I have a Cat. D5G XL. One of the track adjuster seals is bad. Had to pump up the track every couple of hours. Split the track and pulled out the idler. The track roller frame has some wear on it Top side and bottom. What is the best arc welding rod to use for the build up. Thanks. I know you don't need the serial # but here it is.WGB000293
Post a photo of the damage to give an idea where and how deep it's worn.
You could use 7018 but a build up rod would last longer and not mushroom. https://www.esabna.com/us/en/produc.../hardfacing-electrodes/stoody-build-up-lh.cfm
There are replaceable wear strips that weld to the bottom of the track roller frame where the "horns" of the front idler run. Part Number is 6S-3442 and there are two of them for each track frame. #7 in illustration below. The horns on the idler are badly worn in the area of the arrow. They should be square and flat but are tapered off like knives and either need building up or replacing. They've also been shimmed too loose from side to side which has been letting the idler flop sideways, that's what has chamfered off the top corners of the track roller frame. Probably also contributed to your tensioner seal failure. For any other building up Dave by welding has already covered it above. You may find that building up with E7018 and a final cap with facing rod is the most cost-effective way to go. In some areas you have a fair amount of work ahead of you.
I believe I am going to order 174-7006 and 174-7007 which are the ends of the idler that ride on the track frame. Install them on the idler and see what then needs to be done with the track frame. To me that makes the most sense. If I am missing something please let me know. Oh, and what is a build up or facing rod? Sorry for my ignorance. Thanks, Donald
Last question first. When hard-surfacing (for wear resistance) by welding it is common to use a mild-steel (e.g. E7018) electrode to build up the bulk of what's missing, then put a single layer of hardfacing electrode (e.g. the Stoody electrode that Dave linked in his post above) as the wear surface. Maybe he will be able to explain it better. 174-7006 & 174-7007 are correct for the iidler "horn" assemblies. You need to get 2 x 6S-3442 wear strips also. See the snips from your original photos below, both strips are worn away tapered to almost nothing by the wear on the horns. You need to cut the old ones off and get new ones on there. Now can you see why I was saying earlier about photos..?
Are the wear strips made from an AR type of steel?
Build up rod is in between a 7018 and a full hardfacing rod. Usually around 30 Rockwell hardness. Hardfacing is usually around 60 Rockwell hardness and 7018 is fairly soft in comparison. It can be put on in as many layers as you want where most hardfacing is limited to 1 or 2 layers. The big advantage over 7018 is it doesn't mushroom(squish out) or spall(come off in chunks) like hardfacing can. It is often used to build up areas prior to hardfacing.
No idea but I suspect more likely it’s some form of work-hardening steel.
Thanks for your help. Going to order parts and see how this all goes. However it finishes out it will be way better than it was. After that I can look forward to doing the other side. From the looks of it will need a lot of work too.