Getting the Track Back On

[Pammark]

I lent my JD 2010 to the neighbor and he rolled the left track off for me. We pulled the dozer off to the side out of the mud with my 7120 Case IH tractor and left it until later in the summer.

I wish I took pictures so I will try to explain what we did. I heard horror stories about pulling master pins, so I got prepared to learn a new language.

I removed the grease plug and ball from the idler wheel adjuster and tried to use the bucket curl and block of wood to squeeze the idler back as far as possible. It really did not move much; I think it was mostly in already.

We hooked a chain to the track and pulled it clear of the dozer. We laid it on its side with the master pin C-clip on top. I juiced up the master pin with penetrating oil the week before. I removed the C-clip and we were ready to whoop with a sledgehammer.

My other neighbor is a machinist and made me a ¾” X 6” punch out of hardened steel and welded a 2 foot handle on it. I took a wood 2 X 4 about 18 inches long and drilled a ¾” hole in the middle (flat side) lined up exactly over the master pin. I used two C-clamps to hold the 2 X 4 against the underside of the snow tracks.

We put the punch in the hole and it stood up nice, perfect alignment over the master pin. With gloves on, one held the punch handle while the other whooped the punch with the sledge. After the second blow, the pin popped out. The pin is tapered and pops out easy after you get it started.

We laid the track out flat with the pins on top. Hooked a tractor to it and dragged it around the dozer like a snake and stopped with the back end of the track just past the rear sprocket about two links and extended forward.

The dozer front bucket could lift the front of the dozer off the ground. I backed the 7120 tractor up to the rear of the dozer and wrapped a chain around the 3-pt quick-hitch and dozer rear weights. The tractor lifted the ass of the dozer off the ground. We used pry bars to nudge the track under the dozer sprocket and rollers. I lowered the dozer ass until the sprocket set in the track link.

We rolled the track over the front idler wheel and used a tractor and chain to pull the track over the center roller to the top of the back sprocket. Of course we were about two links short of alignment for the master pin. We used the 7120 to lift the dozer sprocket off the track on the ground and slowly run the dozer in reverse pulling the top track over the last two links. We then set the dozer ass down on the track and meshed the two ends together.

Using a long center-punch we helped the alignment and put the master pin back in. A couple taps with the sledge and the C-clip fit back on. I replaced the grease plug and ball in the idler adjuster and pumped in grease to good track tension.

That was it. No hurt fingers, no hurt emotions, and no new language to learn. Easy as pie (almost).



Mark

[Toivo1037]

I love it when a plan comes together.

(I wish my plans would come together - more often)

[Tigerhaze]

Not much fun, is it? I posted a detailed photo journal of my thrown track headaches in the "Show and Tell" forum. I wish I had a 7000 series tractor to lift the sproket and move around my track- I had to move the track with an underpowered 8N, and had to use a bottle jack to lift the sproket.

[gus]

On my D4 I used a come along hooked to the track and around the dozer and drove it back on. If it came off that way, it'll go back on that way too. I had a D2 that was a track throwing fool. Got pretty good at it.

Once was on an extremely steep hill backing up the D4 (standing on the dash) and started to get sideways so I hit the steering and lost the right track. The other Cat on the hill was a D8. Hooked a chain under the blade and drug it down to a flat spot. Come along time. I stayed off that slope after that, actually, so did the D8. I was moving dirt down building a flat spot for a new house. That was in 1987 and I can still see the D8's tracks up on that hill.

[Tigerhaze]

Well, I threw my track again at the end of last weekend. I'm in a relatively level area but the thrown track is in a small swale up agianst a fence. Will probably have to drive it out of the ditch with the track off. I'm not looking forward to putting it back on in the close to 100 degree heat tomorrow!

[Pammark]

Borrow a larger tractor from a neighbor to help with lifting the ass of the dozer. My CaseIH 7120 is a 150 HP tractor. I would not go much smaller since it needs the front weight and 3 pt hitch lifting ability. I thought driving the last links on the back sprocket with the dozer in reverse was a neat idea. A local dozer mechanic told me that trick.



Mark