have a used set of vts 86+ I picked up cheap. Doing some repair in them before install. All hubs are in good shape, cleaned up and repacked bearings and added grease zerks. Have two foreward rollers in need of repair. I have a pre 30,000 serial number so repair parts not available per them, but who has taken them apart sussefully and rebuilt them? Part numbers for bearings and seals? If anybody has part numbers for hub bearings and seals for future reference it would be great. Thanks!
Get some extra drive chains for your skid loader you will need them.
Not worried about drive chains, asking a bout bearing and seal numbers
Went to another forum that used to have a lot of VTS guys on it, I was one of them. Posts going back to 09-14 and back then no one could find parts, especially for the older version. Guys had taken the Loegren bearings to bearing stores but none had anything that heavy off the shelf. They likely made those bearing especially for that purpose. Most guys bought another VTS set for parts. I searched through a ton of posts and could never find a source for the bearings or seals. Other comments were that the older version went through them pretty regularly, hence the redesign.
Thanks for the info. People said they’ve rebuilt them but no luck in actual part numbers. Aprehensive to beat the seals out of a roller if I can’t even find a seal. Searched by seal size and found correct one by measuring. Ordered a pair and if they look right I’ll destroy my one removing it and then see what I can source on bearings
So not sure why they say these aren’t serviceable. What a load of crap Actual bearing part numbers for idler SKF BS2-2208-2CS5/C4GEM9 Readily available Alternate number with slightly less visconsity grease is BS2-2208-2RS/VT143. Or 2cs Bearing is a 80x40x28 in metric Seals are 80x40x16. Which I can’t find but this seal is inner/outer/style, just slightly less depth but that won’t matter
Seal number. Hopes this helps someone
Nice job working that out, I’m sure people that still run that system will appreciate it.
I heard a rumor that this was a known issue when using this style. Is there any truth to this from those that have used them?
Yes I think it is more than rumor. I had a set on a CASE 440 and I snapped a chain. It is a common issue. The Tracks weigh about 1500 per side, add to that the tracks are powered only by the rear tires of the skid steer. So it is no surprise really that snapping a chain is likely. I will say that they worked great, especially if the tracks were on a high hp machine. The added weight of the tracks with a big footprint, made it really impressive in the dirt. Overall, even with snapping a chain, I liked them. The whole idea of swapping them on and off with the wheels was a pipe dream. I knew a lot of guys that ran them (on the net) few guys ever pulled them off. They were stupid expensive new, like 13K if I remember. I bought a new set off of IP for 4700. Well worth that kind of money.
I always wanted to buy a set, but the price of ownership always seemed to high. Even buying them used , i didnt want the hassle . So i bought steel tracks.
Had these on and off machine when first got them. Don’t know why on or off a pipe dream. Me as one guy with no helper installed both sides for first time in 45 minutes, swapping back to tires was a half hour
I think the problem for a lot of guys may be the fact that they don't have the machine/hoist/equipment around to handle them, it looks like you've got a pretty good setup to handle them and move em around when removing or installling them.
I had mounted mine by myself with another skid steer and pallet forks, but yea it can suck if your not set up for it. They sold these as going on and off easily and it can be, but few people that i know of did that very often.
The crane makes doing mine super easy
I saw that. A crane would the ticket.
Replaced a lot of broken chains when these were common. They worked good for the flotation and traction but you at least doubled the load on the chains. Hopefully when they broke they had something there to drag the machine to solid ground.
Those 500 series NH loaders are at the top of my list. They are smooth operating machines.
Bearing and seal numbers I have go right in, and work perfect One idler repaired for $175
All rebuilt, greased and installed. Took me 38 minutes to jack up machine on solid tires to it on tracks ready to drive by myself. With a helper I could probably easily loose ten min off that.
Looks really good! It might feel a little sluggish compared to what your used to on wheels, but they will move dirt. I used an 84" bucket to cover the track width and give a little room to keep from stepping on rocks as much.
Thank you for posting this. Very nice work, your machine looks great. I may be in need of the part numbers at some point in my near future. I bought this machine knowing I had to rebuild / replace the engine, so I have yet to run it. It's strictly a personal use machine for a house / shop build I have planned for this spring. My (5) acres is clay, and small amounts of rain make a muddy mess pretty quickly. The drive sprockets on mine have significant wear on the "front" side. I was actually thinking of swapping them from one side to the other, to extend their life. (sort of like turning the sprockets around backwards on our dirtbikes when we were kids and dad wouldn't spring for the new one, LOL)
Actually turned mine around when I had it apart due to minor wear. You need to address your torsion tubes. Something isn’t correct. Your torsion busted or the vts is wrong base setup
I can see that now, from comparing pictures of mine to yours. Mine is quite a bite lower in the front than yours. Motor is currently out and at the machine shop, once the machine is mobile again I can get into it. Thank you.
I put my machine back together and in service on my house / shop build. After a couple days I noticed one of my front idlers was warm to the touch (after an hour or so of run time). Thank you again for your post / information. I will be bringing mine back home and duplicating what you did here. I also plan to figure out what's going on with the torsion tubes.
Center idler rebuild part numbers from a friend to add to this thread
Thanks for the part numbers. I'm pretty sure mine would be the same as yours. In your first post you mentioned yours was an "86+", I'm not sure what that means. Mine is a VTS 56, with a pree 30,000 serial number. I see your tension arm assembly is different than mine (item 5 in the attached pic) . But I will get the bearings and seals ordered. I'm sure I'll have more questions. Thanks again.
Yes yours should be same, mines just an earlier version before the dual front tensioner arm
Team, does anyone have the bearing and seal information on the front and rear hub assemblies? Thanks all.
I see it has been a while since anyone has replied to this thread. I'm also looking for info on the main hub bearings and seals. Evidently dirt isn't a great lubricant... I've got the parts out but hoped for a direction before I went to my local bearing guy. Thanks!