Track is too tight, how to loosen? Owner removed grease fitting but no grease comes out even with pressure added. ~You can still tighten it more
Straight or 6 way blade? Sometimes the idlers are shimmed tight enough the track won't get slack on its own. If 6 way blade use a block of wood from blade to track and angle it to push the block back therefore getting slack. If straight you can take a piece of solid round stock and stick it in the sprocket and track the machine so that the bar stock rolls in and creates slack. All done with grease fitting loose of course to allow escape of grease. Clear as mud? Lol
Maybe the title was too long, but its a PC150, no blade.
Same concept, use the hoe to push the idler back a bit. On most trackhoes the idler isn't shimmed quite like a dozer. What I do see is that end of the track frame so packed full of muck that it's hard to get things retracted. The end result will be making sure there's not something preventing the idler/tensioner from retracting. Mud, rocks, broken stuff.
Will check for debris build up... the track goes slack when against a tree, apparently just collapsing the spring. Can you gain anything taking more out than the grease zerk?
Check that the bolt threw the tension spring hasn't broken.
Okay, thanks eveeyome
Is it too risky to pit more grease in? Machine is for farm use, could use as is. Sits for extended periods.
I agree with Tones. If it won't stay retracted and no grease is coming out, the track adjuster may be broken. Use caution if you ever split that track. Could be a fair amount of spring tension in there.
It will not stay retracted, no grease. Is a broken bolt easy to discover?
What Dash number on the model number and how many hours on the machine? The Dash 3, 5 and 6 machines were famous for the track adjuster cylinder freezing up and not letting the idler move back. I've had to pull them apart with a D6 size dozer and even had them so bad that the cylinder had to be replaced. I've never seen a broken thru bolt on a Komatsu excavator but that doesn't mean that it isn't a possibility. I would probably park a dozer in front of the idler and push into so as to compress the spring enough to get a little slack in the track and then knock out the master pin. I'd probably also have the counterweight to the idler side and then push the bucket into the dirt some. The tension on that spring is half the weight of the machine. Good Luck
Does this still apply considering it will tighten more... Takes some effort with the grease gun, but the grease gun doesn't leak when doing so (it'll leak on something with a severe or complete restriction). Not sure on Dash #, will try to find out. Seems like 10-12K for hours, well broken in anyway
And... I need to get beyond the spring pressure to get grease...?
All you are doing is jacking against the spring and compressing it more. The photo shows enough of the chrome from the cylinder to tell me it is probably near the end of its stroke and probably has dirt packed in the end of the cylinder bore.
The grease zerk should turn into a fitting? Most I've seen are a check valve. Back the fitting out slowly until the weep hole is exposed. Be careful, the grease could be under pretty decent pressure.