420 Tracks

Ikeholt · Post by **Ikeholt** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:54 am

Would JD 420 tracks fit on a JD 350? Thanks.

Post by **Lavoy** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:28 pm

No.
Lavoy

Willyr · Post by **Willyr** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:12 pm

In the past I had a set of chains off of a case (310?). Refresh my memory what I can use to rebuild my chains as the 420 price is through the roof.

Post by **Lavoy** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:05 am

You can change to 350, but then you need rails, pads, bolts and sprocket rings. By the time you are done, it would be more money than rebushing your old rails even with the current price of pins and bushings.
Lavoy

Ikeholt · Post by **Ikeholt** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 1:53 pm

If 420 tracks don't fit on a 350, I don't need them. There's a set of 420 tracks for sale in central Indiana for about scrap price. I have the guy's phone number somewhere.

Willyr · Post by **Willyr** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:28 pm

What I am concened about is the thickness of my links. Are the rebuildable? IE weld more material on? What is the appropriate thickness to the link of the chain (the area that contacts the rollers. One side it is a .5" thick. Other side is .375" or less

Post by **Lavoy** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 10:03 am

I would like to see them about a half inch thick, so yes, your one track is getting thin. They can definitely be built up, but without a rail buildup machine, that would be a lot of work.
Lavoy

doc40c · Post by **doc40c** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:11 pm

hi willyr, my 40c had case tracks on it (I bought it like that) but I didn't know it until I went to replace them. I used it for 10 years like that and only threw a track once (it was my fault). However, the chain never meshed well with the rear sprocket (it was always climbing up the teeth and I just thought the pins and busings were wearing out and increasing the chain pitch), but actually I think the case chain has a longer pitch than JD chain. I replaced the chain with a Korean-made 350 chain (which my local heavy equipment supplier said they have tested and sold a bunch of it with good results) I checked how the new chain meshed with old sprockets before I got too far into the project and I was very satisfied with the fit. I got lucky since the case pads were 4-bolt (2 holes needed to be opened up to .500" with a die grinder and the other 2 holes needed to be sloted sideways about .500". I did this with a torch followed by the .500" die grinder carbide (I tried a drill but the pads were just too hard!). So this was a lot of work but saved me the price of new pads. The only problem I had was setting the master pins! I froze the pins overnight and proceeded to set the first pin. after about 4 rest breaks accompanied by clothes shedding and swearing i managed to chase away my helper( my wife), but the pin finally seated. i miced the second pin and link hole and found there was .010" press fit! a quick trip to the belt sander and i got it down to .003" press fit and that pin set nicely. Ikeholt said his rails at the contact side were .375 and .500". mine were at .250".how are the pins and bushing? if they are ok then you probably have good use left in those rails. you have to ask yourself how often do you use your crawler. if you only use it occasionally then you may have many years of use left in the rail. you also have to weigh the fact that these parts are getting harder to find and more expensive. so if you get say 3-5 more years out of them what will the availability and price be at that future date? just some things you need to consider. i purchased my 350 rail from AIS equipment (michigan) in the spring of 2010. i paid $750 per side and about $150 in nuts, bolts and washers ( i put a flat washer on the pad side to cover the slots i made for two of the holes. good luck and i hope this may have helped you. doc40c.

Willyr · Post by **Willyr** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 10:35 pm

Thanx for the good info Doc. I will have to replace pins and bushings some day as well as figuure out what to do about the sprockets. I looked at sprockets from a salvage yard but they look worse than mine (one side of the tooth is almost worn through to the flange.

motorm · Post by **motorm** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:16 pm

Can someone please clue me in on the type of wire to use to build up the rails with. I have a 420c and can't find rails for it so far and am considering building up the rails for some good use in the woods etc.
Thanks,
Scott

Tigerhaze · Post by **Tigerhaze** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:43 pm

Hi Scott-

There have been some posts previously discussing this in the archives. I preface this by stating that I am not at all an expert welder, but what has typically been discussed is work hardening rod as rails typically have a high Rockwell hardness value. Here is a post about building up rollers, but idea would be same for rails:

http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/ ... dening+rod

You better buy rod in bulk, as it will take a lot of rod and a lot of time to build up.

Also thought you might find these hardfacing products and tips from Stoody to be of interest:

http://www.thermadyne.com/IM_Uploads/Do ... _Final.pdf

http://www.mwsco.com/kb/articles/19990614a.htm

motorm · Post by **motorm** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:04 am

Thanks!!

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