I have a Komatsu PC45-1 that needed a lot of TLC when I bought it. I have picked away at a lot of little problems. Now I am having a problem with the track loosening up right after I fill it with grease. Oddly enough the grease is not leaking out anywhere. I also need to change the oil in the Hy-dash drive but I am not sure what to use in them, is it gear oil and if so what weight? I need to find a shop manual for the machine because all I got was a parts manual. Thanks for any help you can give me.
How quickly does it go down gussy197? The track adjuster is pretty simple so the grease has to be going somewhere... maybe there is a crack somewhere in the yoke area. You could check confirm this by pumping oil into it.
From another thread where he inquired about the same problem.
You didn't mention if you are using steel track or rubber. Is the idler block to the end of the track frame? If so your tracks are stretched out and the adjuster piston is in a pitted area of the cylinder. It's been along time since I fixed one of those but the track adjusters on those machines are pretty simple. Take the track off and pull the idler out the end of the track frame. The track adjuster cylinder will be on the end. As I recall you do need to be a little carefull when you pull it out because the grease fitting can get busted off. Also as I recall the cylinder has a piston on the inside with seals on the end. When the seals leak they leak past the piston and fill the bottom of the barrel. You don't actually get to see the grease until you pull the piston out. I could be wrong about this but you will know for sure once you get it apart. I got my seal kits from the Komatsu dealer and they were not expensive at that time. That was a few years ago so that might have changed. Good Luck!
The track goes down almost instantly. I was told by the guru in my area that what is happening is that it is passing by the grease area and filling the cavitiy where the spring is with grease. I have asked him to find out how much the rebuild kit would be so that I can rebuild it. According to the parts manual that I have it seems somewhat simple. I do not have the maintenance manual to help in this task yet which I am working on. I am usng a rubber track. I hear all kinds of things about how difficult it is to remove and put back on. I have not removed it because of this and the lack of knowing how to do it properly. I am sure that I will have to do it when I get the rebuild kit. Thank you John C and Wulf! Rich
Rubber track is just a matter of technique. Slack off the idler completely first. I pick up the track using the boom. I'll set that side on blocks and then set the bucket on the ground about thirty degrees outside of the front idler. I hook a come along to the boom or bucket and throw the hook onto the inside of the belt about two feet behind the idler. I put tension on the come along and have an operator inch the track forward until the belt comes off the idler. Now I can hook a chain or strap to the belt and pull it out of the way. Putting the belt back on just means starting with the bucket to the inside of the idler and pulling and inching the belt back over the idler. Hope this helps.
Its pretty easy to get apart, release all tension on track. It helps a lot to pick up that side of the machine when you are doing this, so you use the weight of the track to compress the idler. When you get the track off, just reach in and grab the idler assembly/spring right out of the undercarriage. Another thing you might consider, are your rubber tracks too stretched out? If so, you might be at the end of the adjustment. The drives use gear oil in them. P.S. If you need a set of steel tracks, I have a set from my PC40R-8 in the yard, I switched to rubber and kept them around just in case. PM me if you get in a bind. Rich
If you have steel tracks and they are worn or stretched out it will cost you about 2000 for new chains and hardware to bolt your pads back on. Ben there and done that on my pc 40. Also have problems keeping tension guess its a common thing with these. I bought a shop manual for mine though it will save you lots of head aches. Good luck with yours.