Noticed a crack on a link when I was loading dozer. I’m still running it , but know I need to fix ASAP. Dozer has 2500hrs and I’m owner/operator. I hate to spend on complete rails if I don’t need to. Suggestions???
I would not hesitate to section it. The rest of the undercarriage looks like it has a lot left to give.
Call your Cat dealer ASAP. Ask for a PSSR (Parts & Service Sales Rep) to come and measure all your undercarriage and produce a report. This is a free service and the report will also contain recommendations on how you should proceed. When you have that report post it up. Depending on the level of wear on the other components of the undercarriage system it may be easier to make a decision on how to proceed.
The link is already cracked so I'd V it out and weld it with 7018. That should give you a little time to decide if you want to replace anything. Weld a little at a time so it doesn't get too hot.
Weld it. I have seen D6C welded and last the life of the rails.
Might just be a manufactures defect
Absolutely. If you get a PSSR on site ask him straiight out if there is any sort of current Service Program out there for cracked/incorrectly heat-treated links (I've seen a few in the past), because if there is one you may well get some factory assistance to fix your problem. Honestly I would do that before I even thought of picking up a welder. Why try to do a Band-Aid repair on something up when you could possibly have it fixed properly at little or not cost to yourself.?
If you can get warranty would be great. I was thinking it was out of warranty.
Thanks guys for all the input, I’ll get Cat to check it and go from there. There may be more issues that I can’t see, or may be simple link repair.
I was not referring to warranty. i was referring to the possibility of a Product Support Program that is totally independent of the warranty period designed to address a specific fault - cracked links in this case. Although the photos appear to show that the rest of the undercarriage system looks to be in good shape there's no point assuming when a dealer person could come out, do all the measurements , and provide a report on the % wear of every component. Once that report is available, informed decisions can be made.
What is the standard warranty on undercarriage, 3 years or 3000 hours and it's pro rated as well? Would have to see the differences in cost.
The warranty on original fitment undercarriage is the same as machine warranty, whatever that is - some customers take out extended warranties, the undercarriage would be included in that. No hard and fast number, it depends on how the machine was originally sold. In the case of replacement undercarriage bought through the Parts System the warranty is whatever the dealer’s standard Parts warranty is, unless of course the quote for the supply of the replacement u/c included warranty terms specific to that sale, in which case the terms on the quote would be what applied. But I thought we’d already established that we weren’t talking about warranty in this specific case..?
If the link cracked because it was defective, wouldn't that be a warranty issue?
There is no warranty on undercarriage as it is a wear item. Having said that, there are understandings of what one should expect and not expect any component of an undercarriage. Cracking links are not expected under any circumstance. You photos don't show if the links are standard or System 1. Since the front idler appears to be standard, that means to replace that link would require dismantling the chain until you got to that point. Probably not worth the cost. I've seen plenty of cracked links run till the undercarriage was worn out so I wouldn't do anything to it at this point. Welding it up won't make any difference. Most cracks like that are a problem in manufacturing but I'm sure an experienced PSSR from Cat can give ten ways that your operation is what caused the crack. Get the report and then post it up here and we can give you a better story. It would also be nice to get a side on photo of the track frame. The links below are to a couple of video programs that explain a little bit on undercarriages.
Think outside warranty, in fact try for a second to forget the word even exists. A factory product support program is designed to address a single issue of design shortcomings, material/manufacturing defects, or anything safety-related that comes to light after a machine has been built. Programs can run for years or even for the life of the machine in some cases. The fact that the OP stated the machine had 2500 hours on it was enough to indicate that it is likely out of warranty, which would probably be the 1-year standard warranty although other possibilities exist (see above). I’ve seen plenty of cracked link issues in the past that were addressed by the factory in the form of a PSP because it can have a far wider scope in hours/years than just the warranty period, which as we’ve already discussed can be different numbers between two identical machines simply on the basis of how each one was sold by the respective dealers. The PSP levels the playing field and treats all machines equally irrespective of what conditions were applied to their sale.
Nige, could you or anyone give me ay info in the quality of the Trek Idlers vs the ITR Idlers. I'm trying to replace the ones on a Cat 953
No idea I’m afraid. All we ever use is OEM parts.
nige is right we had two d6c machines one was 10k6255 one was 10k 7037 one year newer machine . the higher number machine did not come with tranns oil cooler the lower one did ,tranns run hot i order all parts equiped newer one with the water cooler it did not come with. next problem it had was they put littler beaning on ring gear gave lot of problem, long story short we carried it to cat shop cat rep told them to bore out and put bigger bearing in it ,was free of charge and never give any more problem, that was maybe 10 year after we bought machine new. and yes i know tyhat because we still have it, that is one thing i will say about cat they like to see things work right.
jmschoolboy i have used both on d5h and d5b and d6c tracks and ideler and rollers have not had problem, and have used bebco all have worked good.
In my experience, if you have any problems on the undercarriage components, it's always with the seals.
A seal or seals fail, oil falls out, everything else falls apart shortly afterwards.
Thank you for there info, I bought all OEM cat components but they don't offer a complete idler with swing arms and would be almost 3000.00 each and the sales rep recommended I use the ITR and quoted me them for 1000.00 but when they came they were TREK and his supplier said the the ITR were not available so they sent the TREK and I just haven't heard much info about them.
Probably very similar to the ITR.
Trek was good stuff thirty years ago. I've used it multiple times back in the nineties for D7 and D8 machines built in the sixties and seventies. Who know what it is like now. I've seen and measured plenty of ITR stuff. Biggest issue was as said before, oil seals. That kind of problem is one of how the warranty is handled. In my experience, I've seen plenty of Trek and ITR failures and some of the dealers take care of the problems and some don't. I've never seen a Cat dealer walk totally away for a problem with their premature failures. Sometimes the auditory limits of ear muffs might get tested before some kind of offer is made.