Well today we managed to break a steel track on the new Bobcat 430 with a whopping 19 hrs on it. The machine was barely moving the last 2 days and it was basically working in the top 4-6 inches of topsoil the tracks were turning up. One of the track pieces broke where it wraps around the pin that holds it and the next one together. The metal didn't look all that great, kinda looked like white metal. The tracks were lighter than I thought they'd be too. Bobcat service manager came out and said it shouldn't have broke given the conditions. My question to you guys is, was this a fluke ie: just a bad run of track, or are they known to be trouble? I have another 430 rubber track and the whole reason for getting this one was to prevent tearing the rubber ones up where they weren't needed.:Banghead Anyone?
In my experience undercarriage component quality is pretty consistent and material failure is rare but I have no idea where Bobcat sources their components. Did it break around the outside of the pin boss or on the inside of the link (where the bushing is located). The latter area is the weakest link but failure is normally caused by excessive torsional stress resulting from twisting or extreme packing. I know you guys have lots of rock out there... how wide are your shoes?
I should have elaborated more. This design has the track and chain as a one piece unit. Each track piece bolts onto the next one forming a "chain" for the sproket to grab hold. The shoes are 1 foot wide.
Sorry to hear about that badranman. I have a few customers running steel tracks on their undercarriages and they have had no issues. The primary use of their machines is minor demolition work.