Perhaps I am resigned to taking off the tracks and cleaning the idler slider. It seems to bind on occasion (tracks become tight), then releases. Has anyone used grease or whatnot on the idler track? Sometimes, I can lift the offending side and run the tracks back and forth to release tension. I have adjusted the idler on numerous occasions, thinking I didn't have it adjusted, but this problem keeps cropping up. I've looked in the inspection ports, and they look clean (spring and grease ram). The idler track looked fine last time I replaced an idler (bearing shot). Maybe it is the material I play in...sandy fill mostly, and some heavy organic slop. No clay, maybe a little silt.
Metal or rubber tracks? Metal tracks will pack with sandy material and get very tight. The other thing is temperature, if you get large swings during the day. I have seen a machine that was properly tight when parked at night look loose enough to fall off the next cold morning, and of course after tightening the tracks on a cold day, when the sun came out they were popping and snapping, the grease in the adjuster expands a lot when the temp goes up.
Rubber tracks. Yeah, the tracks are good at preflight inspection, but during use they bind. Today, one side got awfully tight, to the point I could feel the motor bogging down, even stuttering (hydraulic motor).
Also check the shaft in the idler(axle) if it is getting worn then spinning it could cause the tension to change.
Yeah, forgot to mention the side that was causing the problem has a new idler. It has 200hrs on it. I've been expecting the other side to go kaput, but it seems to keep on going. Well, there is only one way to see what is going on...maybe something is in idler track and I can't see it.