I was looking at a CAT rental dozer (d5G), and was looking at their inspection report. The machine has a total of 860 hours on it. It concerns me of not only why but how long and how much it may cost to replace only the bushings, as to me the rest of it seems to be in pretty good shape. I asked why they may have worn so much in 677 hours and they gentleman told me it was in a sandy area of VA. But it will not be in a sandy area from now on. So my questions are: does this sound off as far as wear/cause. is it extremely expensive just to replace bushings, as links look good. if so anyone got an estimate from experience. Any other input about the measurements would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
You could have them turned which around here it cost about 500.00.I own a td8-e and new berco pins&bushings cost about 900.00 and another 500.00 to have them pressed in.
Most of the manufacturers will tell you that the expected life of a properly maintained undercarriage should be about 5000-6000 hours. Unfortunately, the majority of equipment operators and business owners have no comprehension as to what "properly maintained" means. The three largest contributors to premature undercarriage failures are: High Speed Reverse Improper Track Tensioning Lack of Track Cleaning It goes without saying that the working conditions also play into the wear factor. However, one can still maximize the life of this significant investment, by paying proper attention to the above three factors. Excavator Operators can destroy an undercarriage in no time by simply employing bad excavation techniques. There's plenty of morons out there that complain to me about having to replace an entire undercarriage after 2000 hours, but don't understand why it failed prematurely.:Banghead Then they'll ask me about removing a link, even raising the Carrier Roller to tighten up the track group! It is at this point where I suggest to them that they either: employ more qualified personnel and pay more attention to their iron or get out of the business and buy a bicycle repair shop, where the expenses are much lower.:beatsme
If I am reading the report right, the bushings have already been turned. The person who ran the report also used the lesser wear specification for the bushings. That spec is used when the machine is being used in a high impact application. Basically they turn the bushings early because they might crack and breakup. I would ask what the percentage worn would be using the greater wear specification. A D5G really doesn't often get much high impact operation. As to the claim that an undercarriage would run 5,000 to 6,000 hours on a dozer I would have to say that I have not heard any manufacturer make that statement. It really depends on the material the machine is working in. In personal experience I have not seen many small dozers run more than 3,000 hours and that was in the woods. Most small dozers that I have experience with get around 1,200 to 1,500 hours before turn and then run to destruction at around 2,800 to 3,200 hours. I have seen some brands of tracks get half that amount. Larger dozers might get close to 4,000 hours to destruction. I have seen the new Cat System One undercarriage get high hours. It is only available I think up to a D6R. I have heard that it does have other issues that might come up and it is expensive to start with.
Indeed - I've had a few contractors tell me they let noone but noone outside the family operate their machines for just this reason - These guys can make a machine last forever . . . justabout.
My dad and uncle always figured 3 years was the max on our UC(Dresser TD-15C's). That would put the hours at 4500-to 6000 depending on the year and what projects we had going. This isn't to say that they were completely SHOT but getting wore to the point that a break down in the middle of the busy season would be more time consumming and costly than changing them out in the winter would be. For the most part we were in dirt and clay but anyone who knows southwest wisconsin knows it is very rocky as well and somtimes we did get into sandy soil conditions. One thing we would do is build up the rollers each year and always had a handful of spares just in case. Trbo
I am not an undercarriage expert, but I dont think your question has been answered. If I were you looking at that report the question I would ask on here is. Am I right to expect to replace the bushings in about 600 more hrs. AND at that time can I expect to get away with replacing just the bushings. Comments please.
AtlasRob, The problem is that the report is not done correctly and therefor is not credible. I have never seen bushings turned at that number of hours with that much wear left in them, particularly Cat product in that size of machine. Just looking at what was stated by wvfarmervet tells me something is wrong with what was posted. I would need the link part number to find out what tracks are installed and then I can check the measurements against what I have for specifications. After that it is just a matter of checking the costs of the parts and boiling it down to cost per hour of operation to see if what they are saying is true. I can say from personal experience though that the statements presented just don't add up.
Man, not even Mt. St. Helens ash was that hard on bushings!!!
hope i'm understanding you correctly......I posted the exact figures from a equipment bulletin, of a piece i'd like to buy. the only part no. in the undercarriage area is: 104-8663 does that help?
Thanks for the response John. I dont know enough about tracks or the reporting of, but I think I understand what you are getting at. The link part number ! is that the number stamped / molded on the side of the link ? I see that the segments were replaced also. Is it likely that they were the real bad point and in replacing them it was deamed dumb not to turn the bushes ? The concern seems to be how to achieve that much wear in such a short time. A rental with a donkey in the seat on a beach Is it possible the machine has had a new clock in its short history ? Thanks, Rob.
AtlasRob, Yes the link part number is cast into the side of the link on small machines and will tell us what tracks are installed and enable us to get the proper information on the percentage worn readings. If this is a Cat dealer then I would not think the clock has been changed. The stated bushings measurements are far larger than my specifications show being used on that size machine. That is the biggest reason the report does not add up. If that much wear is true, the machine was being used to push aluminum oxide or pure silica and I would think the problem then was seal leakage and not wear. The problem with that scenario is the wear would also show up on the rest of the components. The report does not show that. The report is just not credible. wvfarmervet, The number you have given is the type usually used for track links but my information does not show that number used on that machine. Your number should start with a 6Y or a 108. There are two sizes of bushings that were possibly used. The standard small and the large stepped. You will be able to feel the step on the large one. Get me that link number and I can tell you more. Even better would be some photos of the machine, sprockets, links, front idler position on the track frame and the link number. Good Luck!
i'll try and get it......fyi: the Internal Pins@Bush (Internal): Sealed & Lub'ed. The bushings i forgot was external.
John would this be like fitting D8 chain on a D6 as an example. I dont suggest that to be the case or even possible but that is what I think you are hinting at when you question the bushing size. My only track experience was trying to decide what to do with the running gear on a Yumbo a couple of years ago. The help I got off the guys at ACMOC was impressive and educational :beatsme thats how I now know that links are numbered
AtlasRob, Nice shot of the track rail to illustrate what we should be looking for. You got it. The measured sizes of the bushings are larger than the specifications show for being brand new. Cat has a computer program which shows the basic configurations for the type of tracks used on each machine. In this case the sizes given are not part of that program so the report is not credible. I started following these internet forums because of what I was seeing in ACMOC. I think I remember the thread you are talking about and remember your handle. The world is truly getting smaller all the time.
Any chance the hourmeter has been broken or replaced machine could have a lot more hours on it than they are letting on. Steve