430C...Broken Hyd. Track Adj!!

[Bobmn]

Hello to all; After I run the dozer in the shop, and let the snow thaw off, I seen the left side track hanging down. As I looked closer, the hyd. adj. was broke. The outside flange was cracked all the way. Now,I think it is cast steel...am I right? I would like to weld this back together. I took the grease fitting out, and the side bolt. I was hoping I could v it out on top,tack weld, then grind the bottom out to a deep V. Then, weld that ,letting it cool between welds. Is the grease behind the piston going to go "BOOM", or what? Anyone ever welded one of these before? I have a mig,tig, and arc welder, to work with. I'm using this in the woods, for our firewood, so I would like to get it done. Thanks Bobmn

[Dave T]

I rebuilt one on my 440 and I will asume yours is cast iron like mine is. If you try to weld it while it is full of grease the grease will cook out at the least and make for a really bad welding job. It's not a big deal to take apart, new cyls. are available at not too bad of a price. I cut the cyl. part off of mine and bored out a piece of heavy wall pipe and brazed it on the cyl. base. You might get by by cleaning it well, putting it in a heavy vise and clamping it back together tight grinding it out and brazing or welding it. Don't grind all the way through so you don't mess up the cyl. bore. If you clamp it back together tight enough it won't leak past enough to matter. You may need to replace the leather piston packing boot as it may be damaged do to the crack. It has to be removed before any welding is done. Good luck and have fun.

[Lavoy]

430 is a different adjuster than 440, nothing available for them, so you will have to weld it. You need to take it apart and clean it completely prior to welding.
Lavoy

[Bobmn]

Lavoy and Dave; Thank you for the answers! Lavoy....This is Bob and Mona...We brought the tracks up to you to redo......3/4 yrs ago. Also got some nos rear sprockets for the dozer from you. Tracks and sprockets work great! Now, about the adjusters....These were rebuilt the same time the tracks etc. were done. A friend is a shop teacher, and they never done a pair of adjusters, so I dropped ours off. I 've never had one apart! Can you tell me how? I need to get these welded up, so the firewood can get done!! I'm using our SC Farmall, with half tracks now, and this thing don't turn real great!!! Thanks Bob

[Lavoy]

Bob,
You should be able to just pull the piston out of the barrel. Worst case scenario, puh it out with grease. Make sure to have it perfectly clean before you start welding.
Lavoy

[JWB Contracting]

Another option instead of welding, which may not hold well, is having a tighener made up at a local machine shop. Our local machinest makes them for our 350. The tighener mechanisim is really simple, i think we pay about $400 for a complete ready to bolt on assembly.

If you are not concerned about keeping your crawler OEM then this will work for you. We have wrecked alot of green crawlers, but never a 430 as they are farily hard to come buy in alberta.

I thought that the 440 was the first one with hydraulic tighteners. I am going to have to go and check our the 3 430's that we have in the shed (2 runners and 1 yet to be assembled) to see what ours came with. That is once the snow melts.

[Bobmn]

Thanks,JWB; Yes, the 430C is a lower production....maybe 2,200? Lavoy would know......We USE ours. Yes, I have thought about making the tightener. I have a small lathe, etc. I'll try the repair first, then plan B! The left side "EAR" with the 2 bolt holes on it broke off. Thanks again, for a grt idea. BobMn I forgot how to post a pic!

[Lavoy]

Hyd adusters were an option on both 420 and 430, but fairly rare.
Lavoy