350 Tracks

[Mysticguy]

HI Guys,
New guy here. Picked up a 1972 350B with a drott 4/1. Triple grousers
are worn down as with pins and bushings. I want to use machine on my wood lot in Vermont. cleaning up logging roads, moving trees around.
Traction is really the key here. Can I remove loader tracks and put on regular dozers tracks that are 12". I would not be ripping around at any great speeds. mostly first and second. any recomendation on aftermarket tracks or finding the elusive front idlers as mine are chiped.
Thanks for all the help. Mark

[Lavoy]

Grousers will be hard on undercarriage, and make the crawler turn a lot harder under load, especially in harder ground. If you are careful, and use some common sense, probably will not be as much of an issue.
I can get you a price on new tracks and idlers, give me a call or e-mail me if you are interested.
lavoy

[srs_mn]

I bought a used early 350 loader that came with grouser tracks on it... I later replaced them with triple semi-grousers and I really couldn't tell much difference. The old grousers were pretty worn down though, and the tracks were shot, so that probably had a lot to do with it.
I would think new full height grousers on a loader would be pretty hard on things, but I wouldn't be afraid to do it if I really needed the ground grip.
srs_mn

[mini kahuna]

I would think new triple grousers would provide enough traction,besides i would rather slip and spin a little than have a tall dozer pad grab into a root or such and stop the track dead.
I seem to remember when the 350 or 450 first came out and they had tall grousers on them and people were breaking all kinds off driveline parts,deere replaced the tall shoes with shorter ones and the broken parts stopped.

[CatD8RII]

New triple grousers should provide plenty of traction in all but the slopiest situations. Id stay with triple grousers on a loader as they typically do more turning (i.e. loading a truck) than a blade dozer would.

[Mysticguy]

Thanks for all the advice guys. triple loader style seem to be the safest bet. I forgot to mention that my land is very step and some logging roads have severe drop offs. Maybe I could just weld up some traction plates every other pad if need be. That way i could just stick with the triple pads.
Thanks again

[Lavoy]

If you do it, you need to do every one to even out the load on the rails and the rollers.
Lavoy

[rjamesh2008]

i had put some 1/2" square rods on my lil 350b and now she got plenty of grip then the old slicks that it had ,, but i had put them every pad and the full length