Track adjuster help.

[VBR88]

Anyone have a trick to unstick a grease ram on a dozer track adjuster. I have a Komatsu D37e Dozer and the ram will not take grease, zurk fitting and grease check valve pass grease fine. No grease leaking from front lip seal on ram... Was thinking about removing grease fitting and tapping that track into a tree but I don't want to loosen up the track and not get it back and possibly throw the track.

Any thought about chaining the front idler wheel to the blade and using angle ram to pull the ram out?

One person told me to port-a-power oil into the cylinder but I don't want to take a chance of blowing out the seal...

Any thoughts?

 

[jbooth]

Some grease guns develop up to 10,000 PSI. It seems the one we used to use on a dozer were in the 5,000 PSI range. That dozer also had what I am going to call the button type zerks.

 

[VBR88]

Not sure of the pressure mine puts out but it was the best of the best from a high end hydraulics/hose and fitting shop. Had many of crappy ones in the past, this one is the cats ***. Never had a issue, even has a pivot point on the handle to select volume or pressure.

 

[Dozernut]

I see no reason why you could not chain up the front idler to the blade. I used to use a 4x4 with the blade to push the idler back to empty the cylinder of grease so we could put the track back on a Dresser dozer.

I had an old Dresser that liked to throw the tracks, usually cross slope, on the uphill side. Made it real interesting to jack it up on the high side of the slope. We would use a chain on the blade hooked to the track to help put the track back on ( along with some pinch bars, the loader on the tractor and a lot of blue air).

You might want to remove the zerk or plug when you pull the idler. The resulting vacuum might damage your seals if you don't.

 

[EddieWalker]

How good is your grease gun? I have quite a few of them, and have found that with manual pumps, you get what you pay for. My all time favorite is the Lucas brand that I bought at Home Depot.

When you take the zirk off, is there another fitting that comes off too? Or is it just the zirk? Can you get a tool into the hole to clean out what's in there? I've had them so compacted with dirt and old greast that it was like digging out hard clay. I have some cleaning tools that are like what a dentist would use, that I can get into a fitting and move it around to break up what's in there. I also like to spray A LOT of break cleaner into the hole to desolve what's left in there.

I don't know if I'd try to chain up the idler. That would be last on my list of things to try. Can you lift the track with your blade? I've jacked up and blocked the back of mine, and lifted the track off of the ground with the blade several times. With all the weight off of the track, you have a better chance of getting the tracks to tighten up.

Don't be suprised is the seals start to lean once you get the grease in there. I've had to rebuild both of mine. The hardest part was getting the plates off that protect everything. I had to use a torch to cut the bolts off because the rust was so bad.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[TonyF]

Anyone have a trick to unstick a grease ram on a dozer track adjuster. I have a Komatsu D37e Dozer and the ram will not take grease, zurk fitting and grease check valve pass grease fine. No grease leaking from front lip seal on ram... Was thinking about removing grease fitting and tapping that track into a tree but I don't want to loosen up the track and not get it back and possibly throw the track.

Any thought about chaining the front idler wheel to the blade and using angle ram to pull the ram out?

One person told me to port-a-power oil into the cylinder but I don't want to take a chance of blowing out the seal...

Any thoughts?

How worn are the tracks? The track adjuster is not fully extended?

Its also possible that the piston seal is shot and grease is leaking past the piston and effectively locking it in place.

 

[VBR88]

good thoughts eddie...
-this grease gun is also my fav, as like you i have had probaly 6 or 7 of them over the years, believe i have found the best...
-there is a big check valve after the standard zirk. replaced the zirk and cleaned the check valve. both pass grease fine when removed from the cyclinder.
-already have the outside plates off. and agree a pain in the butt.

Looks like i am on to removing the entire spring carrier and the york from the idler and takeing it to a shop. i hate not doing things myself.

 

[VBR88]

TonyF,
Tracks are in pretty good shape and the adjuster is not fully extended. the other side tightens up ease.

Wouldn't the grease leak out of the front lip seal if the piston seal was shot?

 

[tlbuser]

I would place a block between the idler and blade, remove the zerk and check valve, hold a rag over the hole (in case there is other parts) then very slowly push the idler back a little. If grease comes out and the zerk and valve are good, grease should now go in. If not, you should only have one option left

 

[gghb]

haven't spent much time on small komatsu dozers thousands of hrs on deere, cat and dresser/ international but have bent the shaft on idler adjustment a couple of times and caused the adjuster to seize


Greg

 

[VBR88]

normal use would bend it? havn't run into anything or beat it up in that manner.

 

[MHarryE]

I blew the seals on the track adjuster on my Cat mini-excavator and there was a huge amount of grease in the pocket where the piston end pushed when I got it apart. Fortunately having a mini everything was easy to work with. gghb - what do you have to do to bend an adjuster so it seizes? Even on my mini everything looked so stout that a complete equipment abuser like me could only do something like blow out the seals due to the extremely high pressure that can build p rather than bend the rod.

 

[VBR88]

Mharry,
How did you know you blew it out? did grease leak from the front lip seal or did it just not take grease?

 

[VBR88]

bent yoke on the idler. few taps with the sledge allowed a few pumps of grease, few more tap and a few more pumps. track is tight now. going to have to split the track and strighten it out on a press soon here.

Any idea how this could happen? what causes it to bend? are they just that weak?

Anyone ever strengthen them up?

 

[EddieWalker]

My guess is that it got stuck and somebody used something pretty big to unstuck it. Of course, there is no way of knowing what kind of abuse an old machine has gone through, which is why buying used equipment is so much fun. NOT

Congrats on finding the problem, that's always the hardest thing for me.

Eddie

 

[VBR88]

any good advice on how to split the track? just unbolt the shoe from the master link and pry apart?

 

[EddieWalker]

I only have one experience with tracks, and it came off while I was working it. Not where I wanted to mess with!!!! LOL

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/42294-lost-my-track.html

Hope this helps.

Eddie

 

[Dozernut]

You will need a pin driver and a sledge hammer. The pin driver will look like a sledge head but different. It will have pin with a face for striking and a long handle. A helper will hold the pin driver in place on the master pin and you will hit the pin driver with the sledge. Not easy, but cheap. A shop will use a hydraulic press to drive the pin out. Driving that pin out will show you what kind of physical shape you are in.

One other alternative is to do what I mentioned earlier. Jack up the affected side, remove the grease plug and use a 4x4 with the blade to to push the idler back to collapse the cylinder. This will give you enough slack to pull the track away from the dozer with out breaking the chain link. You will need support equipment to do this as the track is very heavy. I have done this several times so it can be done, it is just not the orthodox way of doing it.

If you are going to rebuild the pins and bushings then you will need to break the track. If you rebuild the tracks then you will also need to change the sprockets as a worn sprocket will damage your newly rebuilt tracks.

I sold my last dozer, a Komatsu, and I sure miss it. But to be fair I do not miss the the upkeep and expense to keep an older dozer running. Now if I could just win the Powerball I would have a brand-new one with heat and air plus a warranty, wouldn't that be grand.

 

[Dozernut]

Just a quick reply, the master pin will have a dimple in it. You can make a pin driver by using a bolt slightly under size of the pin. Weld a 3' section of sucker rod or other rod to the bolt for a handle. The heavier the sledge the better, 14lb or better. Position the master pin on the sprocket for support. After about 5 or 6 hits if the pin doesn't move use a torch to heat it. Do this quickly as you do not want the pin to swell. Good luck!

 

[VBR88]

How would I tell if I have a master pin or master link?