hello can anybody tell me how you decide wether to fix the broken link or replace the whole track the track deffintely is far from new and we do drive this thing around a bit but i dont want to just change the track i kind of want to do what makes sense my machine is a 270 dlc with 7800 hours on it help please
People far more qualified than I will doubtless chime in, but in the meantime can you post pictures of the tracks and undercarriage?
If your links are breaking you need to just replace them unless you want to keep on repairing broken tracks
What Dave said unless it's some sort of a freak breakage, the repairs will just continue and you'll have a down machine more often than an up machine.
i hope this will help and thanks for the comments
also it might be important to note that this is the first time that this has happened some of the links are cracking a little bit
Time for some new rails and sprockets Imo. If there's cracks they will soon be breaking
It looks like one side is worn more than the other of each link that I see. That's also concerning.
Im following along to learn more- what does this indicate?
I don't know but it would have me looking at things. Maybe the idler is really loose in the pocket and pulled over to one side? Do you see it too, the narrower side in the wider side of those rails? It might just be the camera angle too maybe he'll post some more straight on pictures.
I can see a wear difference in the posted pictures of the rail, almost looks like the pins and bushings are worn unevenly too?
Yeah it definitely had a dig on the one side like it was hard over to the sprocket on one edge.
thanks for the comments everybody i might get the john deere service advisor out tommorrow to measure the track wear since i cant find the info anywhere i know very little about this stuff so im defintely not sure what to do what i do know is ****** timing since i have a rented rock truck here
i defintely dont want to change the track if i dont have to but i dont want to have to keep fixing broken links
I got some import tracks for my 120 with new sprockets for less than 6 grand. They probably have an option like that for you too. I got them from my John Deere dealer also.
You can reuse the pads, and just buy new chains, but you might need to see why she is wearing uneven. The sprockets, or at least what can be seen in the picture, are beat up, but I have seen them worn to a sharp point before.
yes ill defintely look into that uneven wearing and i defintely think my pads are still good my john deere dealer said that a chain would be5000 without hardwear and the sproket 590 also without hardwear but the repair link is also 800 bucks so yeah this machine is an ex rental machine and at some point and time the track was extremely loose judging by wear marks on the under carriage
It takes a lot of labor to remove the pads from the old rails and prep them properly. If the new rails have any paint on them take that all off on the mating surface so it's just metal to metal.
Here is a video to give you some basic information on excavator tracks. It is likely that your undercarriage as a whole is original. The Deere rep is a good decision but keep in mind they get paid on commission and treat their recommendations with a grain of salt. I'm not saying that they may be dishonest, just that there is a temptation to be that way.
thanks for your input guys i did end up replacing the rails and sprockets with an aftermarket set i split the old bolts through the middle and then turned them with an impacter and they came right off most of them anyway lol then i cleaned both surfaces and reinstalled the shoes
i would have said the old tracks were way too loose at one point and maybe the middle bottom roller guard was riding in between the rails ??
Possible cause may have been the rocky ground. A fist size rock going through the sprocket could make that kind of a break on tired links as well. An overly tight track in that bony material will also put a lot of stretch in the track when material binds up and goes through the sprockets, and idlers also. With not enough slack the track will get way overtightened with material going through the "gears" so to speak
What this looks like: Someone saved a few dollars by replacing a worn out track roller with a new part. The machine probably also had a few links that were cracked through in the center. Cracked links can last a long time if they are not subjected to abusive stresses. The new roller was not a compatible replacement for the old part (either because of wear angles or changes in design over the years). The mismatch between the engagement angles of the worn links and the new roller subjected the track links to severe stress. The amount of flex might be only 30-40 thousandths, but there is also a tremendous amount of weight involved. The result is chunks of metal broken off the links and drive sprocket, and ultimately separated links. You have one separated link now. You will have more if you replace only the broken link and continue to run the rest of the track the way it is. I recommend replacing not only the track links, but the rollers, idler, and drive sprocket as well. You might be able to save some of the old parts as spares for the track on the other side, if the parts still look serviceable and you can determine which of the parts taken out of service are exact replacements for the parts in the track that is still working. If someone replaced track rollers on both sides with incompatible parts, the working track on the other side will (in time) fail just like the broken track.
Pay attention to John C, he DOES KNOW what he speaks of. IMHO, having dealt with OLD and Decrepit tracked machines years ago you are far beyond just changing rails, Rollers Idlers, adjuster seals basically ENTIRE UC needs to be gone over and anything past that point of 80% wear REPLACED.