Seized track pins

General help and support for your Lindeman through 2010 John Deere crawler
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Tfrank
40C crawler
40C crawler
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Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014 8:17 am

Seized track pins

Post by Tfrank » Tue Sep 05, 2017 11:09 am

The 2010 I put back together last winter had new chains put on it and then it sat for many years after the motor blew. I put a new motor in and ran it some this spring and summer until I had a steering clutch go. I knew I had some seized links but after removing the track I found 11 that are completely frozen. I've been trying to oil and beat them free with not a lot of luck. So I broke down and called a local shop with a 200 ton track press. They couldn't give me a price to push the pins out and in and suggested that buying a new chain may be more cost effective. I can't believe that! The rails, pins and bushings are like new and they suggest tossing it. The reasoning they said was that sometimes they have to torch out the pins and the labor adds up.

So with that out of the question has anyone had any luck getting links freed up at home? I'm ready to put the track back on and don't want to run the machine with the track like this risking damage to the rest of the machine.

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Lavoy
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Re: Seized track pins

Post by Lavoy » Tue Sep 05, 2017 1:41 pm

Oil or any penetrant is useless. Only thing that works is water or snow. If you can, you need to get the tracks completely submerged in water for at least a couple weeks. When you take them out, steam clean or power wash the offending pins with a zero degree nozzle til you see rusty water coming out the other side and they loosen up.
Plan B is if you are in a snow area, wait til snowfall, find some deep snow, and go snowmobiling with it til you see rust peeing out of the tight links. Then drive it some more til they loosen completely.
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com

Tfrank
40C crawler
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Re: Seized track pins

Post by Tfrank » Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:09 pm

I could soak them in water. Snow is hopefully 3 more months away but you never know. My track pads don't have the opening like the "snow" pads. Could I hurt anything driving it around in the snow?

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Lavoy
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Re: Seized track pins

Post by Lavoy » Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:52 am

When you have problems with non snow pads in snow is on a 35 degree day with lots of sun and the snow packs really well. It fill up the tracks and gets them really tight. If this happens, get on solid ground, no snow, and run it back and forth til the snow shakes out.
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com

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pop pop
1010 crawler
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Re: Seized track pins

Post by pop pop » Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:49 am

might try and get the frozen links onto the top side so they are hanging and can bounce, PbBlaster them everyday, and wack on the pad, downward, maybe fit a hunk of wood between track frame and adjacent link.
stay off the carrier idler. could even take it off.
440icd/602/8a,,440icd/831/ripper,,440icd/831/3pt.,misc. 440 parts, i have 5 of these now, but i can stop anytime :cry:

whiteclipse16
2010 crawler
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Re: Seized track pins

Post by whiteclipse16 » Tue Sep 19, 2017 11:29 am

When I rebuilt my, a lot of the links were frozen (dozer had sat for 20 years or so). The pins and bushings weren't new so that probably helped my case, but I pressure washed them some as Lavoy suggested, poured old motor oil on them, diesel fuel, ATF, pretty much whatever I had laying around. I did this everyday for a few weeks. When I would do that I also used a "spud bar" and would work each individual link back and forth. At first they barely wanted to move, but I would move it some then beat it back with a sledge then move with bar then repeat. I also put 4 x 4's under the stiffer parts and drove over the tracks with the rear tire of another tractor to try to work the links some.
It was a long, slow and enduring process but I think it was worth it. They're all pretty free now and the tracks sag as they should on top.
Ben

Great Grandpa's 1960 440ICD 602 blade
Between SN's: 455,633 - 456,801
Currently Rebuilding/Restoring

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