My old D6H is in need of some rear idlers. From what CAT tells me, all four are identical and they only sell new at near $ 1,200.00 each. Serial is 3ZF00730 My fronts seem good but the rears are howling and worn pretty thin. Thanks Ron
Ron, have you had your local dealer pass by and do a complete measurement of your tractor's undercarriage..? If there is a potential sale for them usually they'll bite your arm off up to the ankle to get there...... Check out this thread for a few ideas. HeavyEquipmentForums
Sounds normal, get a part number and check www.offroadeq.com for aftermarket idlers, maybe swap the fronts to the back when you put the new ones on if they're OEM CAT.
Before swapping anything around I'd personally be wanting some measurements first.
Nige,You don't want measurements of my undercarriage. I have been adding pieces to it since I acquired it. Chains, a couple rollers, hard faced the pads, replaced all the pad bolts. It still has some worn rollers as well as the rear idlers. Why swap the new idlers to the front ? Don't the rear ones take all the abuse ? R
If it's in such a state then the best thing to do before lashing out money on it is to get it measured, at least if you have some numbers (albeit bad ones from a $ spend point of view) you know exactly what you have. :my2c
Here is my unprofessional assessment of my undercarriage. I put 400-500 hours on a year, sometimes less. Pushing only clay spoils and topsoil on my property. I have replaced within the last three years: Both chains, all sprocket sections, two front leading rollers, two rock guard wear bars, all pad bolts. My chains still look great, sprockets still look great, a couple of mid point rollers show wear and one flange is broke loose. Front idlers are very thick, rear idlers are getting thin compared to the fronts. All eight rock guards and wear bars still look good. My track adjusters hold and do not leak. I think I adjusted the tension once since the new chains went on.
On another note....,.over the last three years I have also replaced : All radiator sections, fan blade, rebuilt the fan hub, head gasket and injectors, complete transmission rebuild, all spherical joints on blade control, blade control hydraulic valve actuators, all cutting edges, belts, hoses, all fluids, starter, rebuilt the alternator, new batteries, added LED lights. Do fluid and filter services every 400 hours. I have more into rebuilding this machine than what I paid.
All things being equal, I agree with Nige, and as he states usually CAT dealers are more than happy to measure everything as it gives them a potential for some sort of sale. They also will give you free pointers on getting the maximum life out of whatever you have there. The reason I mentioned swapping idlers around, if the front ones you have are original CAT, they may have better wear life than the aftermarket replacements, so if they're less than 50% worn say, I would think about moving those to where the most abuse happens. YMMV.
Well, we got the machine tore down, the parts came in late this week. Ready for some clean up and install. V-Track parts were 50% less than Cat. This all started when I was side sloping and the track went off the front idler on the left side and continued to eat the rock guard and wear bar up while I was trying to get on flat ground. You can see the new parts welded in. Ron
The wear pattern on that left rear idler picture looks all wrong, like maybe it was seized or locked up at some point? Looks like it has a serious flat spot from about 9 to 12 o'clock? Other than that your machine looks good
No real flat spots, it did get a little scarred up when the track ran off the front of that side. The bearings were shot in each rear idler, they were metal to metal howling when pushing hard, once removed you could move the axle around by hand ! If you can enlarge that one picture you will see where the track started friction welding the hardnose :slomo:slomo Ron
Ready to go ..... Done, this go around I had some help from a local equipment repair crew, they took care of the heavy lifting. I am a one man show and my back could not do this .
Well done.
Thank you, One of these days I will really get a bug and repair the equalizer bar pins and bushings. They are junk and wont get any better.
Cat don't do Reman Equalizer Bars for machines that small but IIRC some of the aftermarket boys do. Offroad Equipment would probably be a good place to start asking. Trying to rebush an equalizer bar without big hydraulic cylinders and tooling can be a total PITA. Just getting the centre pin out will be a major challenge. I think I've maybe seen a dozen or so over the years where the pin actually pressed out with a cylinder, every other one had to be cut out with a thermic lance.
Thanks Nige, That sounds encouraging. I read where the roller frames come off. the belly pans and the engine oil pan and then maybe you have access to it. I have seen some redneck engineering on here to repair the ends without tearing the whole machine apart. Once again, this machine is not a production machine. I will see how busy it gets around here this winter. Regards Ron
Ron, is your issue with the centre pin or the end pins..? The end pins can be worked on with the bar in situ if changing the bushes/seals is all that's needed. If the bore in the end of the bar where the seal mounts is damaged then by the book it's a bar out jobbie. That's when things get tricky because the centre pin has to come out. Track frames off, belly guards off, and you still don't have room to swing a cat. After you have access to the centre pin is when your problems start
End pins are worn, the bushings are close to being damaged enough to wear into the bar surface. I will try to get some pictures before I get in the mud again.