Track Tensioner won't take grease. What do I do ?

[Egon]

Button head grease fittings may work with high pressure.

[video]https://www.google.ca/search?q=high+pressure+grease+fittings&client=safari&hl=en-ca&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicqO62xqbRAhVm1oMKHc2CD3oQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=648#imgrc=ODhMqaeBSeub-M%3A[/video]

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Sounds like the grease is dirty and it has become solid. Did you try spraying brake cleaner inside the opening and then digging around in there with something small?

After doing a really good cleaning of the inside opening, and letting the brake cleaner soak into everything it can for awhile, I would get all the weight off of that track by lifting it off of the ground with the boom. Then try it again.

Basically, there is only two things going on in there. Grease is pumped in until it forces out the cylinder to tighten the tracks. And the seals around the piston hold the grease back so that the tracks remain tight. Since you cannot get grease into there, we don't know if it's the seals or not. Just that the grease is dirty, solid and not going anywhere.

Thanks Eddie. I am going to spray it out next chance I get. I am also going to clean the frame and tracks up a bit as Citydude mentioned. Want to make sure it isn't just caked on, dried mud that is causing me a problem.

 

[kevin37b]

Try removing the zerk and or maybe a pipe plug from cylinder . Pick up that side and run the track . It should collapse some and maybe loosen things up . Might force out some of that dried out gunk .

 

[firemanmike69]

$2.75. A little steep but the exact size I need. I will pull the other one, attempt to clean it and reinstall it. If it works, I will just put this one in my took box. If not, I will swap it for this one and hopefully that will resolve the issue. I am also ordering a large assortment of zerk fittings to keep up there.

The grease fittings have a proprietary thread pitch, standard metric ones will not thread in correctly.
What's likely happened is rust has built up in the track adjuster and that's what's not allowing it to take anymore grease. Or you have run out of travel on the adjuster and the grease is leaking out the end. Track adjusters are just like hydraulic cylinders except they lack a piston to retain the rod in the barrel so if you were to remove the adjuster you can pull the rod right out to clean the barrel out, the hard part is getting the track off.
We usually hook a portapower up to the track adjuster in an attempt to free them up.

 

[ArtMech]

Sometimes, if there is uneven wear between an axle and a hole, which an axle turns in, an axle may block the passage of grease. A zerk replacement could make no sense. In such case you just need to change the position of axle (while turning it in a hole) so to unblock a grease passage. And it works. That's from my experience.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I spent some time today studying the diagram of the track tensioners I found online. When I get back to the farm next weekend I will be looking at it.

 

[ArtMech]

Or, in your case, you just need to loosen up a tensioner, and it could take in the grease. That costs not much resources.

 

[PILOON]

When all else fails:

Some folks tension the track by other means, like a chain attached to the dozer blade then when lowered pulls the track tight and thus extending that loose leaky tensioner cylinder.
Then they fabricate a shim to keep the cylinder mechanically extended.
Usually the shim is a pipe withe the same ID as the tensioner shaft'
They slit the pipe shim in half and simply clamp the two halves with hose clamps thus having it permanent and no longer adjustable.
Naturally the shim is trimmed for tight length fit.

This technique is often seen on 'dozers that are nearing undercarriage 'end of life'.

 

[Xfaxman]

When all else fails:

Some folks tension the track by other means, like a chain attached to the dozer blade then when lowered pulls the track tight and thus extending that loose leaky tensioner cylinder.
Then they fabricate a shim to keep the cylinder mechanically extended.
Usually the shim is a pipe withe the same ID as the tensioner shaft'
They slit the pipe shim in half and simply clamp the two halves with hose clamps thus having it permanent and no longer adjustable.
Naturally the shim is trimmed for tight length fit.

This technique is often seen on 'dozers that are nearing undercarriage 'end of life'.

That is how I made the "stroke stoppers" for my TORO+Loader. :thumbsup:

 

[PILOON]

Yep, that is exactly what I described. Thanks for adding the illustration.

 

[Xfaxman]

You're welcome, pictures are worth a thousand words.

 

[PJ The Kid]

Alot of times on heavy equipment I use a port-a-power with an adapter made to fit either the zerk or thread into the zerk hole and fill it with hydraulic oil or diesel fuel. The port-a-power has alot more push and will usually push some in. Also the hydraulic oil or diesel has lubrication and will thin out hardened grease. If no port-a-power is available you can spray some kroil or pb blaster in the zerk hole and it will help thin out hardened grease

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I'm not sure if it was the cold weather, or if it was bound up by dirt or just stuck because it hadn't had grease pumped into it in a long time. I ran it and attempted to pump the grease in it a couple times a day for a couple days. Each time it seemed to take just a little bit. Then next weekend that I went up there, after sorting out my alternator problem, it got warm. I ran the excavator for about an hour then stopped and put some grease in and it took the grease, no problem. And it held the tension fine.

 

[Axxell]

I have the same problem on my Kubota KX-41. I've just replaced the idler wheel assembly and I went to retension the track and found that I could get about two or three pumps on the grease gun and everything locked up. The track hardly moved. It felt as though the adjuster had hit the limit of its travel, but the track was still hanging down. I took everything apart again and removed the adjuster. Even with the adjuster removed from the machine and the piston pushed all the way home, I could only get a couple of pumps, moving the piston a few millimetres before it locked up. I removed the complete grease fitting and found I could pump grease freely through it. I replaced it and removed the piston (which was also moving freely) I could pump grease into the cylinder without the piston with no trouble. Replaced the piston and tried again - after a couple of pumps it locked up. At this point I began to question my sanity. I swapped the grease nipple/zerk with one from another part of the machine and established there was nothing wrong with that. By a process of elimination, the problem has to be in the part described in the Kubota parts listing as 'Nipple Cylinder' which the nipple/zerk screws into. It seems that it's fine until there's back pressure on it - then it locks up completely. I don't know if this part contains some sort of non-return valve but I'm going to see if I can run a drill through it and get the machine back to work.

 

[jgh]

I looked the IPA device up and the reviews indicate it works well. I have a problem with the track expander valve on my Liebherr 621C track loader (about the size of a 953 Cat), it refuses to take grease (I posted another thread on it, search "621C" or "Liebherr"). I am nervous about using the IPA and its injected oil on a track expander since it does not allow oozing out of the grease like an ordinary joint will. The "Light viscosity oil" will remain mixed with grease. Does anyone have a comment on that?

Removing the piston, etc, on this machine involves a very large spring. Does not look like fun.

BTW I don't know what happened but this reply was supposed to go under the post that first referenced the IPA fitting tool. Ooops.