Yair . . . SPG . I think probably the best thing would be better earmuffs or louder music . . . as far as I know there is no way to lube them apart from running through a puddle and there is not many of them in the desert. Cheers
Nailed it!
I dunno if this works or not, but I found this really neat stuff at the local truck parts shop. GDL (Garage Door Lube) Its a dry film lubricant in a spray can. I have no knowledge of good or bad points, but the can claims it dries to the touch to avoid gathering dust and dirt like a wet film lube would. Works great on the Garage door wheels in the riding arena where we have a TON of dust.
I like garage door lube very much, but I don't think it'll do much under that kind of pressure. Maybe some of those Bose noise canceling headphones?
If you want to eliminate track noise, buy a rubber tracked skid steer or mini-excavator and stick to small jobs. Other than that, small-medium excavators on rubber tires are available and rubber tired dozers. Until the army comes up with "stealth" tracks for their armored vehicles and they prove advantageous for construction equipment I guess we are stuck with the racket.
Thanks for the info. Mostly I just felt sorry for the chains and rollers, figuring if it sounded THAT bad, it must be abusive. Also, my machines get to walk a couple of miles to get to most of my jobs, (use on a ranch), so trying to not be mean to them was the primary goal. If it's only my problem and the machines don't care, earmuffs are easy! Thanks again. -Sean
I usually work with bigger machines than excavators, hydraulic shovels, electric shovels, draglines. On the shovel tracks we use an open gear lube. After applied the solvent falls out and it bonds to the metal, similar to the chain lube you mentioned.
Just get a wheeled excavator. Zero track noise. :stirthepot