Been reading that bad operator page and since i'm starting a new job on machines that i haven't spent much time on i'm wondering whether there are things that you could do to drastically damage a machine. I'm certain that most of it is just common sense, but nothing counts like experiance. And from reading posts of other members, it seems like this is a great place to learn from other peoples experience. So no 1 question. How easy is it to throw a track off, (and how the hell do you get them back on again??) I'm talking about Cat 320, 330 size excavators Any help thanks Fella's:beatsme
Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums Z. One of our learned members some time back put together a pretty good guide to re-installing the spat track. You can try the search function but I'm not sure what will be good key words for the search. Someone may remember where it is. On a properly maintained machine its a fair acheivement to spit off a track.....but when it occurs its usually a combination of poor tensioning and extreme conditions (perhaps those conditions/circumstances are as much terrain as they are operator). I've yet to spit one off (steel or rubber) but I've helped but a few back on.
Cheers mate, i'll do a search and check around, yeah, not looking to break any records on how quick i can spit one off. thats for sure.
Throwing tracks can be as easy as you make it. Like Squizzy said it's usually from working in harsh conditions, step hills, ect. A loose track will have a tendancy to "pop" off if making real hard turns without using the bucket to pick th machine up and swinging the U/C around. We had one old machine( thank god we sold it last year:drinkup) that was worlds worst for throwing tracks. We have swamp pads on all our excavators so the tracks are 36" wide which makes it ever easier to jump off. It never failed that the track would jump off on a friday at about 4:00PM:Banghead But that was because the U/C was worn bad and the idlers were dang near gone! I've learned to listen now, stay in a machine long enough you can just tell when something is binding up. Stop, get out and look to see whats causing it. If you catch the track in time you can usually just go in the opposite dirrection and run it back on. Just make sure you dont loose a track out in the middle of a pond in 3' of mud.... I didn't do it but I know someone who did ointhead
I'll second all of the above. If you are on or around rocks or roots be careful when and how you turn. Look at the tracks, they should have a slight dip in the top between the rollers when clean. But will tighten when muddy. Did you have a bike as a kid ? Did you lose the chain when it was too loose, did it bind when too tight ? Did you get a twig throw it off while in the woods one time same principle. If you lose a track, you will need to release the pressure before trying to put it back on. Generally the body that the grease nipple for track tensioning is housed in, undoes to release the pressure. NOT the grease nipple, the bit it is mounted on. Best advice............................................... dont lose one
Thanks Squizzy, I failed both my English O levels ( as you can tell )
see my avatar. not recommended. alan627b also, don't mess up your rotator cuff....i did, that is why no caps for a while 1 finger typing, don't ya' know....
If you don't watch your tension, you can throw tracks pretty easy. Today at work, one of our PC400's tensioner just crapped out. The track never came off, just lost all tension suddenly, the idler was sucked all the way back to the carbody. Took the mechanic a while to get her back together, never did get the whole story, but I assume a seal blew out. This was pretty much unforseeable, we shoveled the carriages out this morning so it wasn't lack of care. Could have just been time for it to go and working in some heavy material did it in. It's mostly common sense when it comes to tracks. If they look too loose, they might be. Pull out the manual and check recommended sag, then measure.
When you say shovel out, i'm guessing you mean clearing all the dirt out from around the smaller rollers for the tracks. How bad can you let this build up and do you clean them out each day or more often?
The main 2 main problems with muck in track frames are 1 it jams the top rollers that then stop turning and wear a flat spot on them which obviously severly increases wear on the track chain and the jammed roller. The 2nd problem is in the winter when frost can freeze the muck and prevent movement of the machine. I dont believe there is a hard and fast rule to how often or bad you let them get as long as you keep an eye on the problem and dont allow the rollers to jam.
Maybe the dirt in the track was the only thing holding the tension in there? It's your fault for cleaning them out. :cool2
About 12 winters ago, I made a deal with a neighbor to build a winter road with my JD 450 dozer to access his upper woodlot, in exchange for 10 cord of firewood cut, split, and delivered to my shed. No work in January anyways, and I needed wood, so... As Murphy's Law would have it, I was thrashing along (in 4 feet of snow I might add,) not knowing exactly where and what the obstacles were, trying to clear snow to uncover the ground, when I suddenly bellied out on a pile of logs the owners cut and didn't know where he left them. I was hung up in mid air, and the left track literally spit right clean off the idler. Realizing the perdickerment I was in, I calmly shut the machine off, took the key out and left it there for over 6 weeks. Towards the end of that February an old logger buddy of mine Jack, came by the house for coffee, and asked where my dozer was. I said it was sitting up to ****'s place, with a track laying next to it in mid air. Unable to believe it, he dragged my unwilling butt up there to assess the damages. I was disgusted and didn't want to touch it till the snow was gone in another 4-5 weeks, didn't have any work for it anyways, and why torture the poor thing in zero degree weather to do all this. I grabbed my come-a-longs, chains, porta-power and set out on a mission. When we arrived, 'ol Jack was amazed that someone could do such a good job at hanging something up that good. I was proud he considered it an accomplishment. Once I mustered up some ambition, I removed the grease fitting from the adjuster, cut and put a block of wood between the end of blade and the idler and angled the blade in towards to track, thus pushing the grease out and idler in to it's fully closed position. Then it was come-a-long time, pulling the track up onto the idler, and finally running it back on under it's own power. I completed the road and got my wood, and recieved some valuable life's experience. Come wintertime, park the dozer and get a job doing something else.
I had thought about that possibility. Oh well, I wasn't running that machine when it happened. :cool2