Can anyone tell me how I can check for internal pin wear(undercarage) on a Deere 690ELC? I red somewhere that I need to jam a block of wood in the sprocket and move it one way or another, but how do I meassure it? Anyone have the specs? Tracks get loose too quick in my view. They also squeek. The bushings are like new, along with the pads and rails. Thanks!
seals blown? Are you sure your track adjusters havnen't blown a seal, that would casuse them to loosen up quickly as well. As far as squeaky tracks, I think either got dirt in them or just the nature of tracks. Haven't really ever asked anyone about that, just figured it was the nature. If your rails are new, then why are you worried about the pins being worn, shouldn't they be new as well(complete unit). Maybe I am missing somthing here. Trbo
Easy reply; call your local Deere dealer and ask if a Parts and Service Rep can come by to measure your undercarriage. He will have all the specs and can tell you what shape your tracks and rails are in. There should be no charge for this service if you are a customer of theirs. Hard reply; get the specs and measure your U/C yourself. Yes, you do need to place a steel pin or a 2x4 in the sprocket segment to tighten the track so you can get an accurate measurement of the "pitch." Most excavators do not have sealed and lubricated pins and bushings. They do then, tend to squeek and squeal like hell whenever they are moved. Good Luck!
The reason I ask it that I am always trying to look over everything I can when it starts raining and to try to get everything up to par. Of course I can not see the pin wear, so I guess I am just curious. I will check with my dealer next week. I also have some chipping of the sprockets going on. Is this normal? The are not sharp on the end, and have a good round shape to them. Is there any maintence that I need to be doing to the idlers/bottom rollers? They all turn free. This is my first track machine, so any info is appreciated!
Pitch is the distance between pins in the track chain. It is measured over four links or five pins. You should not have a master pin included in the links you are measuring. I always use the metric measurement in millimeters as it is easier for me to see the lines on the tape measure. The manufacturers recommend putting a pin in the sprocket and backing up the machine so the track pulls back the front idler into the recoil spring. This will put a huge strain on the track components and on old machines I have had track adjusters blow. Usually on old machines I will just reverse the track I'm measuring to take out the slack and then measure it. For old machines, that is usually good enough. Deere used to sell an undercarriage appraisal guide that gave out all the specifications and told you how to do the measurements. As far as getting the product support rep out to measure your machine, be ready for a sales pitch from someone paid to sell you undercarriage. As stated previously you will have a standard sealed track on your machine. I will have to say I have never seen a sealed and lubricated track installed on an excavator. SALT track is used very cost effectively on dozers but because excavator tracks live many thousands of hours more than dozer tracks I don't believe the seals will hold up. There is a track training thread on http://www.constructioncentric.com/forum/YaBB.pl if you would like to learn more. Good Luck!
Internal wear can sometimes be provoked by running too tight a track or working with very heavy packing, one way to check internal wear without actual measuring is to position the track that there is no tension on it and rock the track pads, excessive high internal wear betwen the pin and bushing will allow the pad to rock from side to side.
An excavater undercarriage wears alot different than a dozer. A dozer is easy to see worn out , just look at the roll and pins. An excavater bushings might look new with not much wear, but the wear is on the inside. Excavater's tracks almost always wear from the inside out , the busings will look ok but if like said above you can rock the pad from side to side then the track is worn, how much? Depends on how much you are moving the pad.
If you can rock the pads up and down from the sides, then the ends of the bushings and the inside bores at the big ends of the links are shot. If you see that, the tracks are worn in excess of 100%. In the attached photos you can see how the bushing extends past the small end of the link. In the second photo you can see the recess in the big end of the link that the bushing end fits into.
Well, I checked the other day, and I do have some up/down movement in the pads. What does it run to have a new set pressed in? I seen deere has the kit, which is about $1100 per side, for the pin and bushing kit. But I have no clue as to the labor price to press a new set in. How many tons of force is needed to remove them? Anyone ever built a press? Thansk!
Just because there is some internal wear doesn't mean that you have to replace the tracks. Surfer Joes's advice to get the complete undercarriage measured is correct. Your dealer or an undercarriage vendor will be able to give you % wear value and approximate hours remaining. It is very likely that the link treads where the rollers run are worn. You need to know the life remaining on these and other parts before replacing anything. Generally, replacing sub-components on excavtaors is not cost-effective. Most people run them out to destruction way beyond 100% wear and then re-use the pads with new link assys. I've never known anyone do presswork themselves, just too difficult and dangerous on site... I would find find a track shop and get a competitive quote from both them and your Deere dealer.