I have a 2009 Bobcat E60 with just under 5000 hours. I'm putting new tracks on it, and noticed that the top of the undercarriage frames are getting rusty and pitted from dirt sitting on top of them. This is the old style with square topped frames instead of sloped like many newer machines have. I've been wanting to make these sloped for easier track cleaning but never thought it was feasible. Then, with the track off I was able to see that it was possible, though the part with the tensioner couldn't be cut back as much as the part near the drive motor. Used 3/8" plate for the new angle pieces, welded inside and out.
A little more progress
nice improvement and that looks like your long term machine. That is a good size if you don't have to move it every day with a pickup.
Thanks, I've been thinking of upgrading but this is paid for and who knows what's going to happen in the next year or two. So it will likely stay. On another note, does anyone have experience with air powered grease guns? I got one at an auction with some other stuff and it didn't seem to be able to tighten the track. Doesn't put out enough pressure I guess. Maybe I'll get a Milwaukee M18 grease gun instead. Would be a lot handier than dragging the air hose around anyway
Btw, I move this with an '02 550. Wouldn't even dream of towing it with a pickup
This year it seems there is a flood of Kubota 5.7 excavators. I'm always amazed at how small the trucks are moving them. Today in Dorset one showed up towed by a Chevrolet single wheel pickup.
Let's just hope they have really good trailer brakes.
Trailer and machine weigh about 21k for me
My M18 does up the JD 120 tracks nicely. That's the specification from the manual, around 10" track sag at the middle after running it a couple of revs to even it out. It's 9 5/8 to 10 1/4 or something. I shoot for 10 and it works great.
That looks really nice. Awesome to see guys taking pride in their ride! Fresh paint, as well.
Nice. 5000hr x $80 per hour equals $400k. I like high hour machines. Which is weird cause my stuff have very low hours. also, so sick of emission stuff. Hard for a machine nowadays to hit that with .guvs stuff on it.
That looks so much easier than using a pistol grip gun. I think you just made me buy one for myself for Christmas! Thanks It was long overdue. The tracks were so worn out I call them "contour tracks" because they conform to the contour of the ground. What's a normal life expectancy for steel tracks on a machine this size? I've only had this for about 2300 of it's hours. I started out at $80/hr five years ago, was $85 last year, $95 this year and probably have to be over $100 next year. Don't seem to get any complaints about hourly rate.
I'd hope to get at least 5000 hours on a set of steel rails and pads. I changed out the 120 at 9000 hours, but they were far far gone, slinkys that would S-turn on the ground.
I posed your question in regard to a small bulldozer. Answers were all over the place. Mine is 3600 hours. Compared to other dozers I've seen that is low. Mine has different brand chains, but I think original shoes. Shoes were incorrect width for the machine. No telling what had been done. To protect blade cylinders, I added thick plates to the C frame & cut an inch off the inboard of the shoes. Makes them slightly off center, but Dresser offered 17" tracks off center for the TD7G 7.5" measured from bolt center to inboard. I'll guess my chains were replaced at 2500 hours on the dozer. Dozers are more of a one trick pony. Tracks are wearing 99% of run hours. Excavators are sitting on the tracks not wearing most of the time. I'd guess, as others have told me, it matters what you are running in. Sand is bad, broken rock is worse. I looked at a loggers dozer recently Cat D3_? Low hour machine. Track stretch was minimal, but wear on the drive bushings & sprockets was severe. Machine was caulked, so I presume snow/ice & a lot of backing up hill.
These were the same way, constantly getting inside or outside the bottom rolls. They tend to derail easily too.
I came back to work after being away for many years. I took one look and listened to the story of one young plumber who hurt his hand getting the track back on at the job where I picked it up, and said no more.
Yes I imagine dozers have much more integral undercarriage wear. It makes sense that wider pads would cause more chain wear, since they have more leverage. I've heard that mini excavators (or any with a blade) typically have more undercarriage wear because they get used for pushing and grading material. I have used mine for quite a bit of that, before I got my grader. Doing a quarter mile driveway with a blade on a mini isn't exactly what it's designed for...
I got pretty good at putting them back on, thankfully never put my hands in the wrong place in the process. Takes about 15 minutes on flat dry ground (of course they never derail where it's easy), much longer on 30% slope muddy snowmobile trails. A chain and a come-along will do the trick most times
Good day May be late in the day, however the attached may be of interest. Kind regards Uffex
That is an interesting idea, thank you!
Good day As from the manufacturers, no top roller option. Kind regards Uffex
Similar to a snowmobile slide rail. No reason not to do it that way that I can think of. I wonder why manufacturers went away from that style. These old tracks are for making corners easier