Welding Rebar on for grousers

[Kolot]

I have a JD 350 straight I been working on that has 6 way blade. Tracks were really bad but I had a set from a track loader that were a little better so i put them on. They are nearly a flat pad but I have heard tell of guys welding rebar on for grousers. I was wondering if anyone has done it and if they had problems with warping or bowing the pads from the welding. Likely I will use dual shield mig to weld them.
New rails and tracks just arent in the budget right now and this is for personal use to strip top soil to build my house.

[Jason37756]

I don’t think you will have any problems with the pads warping.

I wouldn’t weld rebar on them…just buy some flat bar that’s precut. I know the price may be prohibitive but the money and labor spent on welding just doesn’t add up to welding rebar over a better option.

Are the bushings in good enough condition to justify welding grousers on? It’s hard to believe those grousers would be put on a usable set of chains if they were replaced somewhere along the way.

[lsgadd]

I purchased 450B a few years ago that the pads were wore down to the top of the bolt, The pins and bushing looked liked they had been turned when I got the loader, so I purchased some flat bar I think it was 1" X 1" and 1" X 1/2" and welded it on with my millermatic 200 welder.

If I remember correctly it was 36 pads on each track and 3 bars on each pad, It took a while to weld them all on as I welded front and back of each bar, but there was no warping on the pad itself and I'm still using the loader occasionally and they seem to still be securely on.

[jimmydiesel]

Kolot
I have seen tracks with rebar welded on them. They seemed to work better than if they didn’t have any.
Warpage shouldn’t be a problem.

[LeonardL]

I have seen guys use rebar for grousers but they tend to be brittle and will break off. You can still buy grouser bar that is made for re-toeing dozer pads. It usually doesn't cost that much more and you have better toes when you're done.

I quit re-toeing pads because you can buy aftermarket pads for about the same money as it takes to buy the materials and the time involved with welding all of them on.

But I don't know your budget and I fully understand wanting to save a buck. Especially these days. Use a good rod like 7018 to weld them on and you should be good to go.