Should there be much side to side play in an idler wheel? My track pins are quite warn too so it is able to move side to side on the slide that the idler wheel is attached to. It doesn't seem normal to me. That track is kinda loose too... Really just need to go thru the undercarriage but I wanted to get a little more time outa it.
Should not be any.
That's what I thought...the track was sitting just right so I could really see it... But other times it feels like there is no play just because it is tight I guess I just wondered how bad this is?
Yair . . . Alex85 . It sounds like it's fairly bad and if you keep working it for sure it will get worse. If you catch them early it is bearings and seals, then it becomes bearings seals and shaft and very shortly a whole new idler . . . once the bore is flogged they're scrap or a very spendy salvage operation if you can't do it yourself. Cheers.
It's step height that determines when an idler is worn out. The centers of the idlers usually crack out before the bearings go bad. What you are talking about is the play between the idler blocks and the channels in the track frames. There will always be some, if there wasn't the idler would get stuffed up with dirt and get stuck in place. Your other description of the track chains indicates they are very worn and loose in the joints. If you look down on the links where they come over the front idlers, you will probably see a space between the outside big end and the small leading end link. Basically the chains will flex side to side and that is one of the things that make the wear in the track frame pockets and on the blocks. The other thing that happens is the front idlers are adjusted to the ends of the cylinders and the jumping idler takes out the seals in the track adjuster cylinder. You find that you have to keep adjusting the track out day after day and soon hour after hour. Most of the places I've worked for wanted as much time on the undercarriage as absolutely possible. What we did when the tracks started coming off more than twice a week was to take a link out of each side. Now the track adjusters are back where the seal surfaces are OK and the track frame pockets are tighter. It will get you a little more time and for awhile the tracks will stay on most of the time. Of course the sprocket teeth also get worn to the point of it truly being just a wheel and no longer a sprocket. Then you have to spend some money. Good Luck!
Yair . . . John C. . Probably my bad . . . I assumed the O/P was talking dozers. I have never seen the centre of an idler crack out but have fitted many sets of bearings before sitting down for the night with a case of 3/8'' iron powder fixing up that step height . . . it's a bit hard to recover when a bearing failure has gone unnoticed and it's flogged out the side plates and the hub. Cheers.
Thanks for the help guys I don't think it's the bearings...I think it's the track frame pockets and the block the idler is attached to... Although I can't tell if it is the bearings too or not...I thought of taking out a link but I will probly just bite the bullet and do chains, sprockets, seals in the adjusters, and whatever else it needs at this time before it starts wearing more stuff!
So what should the clearance in the blocks be?
Hey ledsel, glad to see you back, I really enjoyed your grader stuff. I'm sure the clearance depends on the machine.