D5K2 LGP S/N: KY205628 Machine was on jobsite and oil was leaking from some of the lower track rollers. I forgot to mark which ones were leaking. Now the machine is back at my shop. I took off one of the single flange rollers that I knew were leaking, but it has the same amount of play as the rest of the rollers (which is super minimal) and no residue of leaking oil. How else could I find out which ones have no oil in them? Should I take out the plug on the one side of the roller? If they are empty of oil, is it worth it to rebuild them? And if I do rebuild them, how much oil should go in each one? Thank you
The face seals are most likely leaking. You can only find out which ones have oil by removing the plug(s). You drill out the hard plastic one in the centre then hook the softer rubber out plug out. They'll have to be replaced with new afterwards. The rollers are filled with a special tool that leaves a certain air volume inside them so that when the roller gets hot the oil can expand without leaking out. Question: How much wear is there on the surface of the roller.? Re-sealing a worn roller may not be economical. See attachment. Price up a pair of new Duo-Cone seals and the plug/stopper and see how that compares to the price of a roller.
Here’s the wear on the roller. Price difference is $80-$180 for rebuild (depending if I need a whole duo-cone seal or just the toric rings). And whole new roller is $383. I believe I have at least 4 rollers that were leaking. If I were to rebuild, how do I separate the roller? Also, do you have any tips on how I can drill out the plugs to check if the roller has oil without getting rubber and plastic inside the roller?
Those rollers look well worn so let's work out if they are even worth resealing first. Can you get hold of a pair of external calipers.? See illustration below. Find the most worn part of the roller tread and as accurately as you can measure the outside diameter of the roller. Post back with your results. For reference if the tops of the flanges are unworn the diameter at that point should be approx 7.83".
I have found 2 single flange and 1 double flange roller that has no oil. They all measured 6.76”. Is that means for new ones?
Did you measure the diameter at the top of the flange (7.83" diameter) for reference.? I need that measurement to make sure I'm looking at the correct wear table, and if I am they are only about 20% worn. I'd still like the diameter measurement of the flange though. From the photo you posted I could have sworn they were way more worn than that, just shows how (maybe) photos can lie.
Yes sir, sorry. The top of the flanges are 7.83”.
The photo shows little wear on the rolling surface. The flange diameter means nothing and I've never even seen a spec for it. If they have been run dry, they aren't worth the time and effort to try to fix them. Many times people will fill them with chassis grease and run them to destruction if they aren't sloppy yet. You will have to removed the end collars to see how bad the seal areas are damaged. Lots of people will tell you that new rollers shouldn't take the place of used one but there isn't enough wear there to make any difference. Are they original Cat rollers? Cat rollers are supposed to have a lifetime guarantee on the seals but the dealers will mostly tell you no if you didn't purchase the machine from them.
They are original cat rollers. Machine was purchased brand new from cat. I will call them tomorrow and ask about warranty on them. Thank you
John, I was only asking for the flange diameter, assuming that it wouldn't be worn, to make sure I was on the correct wear table for the track rollers. The P/N of the OP's track rollers according to SIS is not listed in the book and I couldn't find another P/N of roller that it serviced to.
I probably should have stated it differently in my post. Didn't mean it sound gruff when I posted
No worries.
For my own knowledge, how do I get the collars off the rollers? I tried turning them and pressing them out with no luck. I’m assuming I’m just missing something?
As I recall there are end caps and the other types are end collars. I don’t recall on the end caps. The collets have a snap ring you have to dig out.
I was going to have a dig for a D&A procedure but haven’t got round to it yet. As John says usually there is a snap ring in a groove close to the end of the shaft that can be removed by slightly rotating the end cap.
Can't find a procedure but here's a cross section. 1. The end caps (not shown) should twist off but may be a bit tight because of rust on the shaft. An adjustable wrench on the end cap should turn it. 2. The collar #4 at both ends comes off along with the outside half of the Duo-Cone Seal assembly #5. A big pair of sliding jaws pliers or similar will be required. 3. Pry out the snap ring #3 at both ends. 4. Beat the end of the shaft in one direction. That will bring out the bushing #2, O-Ring #6, & Terminal Bushing #2A. 5. Repeat Step 4 but beat the shaft in the opposite direction to remove the same three pieces on the other side. Your rollers are slighlty different arrangement to what's shown in the photos below but the method shown will get the end caps off.
Be advised that if you replace the rollers anticipate buying caps/mounting blocks with them. It seems most of the machines we get that have rollers with integrated caps are replaced by rollers with separate caps.