Chinese mini-X track came off....now what?

[dfkrug]

Backing off the tensioner nut on my old Kubota HK5 removes all the track tension. Not sure if it was designed that way or if the track is just worn out and loose.

Do you mean a Kubota KH-5? I did not know if/when older machines used a mechanical system. If yours removes all the tension, that would sure make everything easier, and should be designed that way.

 

[slicktierney]

I have watched A. Camarata on youtube push his tracks both inwards and outwards with the boom. In this attached link the channel is packed with mud and holds it from retracting. How to install an excavator track - YouTube

 

[dfkrug]

I have watched A. Camarata on youtube push his tracks both inwards and outwards with the boom.

Yeah, tons of vids on Utube showing install/removal of tracks with hyd adjusters. I had not seen that particular one. Ain't utube great?

That Yanmar has full retraction, so manhandling the tracks to get them on is not too bad. Even without a second excavator to help!

 

[Langanobob]

Do you mean a Kubota KH-5? I did not know if/when older machines used a mechanical system. If yours removes all the tension, that would sure make everything easier, and should be designed that way.

Yeah, it is a KH-5, not HK5. I even got it backwards in my signature. Thanks

 

[slicktierney]

the tensioner mechanisms seem very similar except the obvious end pieces. will you be able to reassemble the track with all the components in place or get half the tensioner in, then the track and come along everything in compression to get the threaded part to assemble?

 

[dfkrug]

I got it together (see post #7), and if I was not in the field, I would have used jackstands or cribbing to hold things up while I used the boom to push the idler back. The problem with that approach is if I got the adjuster spring retracted, then I can not turn the sprocket with the crow bars to line up the Woodruff key.

In the Chinese video above, you can see how much tension is on the tracks even at the adjuster's lowest preload setting. That is why you need a hydraulic adjuster system, with a piston stroke of several inches.

 

[nyone]

With your tensioning bolt all the way in you should beable to pry/drive that track back on. Removing the sprocket wasnt needed.

Your machine has 30hrs and alreaty has big chunks missing from the track?

 

[dfkrug]

With your tensioning bolt all the way in you should beable to pry/drive that track back on. Removing the sprocket wasnt needed.

Your machine has 30hrs and alreaty has big chunks missing from the track?

Because the track came off inward, there was extra tension on the track. I could not get the track to come off as in the video. It may have been possible with 2 more helpers and several long prybars. (Strong helpers.) My efforts did not even get close. And the adjuster was fully retracted.

No chunks missing from my tracks yet.

 

[slicktierney]

Sorry missed that one.

 

[dfkrug]

Since we are talking about tracks...

Mine are made by a company called Fomay, and the size is 180 x 72 x 37. The rubber quality seems good, without that horrible smell you get from rubber tires sold at Harbor Freight.

As for the size, I get the 180, which is the width in millimeters. I suspect that the 72 is the # of sprocket holes, and the 37 has to do with the sprocket hole spacing. Any track experts out there?

I kick myself for not getting a couple of spares, as they are sold by the maker of my machine for only $80 each.