Track Master link on 440IC (I'm new here)

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dbell
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Track Master link on 440IC (I'm new here)

Post by dbell » Mon Feb 09, 2015 1:35 am

Hi folks,
I'm very excited to be a part of this site, thank you all for your knowledge and patience.

My Dad passed 3 years ago and I inherited his 1958 440IC crawler. Dad bought her back in the early 70's. We logged/cleared 60 acres of Louisiana swamp with the 440IC, along with a 1952 I.H. mdl. H tractor and (2) Mac chain saws and an old pulpwood truck. We endured lots of blood, sweat and tears and tons of cottonmouths. The 440IC now resides with me in Washington State. Sorry for the family epistle.

Last summer after performing all the much needed and neglected maintenance, I noticed the master link on the inside left track had no snap ring on it and the end was chewed up fairly good. I have both service and parts manuals. I ordered a new link from Deere. The right side link looks fine. I used the new master link to drive out the old one and in with the new one with no problems...except, the new pin lacks about 1/8" of being able to get the snap ring on. I spoke with a few old loggers and they said, "just tack weld it on the"T" on the outside." I tact it in (2) places and it lasted about five minutes of run time. When I run the crawler, I get off and tap it back in if it backs out a little. So far, it seems to back out only about 1/8". I need to fix it properly, what do I do ?

Thankyou very much,
Dan

whiteclipse16
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Post by whiteclipse16 » Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:08 am

Dan, when I put mine back together I ran into this problem. The only difference is that I'm using master pin that doesn't use the snap rings. I think it is ever so slightly oversized so that it's similar to a press fit.
The problem I noticed was like yours tho, my link seemed to have spread apart slightly. This probably happened to you when you drove the old out and the new in.
Try a good heavy C Clamp and crank it down on the link that would go on the outside. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to pull it in that 1/8" and get your snap ring on.
Ben

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

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Lavoy
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Post by Lavoy » Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:38 am

Loosen the pad bolts when you try to pull it in, that helps too.
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com

dbell
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Post by dbell » Mon Feb 09, 2015 4:54 pm

Thankyou both !

Dan

dbell
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Post by dbell » Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:16 am

I did use a "C" clamp and was able to get the snap ring on. Thank you guys ! I ran the crawler for an hour then checked the master link
and the snap ring was gone ! All of the track bushings have old scrape marks on them where they have been rubbing. I haven't yet found where the rubbing is taking place. The end of the master link where the snap ring goes rubbed also causing the snap ring to wear or come off. Should I weld the master link on the inside ? The track tension seems to be in spec.

Thanks,
Dan

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DukeofDeere
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Post by DukeofDeere » Tue Mar 24, 2015 11:39 am

Try loosening the pad bolts and see if you can clamp the rails closer together.

Duke

whiteclipse16
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Post by whiteclipse16 » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:14 pm

I'm no pro, but I think the rubbing is going to be either your rails are wore too much, thus letting the rails sit down in the bottom rollers too far or your bottom rollers are wore letting the rails sit down in too far. If I'm understanding your wear point correctly, it's on the outside edge of the pins which I'm pretty sure means it's rubbing against the outside lip of the bottom rollers.
Mine show this wear also, but it's got many miles on it.
Ben

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

dbell
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Post by dbell » Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:18 pm

DukeofDeere wrote:Try loosening the pad bolts and see if you can clamp the rails closer together.

Duke
Duke,

Do you mean the pads where the master link is or all of them on the entire track ? I'm guessing the bolts would have to be soaked in a penetrating oil for a few days before they would budge ?

Thanks,
Dan

dbell
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Post by dbell » Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:25 pm

whiteclipse16 wrote:I'm no pro, but I think the rubbing is going to be either your rails are wore too much, thus letting the rails sit down in the bottom rollers too far or your bottom rollers are wore letting the rails sit down in too far. If I'm understanding your wear point correctly, it's on the outside edge of the pins which I'm pretty sure means it's rubbing against the outside lip of the bottom rollers.
Mine show this wear also, but it's got many miles on it.
Ben,

The wear is on the inside of the track, on all the pins. They are worn at an angle. From the looks of the wear, it has been doing this for years. Can they wear themselves clear or will it just get worse ? What's the spec or procedure to check what you have mentioned ?

Thanks,
Dan

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Stan Disbrow
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Post by Stan Disbrow » Wed Mar 25, 2015 5:17 am

Hi,

Think about what it does. It puts the pads on the ground and then rolls along the chains. There is friction of the metal-to-metal contact which leads to wear. Slowly, of course, but constantly.

The face of the chains and the flats of the rollers wear each other. The sides of the chains and the flanges of the rollers wear each other.

This only gets worse over time. Sounds like yours is at the point where the chains and rollers need replacing.

Oh, and if you ride on a side slope, the chain side and roller flange wear is a lot higher than running on the flat. Think about cutting ditches.

Stan
There's No Such Thing As A Cheap Crawler!

Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
Useta Have: '68 JD350, '51 Terratrac GT-25
Have: 1950 M, 2005 x495, 2008 5103 (now known as 5045D)

whiteclipse16
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Post by whiteclipse16 » Wed Mar 25, 2015 5:55 am

Mine are worn at a slight angle also.
Image[/img]

It's hard to tell in the pic. but you can slightly see how mine are worn at the bottom (opposite of the pad side) of the link/chain.
Unfortunately I don't know how to measure if it's within tolerance or not.
Ben

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

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Stan Disbrow
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Post by Stan Disbrow » Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:24 am

Hi,

There are wear gauges for each rail type to measure all the wear factors.

I have seen much worse than that. Another thing to look at is the alignment of the front idler. If that is shifted, it will cause the rail to hit the flange of the first roller all the time.

Stan
There's No Such Thing As A Cheap Crawler!

Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
Useta Have: '68 JD350, '51 Terratrac GT-25
Have: 1950 M, 2005 x495, 2008 5103 (now known as 5045D)

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DukeofDeere
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Post by DukeofDeere » Wed Mar 25, 2015 9:03 am

dbell wrote:
DukeofDeere wrote:Try loosening the pad bolts and see if you can clamp the rails closer together.

Duke
Duke,

Do you mean the pads where the master link is or all of them on the entire track ? I'm guessing the bolts would have to be soaked in a penetrating oil for a few days before they would budge ?

Thanks,
Dan
Just the one the master goes through.

Duke

dbell
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Post by dbell » Wed Mar 25, 2015 9:43 am

Thanks guys ! Very informative !

Dan

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