Hi, I bought an old 1991 Cat E70B excavator three years ago and did a lot of work fixing it up. The place I bought it from [ Kubota dealer in Hillman, Michigan ] had it parked in their back lot. When I first went to look at it in the early Spring it was stuck down in say 5" of fresh ice that had melted/froze from the melting of of one of our big snow storms. I think the dealer spread rock salt down to get it loose. There is one pin on the left side that is froze up, and two on the right about the height it would have been front and rear where the first really salty puddle of water would have been before it all melted down. I live up in the hills, and there is no body of water I can let it set in for a few days. Over the last few years I have put a variety of PB blaster type products on it. I have run it around a lot on my trails. My question is, can I apply heat to the links without softening the track pins/bushings, and how much??? Red hot???? I do not want to soften the metal so it would wear faster. My other option is maybe a jack hammer to maybe work the pin a little. The froze pins keep the track fairly flat whilst it is going around the ends and a little bent when it is underneath. I tried pumping the track tighter, dropping the track onto a log to straighten it, and wacking it with a sledge. I have gotten them to move, but not enough that they will work out the rust via tracking it somewhere. The other pins are loosy goosy like an old machine should be....
heat up the rails a bit with a propane torch, then add the PB so the heat draws it in. try that if you have not done so. it cannot be very hot obviously, but heat does draw oils in nicely. If you have ever soldered copper pipe it is the same effect.
I will give it a try. Thank you ... !!!! [ I will heat the bushings some ]
sure. The price is right.
Be a little extra in your mailbox next week. Sky King was one of my favorite TV shows.... many, many, many, many years ago....... [ borned in '47 ]
I took the moniker when I started flying an old straight tail Cessna 310 like the second plane in the series.
NICE ... !!!! I always wanted to learn to fly, could have done it for just a boot nothing when I was stationed at Fort Bragg after Nam. But I kind of knew deep down that I would not be happy unless I had one full aerobatic and I would have eventually buried the motor about three feet below the surface of the ground. Kind of why I got rid of my Harley... Enjoy it for me, Life is Good...
I think this is a situation that screams for water. If you can't even build a puddle that will hold water for a few hours, then wait for a rainy day, set the track with stuck pins down, and put a "funnel" to drip water on them. Or put a bucket of soapy water on top of the track with a rope going down to drip on the stuck joint, then work it while it's wet. If you can get them to budge at all, then they'll loosen. If they're worn good already it's so much easier.
That will be next on my list.... Thank You ...!!!!
A friend of mine had a little home built aerobatic one seat biplane that did just that. It was not three feet below the ground but it sure went in engine first. He was doing a very low maneuver over a friend's house, and the pitch control linkage between him and the elevator broke! So he's about 200 ft above the ground going straight up with no control and arcing over to going straight down. He was able to climb out of the airplane, he tore his shoe off on the way out, and pull his chute and land right next to the wreck.
Good day Jerry Attached may be of interest we have seen this issue on a number of occasions nothing we have tried worked apart from removing pins. According to research it has its roots in the grease used during assembly. More information available if you need. Kind regards Uffex
Got them ' loose ' today. One with full movement, one almost full, and one that will work itself looser as I use it. After several years of putting PB blast type stuff on it, I had built up a wax like plug in the end of the pins. So any additional PB or water never got to where I needed it inside the bushing. Heated it up several times and beat on it with a sledge.... bending the joint around the idler wheel some, then moving the track up top and beating it flat or a little over bent. Once I got the waxy stuff out of the way, then heated it again real good, I had puffs of rusty dust flying out of the joint next time I wacked it. Took it for a ride out back of my property, then parked it back behind my barn. Cleaned up my mess and checked ' fix track ' off my todo list.... I have a bunch of stumps to dig and I will work the track some more. Thanks everyone.... !!!! Enjoy your summer.