Has anyone come up with a solution for worn out system undercarriage on a D6K LGP? It is my understanding that the System One undercarriage on a D6K2 can be converted to a heavy duty track system. Our undercarriage failed at 2000 hours. Pins started leaking. Cat covered it under warranty. We had to pay about $3000.00 for new rails. We now have 5000 hours on the machine, 2000 hours on the rails and the system one rails are junk. Cat will not warranty again because it is past 4 years. There are no aftermarket rails that will work with the Cat system on the D6K. I was just wondering if anyone had come up with a solution? As far as I can tell the only solution is to go back with System One rails which in my opinion are not worth the money. Period.
I know on the 963C's and D's you can switch over to SALT rail but it requires replacing all U/C components (segments, rollers, idlers, rails) also sometimes requires modification to track guards.
System One is discontinued. It is now Cat Abrasion. I can not speak for it one way or another but Cat claims to have finally fixed all the issues associated with System One and claim it outperformed System One in all testing in all conditions. It will have the same 4 yr/6000hr warranty. Ask your dealer for details and pricing.
Here in the UK,many are converting their D6’s back to conventional u/c. It doesn’t seem a big job,but all parts need replacing. I’m not sure about the bottom rollers though ?
Cat said the same thing when they came out with System One. Outperforms standard undercarriage in all testing and all conditions. The warranty was a con job as well.
To answer that question would require the machine Serial Number. Certain D6K machines can be converted to HD undercarriage relatively easily, others cannot. I'm confused in as much as you mention both "D6K" and "D6K2"in your text, hence the request for a S/N.
Nige the serial number is DHA01826. Cat dealer and aftermarket seller both say it can not economically be changed on this tractor from System One back to standard undercarriage. I mentioned the D6K2 because it is my understanding that the K2 is the model that can be converted. We have 5000 hours on the dozer and this will be the second set of undercarriage that has less that 2500 hours on it. So much for Cat's 6000 hour warranty. Unfortunately for us the last change was over 4 years ago so it is out of warranty. The tractor has not been worked in any severe conditions. We had the present rails put on in 2015 under the warranty. Hope all is going well with you.
It is a large con job. I cannot believe Cat has let this go on for so long. This is the second set of rails on this machine. No operation in severe conditions. Mostly light finishing work. If this is a common occurrence Cat should have discontinued System One long ago!
Big Ben this is the second set of System One undercarriage for this machine. Neither one went over 2500 hours. According to Cat when we put this second set on all the problems with System One had been solved and worked out. Unfortunately that was over 4 years ago and not the case. We have 2000 hours on this set but over more than 4 years. We are stuck. Have run nothing but Cat for 45 years. This does not make me happy.
That's why I asked for a S/N. The machines that can be converted are as follows: - D6K (S/N: 7P61-UP; DHA2033,2035-2038,2040-2098,2100,2102-2106,2108-2155,2158-2234,2236-2278,2280-2381,2384-UP; ZLJ1-UP) D6K2 (S/N: EL71-UP; JTR1-UP; RST1-UP) The Special Instruction for conversion of S1 to HD undercarriage does not apply to your DHA-prefix machine S/N under 2000. This is something to do with the track frames on earlier models that only had 7 track rollers. The later frames had 8 rollers. I seem to recall someone posting on HEF a while ago showing a D6K with 7-roller frames that had been converted to HD, but not by a dealer. Are there any breakers in your area dismantling D6K machines that might have HD undercarriage.? alater-generation track frame might be what you are looking for.
Based on the info from Cat in Nige's post if your roller frame uses 8 rollers it can be converted. I'll have to look tomorrow when I get back to work for the document. When Cat came out with the D6K2 they must have realize what a screw up they made on the original D6K and changed the roller frames to use either the HD or System One rollers. They have the same bolt hole pattern. On the D6K the roller was a one of a kind and there was no interchange between any other roller.
Do you have any kind of number for the frame I would need? May just have to go back with system one, work it a while and sell it. Thanks for the info.
Looks like we are out of luck. Just stuck with lemon.
Looks like you may be stuck with selling it at some point
I’ll have to look. I assume that the frames from a machine DHA2000-Up with 8 rollers would be what you need. If anyone else says different I hope they will chime in. I’m travelling at the moment, give me a couple of days.
The D6K2 has the option of System 1 or Heavy Duty. The HD undercarriage is the same that is on the D5H or D6N conventional undercarriage. From what I find the bolt hole pattern on the rollers is narrow on the D6K compared to the D6K2. I have the bolt hole pattern on the D6K from side to side is 11.75 and it is 12.5 on the K2. I have a picture of both rollers one in front of the other and the shell looks to be about the same width but the K2 roller is larger in diameter. Here is a picture I have of the rollers.
The thread ended??? Did anyone ever come up with a solution for converting systemone rails on an early D6K LGP over to HD rails ?
There is nothing official. A few people claimed to have successfully accomplished the modification but whenever they are questioned about it and asked for details the answer is crickets.
I‘ve just found this thread, the only detail about application for the OP’s machine was “light applications”. I’m a bit mystified as we’ve run machines on test, one that’s done heavy work including very abrasive granite sand and it’s taken 7000 hrs to kill the tracks. One machine I know of on wide tracks killed the chains in about 2000 hrs. S1 life is very application dependent but wide shoes on S1 chains is a bad combination on any soil, imo.
Wow, I am impressed by the quickness of the responses. There has got to be a set of HD rails and pads out there on an excavator or something that will work on the early D6K track frame. Searching...... Meanwhile I am looking for D6K2 track frames . I like the hydraulic drive that dials down to 1/10 gear, the view of the cutting edges and the pressurized cab. I've been an open cab guy in Alaska for 46 years. A Cat man ,about to go Komatsu, lol. I bought a early D6K LGP model that had 6000 hrs on it ,the tracks seemed ok except for some minor damage to pads, I ran it a hundred hours in a couple years ,it seemed fine. This year, It got worked hard for 500 hrs walking over logs and stumps, silty mud and burning tundra, the master pins kept turning in the link. I called the track guru up here, told him I had problems with the masterlink and he said "get used to it, they are junk, weld em" We have been searching for a solution , in vain so far. $30K for new chains (sys one) and pads and sprockets from the dozer mafia is the best I can find so far. I had to replace the masterlink, the mafia service people were really no help with a field repair, they arrived without the new masterlink I had gold streaked some 60 hours earlier, and no tools. The press he had was for a hightrack and didnt fit. He left at his bosses instruction, I had to practically accost him to get one of the inner links, and a pair of outer links he did bring. I had to send an expediter 200 miles to get the new masterlink left at the shop. That was a long night in the rain for me. I cut an outer and innerlink off with a cutoff wheel and pressed on a new inner and outerlink with a bottle jack, sledge hammer and a couple pieces of pipe and blocks of wood cut out of a burnt log. I then installed a new master link on new pins by sunup. The new pins in new masterlinks with new bolts had spun in the link during the first hour, I had to weld them in to stop that.....How can Cat not recall that junk or at least provide a solution ??. To add insult to injury, the cat service sent me a bill for $2,500 for showing up without the parts or the tools, blocked me from ordering more parts untill I paid the bill. I tried having a friend buy parts in Oregon and they refused to sell them parts to be shipped to Alaska. Ya, might be mafia if they come after me. Sadly I have 4 other Cat dozers, all old school , all reliable. May be time to retire.
There isn’t. Wishing will not make it so. They won’t fit, at least not as a bolt-on replacement anyway. A bit of due diligence regarding System One undercarriage before purchase and you would have taken the appropriate steps - big ones in the opposite direction.
I've got a set of used D6H System One track chains and shoes for sale, if anyone is interested. All the cartridges are in good condition, no leaks and smooth articulation - but the rails are worn, and the shoes are about 50%. I'm open to offers a bit above scrap value. I think there's about 3 tonnes in them (6000lbs). Could be good for a runout set, for selling a machine, or a cheap option to avoid major costs otherwise. These came from a local council machine, they didn't seem to have major problems with System One here - but they weren't working in rock or highly abrasive conditions either, just mostly stockpiling sandy clayey gravel material for road base. They threw these chains off and bought new ones because Cat said they needed new undercarriage. I don't know what criteria Cat used for determining they were shot, but they look like there's still 2000 hrs left in them, to me. Maybe other components in the undercarriage were at their limit. However, I must add, I've got no experience with running System One undercarriage, all my experience is with regular SALT and dry undercarriage.
Im pretty sure the H model tracks are a bit larger. The press the service truck had was for the larger scale hightrack version. If they are the same then I will come buy them from you. The part number on the masterlink is 318-2486H
This is what I call worn, lol.
Working Next day,...lol.
Salesman baited me with lies , I swallowed the bait. The best track man on the planet says hes 100% sure it can be converted to HD tracks, just not sure exactly how yet. Pioneering is what we do to thrive here in Alaska.
Caterpillar is still doubling down on the big lie. Beginning of their end.
I don't know if you're aware, that I'm in Western Australia! The freight to AK on a set of used tracks might be a deal killer! I don't currently have the part numbers from the links, the chains are 80 miles away from me at present, stored on my block in the wheatbelt. I won't be able to get the numbers for a week. I'm amazed that Cat would produce a newer set of SO tracks with smaller links?! - particularly as they must have been aware the earlier ones were giving problems? Like so many products designed many decades ago, original designs were as good as we'll get, they might only need a bit of fine tuning with more modern technology, but the old-timers knew what worked and what didn't! So many new design ideas are more about increasing company profits, than producing real gains for end-users.
I’ve run two 963’s with S1 and they seem a good match for that type of machine. Probably because in most applications they aren’t pushing for the same % of time as a dozer, and are on narrow shoes. That‘s my humble opinion, anyway.
Checking the shipping cost.
I went back through my photos and found a photo of a link on my SO tracks, that I could zoom in on. The part number on this link is 234-9699. The Cat parts store says that link fits all the following models; D6 D6H XL D6R D6R II D6R III D6R LGP D6R XL D6T D6T LGP D6T LGPPAT D6T XL D6T XL PAT D6T XW D6T XW PAT D6 XE D6XE I haven't got a rail height measurement on these rails, and I don't have the new rail height measurement for them. But these rails appear to be quite useable - and interestingly, they certainly are heavier links than the ones on your tractor. The last photo is a snip from the Cat Undercarriage Sales Kit, 7th edition, showing the exact fitment for 234-9699 link.
akcatskinner, I just realised, after going back through the posts, your tractor is a low-track D6K. That's a whole lot different tractor to the D6H, D6R and D6T. It's a whole size smaller than the H, R and T! Typical Cat - move the tractor size numbers down with every new model - and pretty soon you're bragging about driving an 80HP D8Z!! Here's the undercarriage information on the D6K track. The D6K uses a 7.50" pitch track with 18mm track shoe bolts, the D6H, R and T use an 8.00" pitch track with 22mm track shoe bolts.
Yes, its a bit of a little tinker toy the K model , the low ground clearance could get in-sensitive operators into trouble in the woods and its a bit light skinned, a finish cat. Its quick and cheap to run, and deadly accurate with no lack of power. Its ability to put every tree it touches right where you want it in slow motion in concert with ground crews and other equipment make it a very safe artful tool under the direction of an experienced forest dozer hand . It can drive about anywhere any track rig can go , deep in the swamp and muskeg and over jackpotted timber and D7 piles to reach a flare up in a stringer of big timber with its water tank with pump and hose reel perched above the winch. I worked in an out an area for a couple weeks that was very wet without making any ruts , a D7 showed up tried to follow my tracks and buried its self hopelessly in the first 2 minutes. The K model easily straddled the deep ruts and picked the D7M up by the ripper and tossed it sideways out if its hole and then easily filled the hole & erased the mess without a trace . The low gearing and powerful hydraulics are a joy to use. . It is A good size for interior Alaska not far off from the traditional classical pioneer cat D7 3T, 7M , and 17A direct drive angle dozers of old that I have run for 46 years around here . The pat blade performs suppression repair 3X as fast as an excavator spreading out pushed up piles of trees stumps and foot thick tundra mat, downside is Its a bit temp limited at times when hand crews are having heat exhaustion problems the robot nanny starts bitching about 170 degree hydraulic oil, handicapped by no purge cycle on the fan/ radiator group you have to brush the sphagnum moss and cottonwood fuzz off the radiator by hand. The dainty SO tracks are tiresome and sometimes terrifying to maintain.I didnt have a problem with them untill they got a bit snakey and kept trying to jump off the sprocket, then they just got so loosey juicy that I couldnt keep em from harm in the stumpy sidehill with rocks and mud. Ridiculously expensive to replace comparative to HD rails. Below is a pic of her with her older sister the C model taking a break after putting in a hot line and walking down the black fire side to establish a canopy break without pushing up mountains of green . Kind of a ballsy approach but very effective and expedient with a favorable wind, late in the day as the humidities are rising. It really freaked out the hand crews from The Pacific North West.
D6K model tossing a D7 out of its hopelessly stuck position like a toy
Nige: I know this is an old post but can you tell me if my machine Serial # WMR00763 can be converted to HD?
Off hand is can’t tell you one way or the other and my computer is currently out of action so I can’t even look up the information at the moment. Can’t even look it up on my external hard drive. If you can wait a few days I can certainly take a look, or maybe someone else can. A question for you. Do the track frames on your machine have 7 or 8 track rollers.?
Thanks for responding. It has 8 bottom rollers.
At least it doesn’t have 7 rollers, they can’t be converted without a lot of bother. I’ll get back to you when I get up and running again. No idea when that will be.
We swapped a D6K2 XL from SO to SALT. New SALT sprocket segments should bolt right up. The idler and all bottom and carrier rollers will need replaced and should just bolt up in place of the old ones with no modifications. The center rock guards/track guides and the track guides in front of the sprocket and behind the idler will need to be changed as well due to the SALT chain being wider then the SO chain. You can get them new from Cat or modify the existing ones. I guess we were some of the lucky ones. The SO undercarriage lasted 50% longer for us than SALT. We only swapped because it was cheaper than new SO and we were planning to trade the machine before the SALT needed changed.
Sorry this reply took so long. Been without my computer as a result of a hard drive failure. Answer to your question - Yes it is possible. See the attachment. Any questions please ask.