I had to rebuild the undercarriage on the Lamtrac, again. Not impressed with the ITR branded stuff at all. I don't think it had much over 1500 hrs on it and everything is shot on the upper and lower rollers, along with sprockets. In order to lift rollers into place, I have a modded cradle assembly for a floor jack to start the lift. My rollers must be lifted into the frame cavity and then twisted 90 degrees to line up the bolt holes. I am not sure that other typical track equipment is like this or not, but I have become creative in order to make life easier to get these lifted into place (while working alone, of course). Using my favorite lift strap material, MuleTape, I just lift from 2 opposite corners and winch into place with a strap winch. Once close enough, I start the bolts in the opposite 2 corners prior to removing the tape. Simple, relatively fast and easy enough. Maybe you other guys have some tips to share here? Roller on floor jack fixture with MuleTape installed on opposite corners. Tape has not yet been run through corresponding bolt holes. Roller lifted as high as jack will go. Tape has been threaded through corresponding holes and slack is ready to be taken up. Once the slack is out, ready to start winching into position. A pry bar helps at this time for repositioning without getting fingers or other needed body parts pinched or crushed.i Winched into position and opposite corner bolts installed. This MuleTape is super strong and slick. It does not cut or abrade easily and readily slides over most surfaces. Even though it is not a straight pull, the tape does not get cut unless extreme pressure is applied. Threaded bar started on each side, loosely, and ready to extract the tape. Once the tape is out, start the other 2 bolts and tighten to spec. Easy. No missing or damaged digits, minimal swearing and ready for the next one!
I have had the same experience with ITR. Unfortunately it was basically the only option available when I needed an undercarriage on my excavator. What brand are you using this time?
Well, how much is OEM, and how long did it last? My experience is ITR is around 35% the cost of OEM, if it lasts half as long you're still money ahead, lots of you do the work yourself.
I paid the extra to put Berco back on it. 2 top rollers are ITR but the rails, pads, idlers and all other rollers are Berco this time. If I get an extra 500 hours out of it, it has paid for itself many times over. The down time is the real killer and costs the most. It's like paint - the labor is the same so use the best the first time through and you won't have to work on it again as soon. Sprockets are still OEM as it is the only place I can find them. Not happy about that situation. I was charged $650 for the last single that they had in December when I ordered other parts. I finally got a new one in April after a long back order and now they are telling me $1,400+ for the one sprocket. I feel like I am having to take it up the back side. These sprockets only last about 1,000 hours. There is nothing like the feeling of being taken advantage of.
Bought ITR rails and sprockets for our 321DL and I haven't been happy with them either. 1000-1200 hours there are 3 links on one side with enough slop in them one can wiggle the pad and see it. When it was time to put a UC on the 953 I went with all Cat. If I put another UC on the 321 I'll probably go with Berco.
Pretty tough to get any time out of forestry undercarriage. the timberpro machines I work on have cat undercarriages and if we use oem parts we’re still lucky to get 4K hours out of it. Aftermarket is considerably less.
As far as bottom rolls go, last week we did 9 on a tigercat 822. The operator helped me and we just used a floor jack sitting on the track chain. Like your machine, we had to turn them 90 degrees once we get it past the bottom rock rail. Not a bad job with an extra set of hands.
Have read where Berco quality is down from what it used to be. I priced Berco and it was more expensive than Cat. Not sure if it matters what specific machine it is for.
I often wonder that the non oem manufacturers start off good and cheap,then revert to bad and cheap once they get established. I still maintain that oem undercarriages are too expensive for what they are though. It needs careful monitoring to achieve the hourly u/c costs.