Hello HEF, I want to put new rails on the old 931b, at first i was going to leave the old recoil on, but after second though, mabe i should replace both of them. Iam not sure if the springs are the correct ones anyway, when they are on the machine, leigth 19'' , and before compress 24''. Please let me know what you think, will the new spring be best.
You have a missmatch there Sam. The first pic is too tight to work. Check the back stop for square, it and good fitting anchor slides keep the spring straight. Later Bob
Hi Bob/Ont, I had off road ship a couple springs, it looks like the broken spring is the right size, the one on the left is too small, i hope to get them on when i get ready for new chains, from Brad in Tx.
wosama931b----I replaced the springs and T,A,M on my 955L, as I was cautiously advised by some very helpful guys on the FORUM, PLEASE be very careful with those springs! especially when you compress them to assemble them.
Hi Toddcat955l, I did see and read your thread on your repair, My book says to be sure to have a guard on the press, I plan to be careful and will try to find some one that can help with the press. My brackets look ok and straight, but i will take a close look at them after i get the re coil off. I will keep a post on the work to let everyone know how it goes, time for a short break in the mountains, back next week, sam.
I had the nuts off the end of the recoil end of the retainer shaft, the wear on both was bad. I'am not sure about them holding the spring..and the exposed threads on the shaft are rough. can the spring be cut loose with a cutting torch?? take a look, sam.
Another photo, sam.
Wosama931b-- You can cut your springs with a torch, That's exactly what I did. I cut each coil and it just lost all tension. I don't think I would remove your big retainer nut from the end of the threaded shaft ,Until I had completely cut each coil. Not trying to tell you that its the safest are the best way to do it,but I did do that and it did relieve all tension on the spring. Good luck and be very careful.
second that post from toddcat955L never underestimate the force of a retained spring.. if the springs are getting replaced safest way is the cut one, two or four coils to realise all the tension.. give it a hit with a hammer to make sure its loose before undoing the nut
thanks for the advice,, the old nuts looked like trouble, i will cut the broken one first, and with it in the bracket on the loader, as you said one at a time, the old springs are not any good anyway, ,, Back to ya later, sam.
Hi HEF, I got the re-coil springs cut to remove the pressure, just need to get the pins out of the track, i think i may just cut them loose, i will get new chains and grousers anyway, or maybe heat up the link to see if that works. sam.
Ok HEF, I got the old spring off, and hope to get to the Cat Dealer to have the new spring pressed with the new parts that i purchased. sam.
Sam, I'm glad that you got everything apart safely. What caused your track bushings to gouge like that?
Hi OldandWorn, I think that they just tryed to push to hard with it, also i noticed the pipe had wear to, and the spring on the left had 2 broken places. i guess they had broken the spring when it was compressed, because it was too large for that cat, LoL. I just droped off the parts at the Cat dealer, they will put a new pipe's, nut's, seals and compress to re-install. I'll post a photo before i install, sam.
I think what O&W was referring to in his post are these gouges Sam. Are all the track link bushes like this or is the one in the photo an isolated case..?
Yes, thanks for the circles Nige. Is that an area where the inside flanges of a double roller would be?
Agreed - that's where the inside flange of a double-flange roller is going to be. The gouge seems a bit wide to have been done by a roller flange though.
I have another photo that shows the bad roller flange damage, the other side does not have the gouges, but all way past due for replacement. sam.
Yup, the snake in the links kinda gives it away .......
Hey Nige, That was from the old rollers, the flange was loose on a couple or 3 rollers on that side, i hope to replace the track after i get the re=coil spring back in place. The guy at the cat place said that the cylinder assem. had wear from the yoke hitting from the inside, so had to order more parts to be on the safe side if possible, gives me a little time to get the frame cleaned up and painted. sam.
I've had the double flanges that bad before we took to them with the oxy to stop them gouging out the pins lol
Hi HEF, I got the Re-Coil back on the Cat, still have to get the spring seated.
one done, LOL, sam
Hi HEF , All that work was fun and sorta nerve racking, and took a lot longer than i though, i was able to get the chains on by myself, and they were stiff. Had to use a 2x3 to unroll the chains and a couple of come alongs and clean the bolt holes real good with a wire brush. sam.
Nothing like installing new parts. :thumbsup I'm far from an expert but it seems to me that the spring doesn't have much travel before it would bind up.
Just looked back to some earlier pics in this thread and todd's look tight also. Maybe it adds up to more travel then I'm thinking. :beatsme
Hello OldandWorn, The spring is a replacement for the old part number, and is stronger that the orig. spring, i think. Also the pipe under the spring is far better than the orig. part, i think. the distance between the coil is about 1/2 or less. But what i can tell ya, is it takes a lot to get the spring back. sam.
Hello HEF. Well i tryed to measure the distance it looks about 5/16 between the coils, not quite as much as i though. Iam with you OldandWorn it does seem close and i guess if all the coils move about 1/8, and you add it up, then i guess it works to get the right amount of play. sam.
Hi HEF, workin on puttin the grousers pads on now, trying to get it on right. sam.
Oh man....I'm envious over all of these nice new parts. Sam, it's not a matter of play. The spring clearance as shown in your pics is roughly how it will operate under normal conditions. But if you catch a limb, rock or whatever junk in the rails the front idler needs to move enough to prevent a catastrophic failure. Also, if you don't pay attention to what is going on under the shields, the small spaces between the coils will fill up with dirt and severely limit the travel even more. If this was my project I would be PM-ing all of the big dogs on this site to come have a look.
Hi HEF, well i got everything back together, a lot of bolt streching. I am trying to find a couple of re-coil covers/guards to keep the dirt out, or get one made. sam.
might be the angle of the dangle, but the tracks look abit too tight to me? did you have a spec to go off?.. hate to see them new bits chop out too quick
Hi rare ss, I still have the cat on blocks, the new chains are stiffer that a hat band, they are hanging down on the backside. I heard it was cold down that way, and that the polar cap was growing, how bout your part of the country mate, sam. Goin to try put new u joints in before i get to get dirty..