Hello folks, I have been looking for some track replacements for my old 955L. Seem pretty difficult to find, but maybe I have found another loader that needs work and I might be able to combine the two and get something that will definitely do all that I need. My loader is a 85J11664 with the 3304 engine, everyone has told me that this is the "newer" or better yet the larger or D6 style 8" pitch versus previous versions of the 955L. I have found that it appears to make this change in the later models of the 85J models maybe around 85J09500 ??. The version I found is a 85J6318. I am thinking it is a higher number, but the amount of numbers are throwing me. It looks like it is more similar to mine than the older versions as it says it has the 3304 engine versus the 330T. Can anyone tell me if I am on the right track or not on these serial numbers? Specifically if you think that the track sizes are the same. To follow that, can you tell me what and where to measure to assure the 8" pitch size?
The machine you have found is much older than yours. Serial Numbers are 8 digits long, if you find one that isn't 8 digits (and back then many were not) then you have to add one or more zeros after the prefix, 85J in your case. So the full S/N should be written 85J06318, and it's about 5000 machines earlier than your 85J11664. The early 85J-prefix 955 loaders up to 85J04671 were badged as 955K models fitted with the D300-Series engine From 04672-06246 were badged 955L but still retained the same engine model. From 06247-last built were badged 955L and fitted with a 3304 engine. So 85J06318 was one of the very first 955L machines that left the factory equipped with a 3304 engine. Regarding track groups, when the two machines left the factory they were both fitted with the same Part Number of track link group (chain). Pitch is the distance from the centre of one track pin to the centre of the next. Often it's easier to measure between four pins and divide whatever measurement you have by 4 to get an average.
Thanks Nige, very helpful