Some D8 track work getting done. I’ve had great value out of the previous rollers and idlers,so time to replace them
I don’t do this work day in,day out fortunately,but try and do the best we can. The plywood board and trolley jack make things easier for sure
I accept that the timber cribbing is open to criticism and that’s fair enough.Suggestions are wellcolm as every day is a learning day.
I also bought some new blade edges for it. They are heavy enough,and I’m getting abit old for lifting them.I think I’ll have the welder put lifting eyes on them next time.The D9 will need edges turning this year if I get any work for it,and they will make me grunt a fair bit
Those Cat idlers and rollers have done very well.They’ll be a tough act to follow.
It’s good to get the preparation done on all the mating surfaces,as you want nowt coming slack out in the field. Back in the day,I did all my undercarriage work with 1” drive bars and scaffolding tubes.I had little comprehension of torque settings etc.
Well,there she rests waiting for the lowloader to get all that nice paint polished off it. She’s had the usual 250hr service plus all the belly plates removed and cleaned and a leak looked at.These D8N/R/T belly plates are a pretty easy gig to remove and clean whenever they return to the yard.I can’t say the same about my D8H/K tractors though.I’ll admit to NEVER taking those brutes off unless something had calved down.Horrible things
A few Easter weekend pics of things getting done.I sometimes help a mate out with his machines,so I get the loan of some proper tools,not like my old junk. That big Milwaukee 1” battery thing stripped a D9R blade down for transport just for the hell of it.It’s surprisingly light too. The torque multiplier tasked with chewing on the Cat 390 track frames was a hired in piece of tooling that I didn’t want to get too close too .It was phenomenal and made short work of things.
Last of all,we have to make the job abit of fun eh with a trip to my local village pub.I can walk to the pub from my yard all to easily,but hard graft allways makes the beer taste better. Have a nice Easter all.
great work Nicky, have to agree about the 1" drive Milwaukee, used one once and a fantastic piece of kit
Nicky- GREAT pics/project!! Enjoyed that!! I had to lift/support a 21k lbs grapple truck, and after reading about fire/rescue using blocking to secure vehicles during rescues, I figured why not. It’s been awhile, but I believe that 3- 6”x6” cribbing stacked up (Jenga style) will support ~30k lbs…so a stack at each wheel worked great for me, plus I could account for the (slightly) uneven/soft terrain. And like you, a piece of plywood helped a lot. I did have some 4”x4”s and some 2”x8”s too… I cut most of the pressure treated lumber into 2 foot lengths which allowed me to stack when not in use…plus made for an easy size to move/setup while under the machine.
Nice job on the brakes
I see that you replaced the rollers, idlers and sprockets, but not the chains. I would think that the old chains would potentially start wear patterns on the new rollers and the sprockets, Is that not the case? I am just asking out of interest and for future knowledge, not critiquing, I don't have a lot of experience maintaining undercarriages over time.
Great pictures but i had to look very close to see the safety stand under the blade arm while under it
Not too bad. If you guys need a little more experience I have everything ready to go for my D7. You get free experience and I'll pay for the pub trip afterwards
I'd have thought that with the cost of all that iron you'd have been out of beer tokens for the foreseeable......
Thank's for the photos of the job. I like the engineering on the floor jack. Outside of a dealer shop, we always used wood cribbing to get a machine off the ground. I always thought it better in most cases because the steel would not slide on the wood. Doing that kind of work is better than paying for time in a gym on a work out machine.
A coals,the chains are brand new Cat.The 24” extreme pads are Cat at 40% worn. Absolutely no offence taken.I’m used to critique with my wife However,the days of me putting all brand new undercarriage parts on at the same time are long gone. Those rollers and idlers have outlived two complete sets of trackgroups.
Nige,I allways buy undercarriage parts bit by bit when I’m flush and got a few bob. I’ve saved £8000 on this particular undercarriage by not waiting for it all to wear out then buying a complete set. Inflation is a funny thing eh?
Nice work Nicky and thank you for sharing it. Most times we get so wound up with the task that we forget to document it. I've spent many an hour pulling those levers on an 8 but not the wrench. I appreciate it more now than ever.
Skyking,you’re right about not taking pics or documenting things when you’re under pressure.I regret not getting more pics over the years,especially of all the Terex scrapers I worked with.Now,they are all long gone. These days,I’m semi retired and do the dozers more as a profitable side line to suit me,so I make sure we all enjoy it with abit of fun and get it documented for the next generation to laugh at
Yes,they were placed under the draft arms and heavier than the cutting edges!
I’ve had a few pints in the pub with my wife since you posted and the idea of bunging a set of your D7 tracks together doesn’t seem too bad
a nice little paid vacation in Florida would e nice
Got any pics of the rails? Curious as to how the rollers were ground-in that much but the flanges were not running on the pin bosses?
It works in sandstone that’s pretty soft Shimmy.You can’t feel any lumps and bumps as such when they are worn down,but I doubt I’d get that much wear out of them if working in hard rock
Cribbing's a bit old school but it's OK. Nobody died and nobody's in jail, right?
Yes Cmark,you’re right on all points.There was an element of good luck that ensured we made it out the other side.