Track Shoe Life/Wear - Grouser Height

Post support questions about your JD350 and newer crawler here
Post Reply
jimt1000
MC crawler
MC crawler
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 12:36 am

Track Shoe Life/Wear - Grouser Height

Post by jimt1000 » Tue May 14, 2019 4:42 am

I have a 2006 JD 550J and I'm trying to ascertain the condition of my track shoes in terms of their life/wear. I found in the Owner's Manual that the grouser height of the track shoes should be measured and then you have to go to the "SP326 Undercarriage Appraisal Manual", which I don't have, to get the specification for the grouser height. Can anyone tell me what the grouser height of a new stock single bar shoe is and how the percentage of life is measured? In other words, at what grouser height should the shoes be replaced and what is the new grouser height such that I could ascertain what the percentage of my shoe wear is? Thanks for any help. Regards

Jim B
350 crawler
350 crawler
Posts: 2080
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:36 am
Location: western Maine

Re: Track Shoe Life/Wear - Grouser Height

Post by Jim B » Tue May 14, 2019 6:33 am

Hopefully someone will have the info from the manual for you: in the mean time I'll offer this. There are some copies of the SP326 manual for sale on eBay, but may be older than your 550J. The descriptions read like those (at 1000 pages plus) cover more than just John Deere specs.

Some of the pads have some dimensions listed, if you search them by part number, through John Deere parts. I looked at a couple and both showed a bar height of 1.929". There are series breaks and serial number breaks to take into account so you will need to look and choose using that info for your machine. I used https://jdparts.deere.com/servlet/com.d ... anguage=19 to look at them. I would guess the book might say the grouser height being about half, or a bit less, the original half might be 100% worn.

Do you have just the Owner's (Operator's) Manual? The Technical Manual and Test manuals may have the info you are looking for. There are a number of different versions of those manuals based on machine serial number, so be sure any you may get match your machine. My 450E Technical manual shows 1.89" as the grouser height new and 0.79" as 100% worn. No info on grouser height in the Operator's manual.

You don't say if chains were replaced and the pads were swapped to the new chains, or if other undercarriage work has been done. Undercarriage is a system. If your grousers are worn down how about the rest of the undercarriage? Chains, sprockets, rolls, idlers, etc. No offense intended but, not knowing your background and how familiar you are with all aspects of an undercarriage, there is a good read in a post by Stan Disbrow on the FAQ board; viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10123. It is a Dresser document but it applies to all undercarriages and explains things well.

Have you tried asking your dealer for the specs on your machine's undercarriage components? It might be a long shot, but I have known of some dealers doing evaluations for free, or at reduced rates, if there is a chance of getting a sale. The dealer should have sprocket and other gauges to do it right. It doesn't hurt to ask.

jimt1000
MC crawler
MC crawler
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 12:36 am

Re: Track Shoe Life/Wear - Grouser Height

Post by jimt1000 » Tue May 14, 2019 9:08 am

Jim B, many thanks for the helpful reply... I checked the online parts catalog link you provided, logged in, and was able to view the single bar shoe grouser height in the specifications of the part (I didn't notice the spec link in the parts catalog previously). Yes, as you stated, the bar height is listed as 1.929 in. I have both the Owner's Manual and the Technical Manual but wasn't able to find the bar height in either. But you've provided some good insight to the answer I'm seeking. Taking your info from your 450E manual, at 42% of the original height, the bar is considered 100% worn (0.79/1.89=0.42). That seems reasonable. This will definitely provide a good reference for the answer I'm seeking. In my case on my 550J, using the 42% of original height as a general rule of thumb for 100% wear, I'd be looking at 1.929x0.42= 0.81" of bar height. That, too, seems pretty reasonable. And while I've not measured exactly, I'm thinking I'm pretty close to that (I'll measure precisely when I'm next at the Ranch).

In regards to the other undercarriage wear, while I'm by no means an expert, I do watch this carefully. I bought the dozer used; it's a 2006 model; runs like a top. The console was replaced prior to my buying the machine and the hour meter was reset with the new console, but I did have a certified mechanic inspect it before I bought it and the estimated total hours on the machine was estimated to be around 3500 hours; and this correlated with what the seller had told me. Regardless, at the time, I had the whole undercarriage inspected and it was stated that, with the exception of the chain, I had well over 50% life of the undercarriage remaining (rollers, idlers, sprockets, shoes, etc.). I replaced the chain and had the old shoes put back on. As time has gone by, and the dozer lives at my ranch in South Texas where the soil is very sandy with much flint rock, the shoes have gotten more worn, naturally. The remaining undercarrige appears fine (although I'm needing to replace the seals on the Track Tension Adjusters (I've posted about this in another post herein this forum)).

So, I appreciate the info you've provided and this gives me a good rule of thumb to use for "watching" my grouser bar height and deciding when I should/need to replace the shoes.

Thanks again, JimT

Jim B
350 crawler
350 crawler
Posts: 2080
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:36 am
Location: western Maine

Re: Track Shoe Life/Wear - Grouser Height

Post by Jim B » Tue May 14, 2019 9:28 am

Another option is to get grouser bar stock and weld on to yours. That can be an option in some cases, depends on pad thickness and available resources to do it, as it can be done without removing the pads.

jimt1000
MC crawler
MC crawler
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 12:36 am

Re: Track Shoe Life/Wear - Grouser Height

Post by jimt1000 » Tue May 14, 2019 11:51 am

Yep. I thought about regrousering the existing shoes. But the labor involved with the welding seems that, in the end, new shoes would be, perhaps, about the same cost with a lot less labor (welding a total of 80 bars is going to take some time). Hence I’m leaning towards just replacing the shoes.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 69 guests