Since repacking the tilt cylinders on the CAT 941B the machine has been sitting a while (several weeks) and when I moved it to test out the repacked cylinders I noticed a loud squeal coming from the left track. Appeared the upper idler wasn't moving so I marked it and moved the machine a few feet and the idler didn't move. Loosened the center nut and noticed there was no oil. I'm thinking the lack of oil and sitting for some time things might have gotten a bit rusty. So, I have two questions I'm hoping someone can answer. 1) How do I get the idler rolling again and 2) what type of oil goes in there.
Update: Not the idler that is locked up but rather it is the "track carrier roller group", please pardon the newbie gaff.
Give me until tomorrow morning. I'll post a diagram of what the carrier roller looks like inside. It shouldn't be too hard to free it up.
The roller has tapered roller bearings and uses 30 wt. oil. 1 style roller uses a nut to adjust bearings the other has a plate with shims. Good luck Bob
Do you have a dirty undercarriage that has caused a flat spot on your carrier roller?
I don't believe it was too dirty, things seemed fine before the machine sat for several weeks - I hadn't heard that squeal before so I'm assuming it was rolling
First up if it has a flat spot on it because it wasn't turning you should spot it easily enough. if that is the case your repair is going to be more expensive. You may find that it is missing the oil. Take the end cover off and see what falls out ..........if it's nothing you had no oil in there.
When I noticed it wasn't turning I took a quick look at it, nothing was obvious, i.e. flattened, but it was a cursory glance since it was getting dark. When I opened the plug nothing came out, i.e. no oil and I could see inside. So, I'm hoping adding some oil and figuring out a way to get it rolling again all will be good, if not I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and replace it.
Complete replacement may not be necessary. It may be worthwhile pulling it off now and disassembling it would be the way to free it up while at the same time you could investigate how it lost the oil (bad seal maybe?) and fix that as well. At the end of all fill it with oil and it should hopefully work OK.