420 track questions

[dab102999]

I am sure a couple of the questions I am going to have are going to seem stupid but gunna ask anyways.

I bought a 420 C (5 roller) just to do some stump work and put a driveway in. Have no intention on keeping it when I am done. When I bought it I new the right side didn't work the best. Sometimes would grab sometimes wouldn't. And tracks are towards the wore out side of life. I adjusted it the best I could and it improved some but not the best.

To make a long story short I found a 40 that is advertised as runs and moves that appears to be (haven't got confirmation on yet) a 4 roller. If it turns good will it be a simple swap of final drives to my 420?

Also I assume but is there a difference in length of track on a 4 and 5 roller?

I would like to say I would like to rebuild my finals and track but am not going to drop that kind of money into a machine I have no intention on keeping but will drop some money into it if it would be a simple swap.

I know very little about crawlers buy have been working on two cyl (restored 10 of them) for a couple decades and I have helped a buddy change out his tracks and finals on a 440 so more them willing to do the work if feasible.

Thanks for reading and have a great day.

[dab102999]

The 40 is a 5 roller also. So would the track and undercarrage be the same?

[Lavoy]

Short answer is 40 tracks are different than 420. They might fit with sprocket change, not sure if they will hit the rockguards.
The question I have is why would you spend the money on a set of finals that might not be the lighter finals, might not be really any better than yours, might be the wrong tooth count, spend the money to buy the crawler, then spend all of the time to swap them over as opposed to just repairing the ones you have now? Used is used, nothing says they are ultimately any better than the used ones you have. Repair what you have correctly, cobbling crawlers almost always will lead to greater expense then just fixing it correctly in the first place. AND, when you go to sell it, and a potential buyer asks about the condition of steering clutches and finals, you can tell him (or her) that you have worked on them and they are good as opposed to just shrugging your shoulders and saying no clue, just threw on some used ones I bought.
Either way you need to repair things inside the clutch housing, it is never "just bolt on a different final and it will work".
Lavoy

[dab102999]

Thank you. And understand completely what you are saying. That is why i asked. And to give you my thinking is this. It was going to cost me $13000 to put a driveway in. Way more then I thought it would to upgrade an existing and expanding a current drive. So I bought a good running 420C that I knew had issues with the right side track for $3500. I can do what I want to do just might have to use my left side track more for turning (back and forth). A 40 that is advertises as running and moving is for sale for $1500.

My 420's tracks are definitely at the end of there life, Pad's don't look the best, and if I spend the time to do the finals I would probably do the tracks to, and that means drive wheels and more then likely rollers. Two owners ago pinned the track and I don't know why he did for the shape it is in. Now I haven't looked into total price but I am sure that when I am done it will be $5000 or more to do that and as I stated that I have no intention of keeping it when I am done for not gunna drive it around the yard and tear up the yard. I do not see anyone giving me my money back out of it at the end so that leads me to just deal with it and get my project done. I might just end up doing the drives and call it good.

I "thought" that if it was the same undercarriage I would do the swap...sell off the running parts 40 for 6 or 8 hundred maybe and be money ahead at the end game. Only way I would buy the 40 is being able to drive it around and see if drives are better then mine by feel.

Thank you for your response and just the fact that it isn't the same makes up my mind on that route.