Removing track shoe bolts

[Goober]

Is it even possible to remove these bolts? I have broken one wrench, rounded off half a dozen bolt heads with an impact, broken a pawl on a (cheapo) 3/4" ratchet. I'm getting the feeling they cannot be removed after 35 years of service. I ran out of acetylene on Friday doing other stuff, so I resorted to using a 4" cutoff wheel to cut the heads off the bolts and pound them back through the chain links. Even the ones that were slightly loose (at the master pin, so would have likely been removed at last P&B turn) would not yield. Is there some magic that I'm missing? How do you all remove track shoes?

[Lavoy]

Torch the nuts off, lay the tracks on their side in a circle and beat the pads off with a hammer.
Lavoy

[jtrichard]

why are you trying to remove the pads?

[Goober]

There are three pads that were bent and mangled and the edges of those pads that should ride over the next pad in the track were running underneath and causing the track to make loud popping noises every time they went over the sprocket - I know - it's a side effect of the severely worn pins and the chain doesn't have much life left in it, but the last thing I want is the track jumping off a mile from the shop so I figured I would replace those pads with some used but straight ones from the Berco dealer.

I also built a C-clamp style 30T master pin press that requires that I take off the pad next to the master pin. It seems that no amount of heat/sledgehammer is breaking the master pin free, so I was hoping the combination of heat and 30T of continuous pressure would help the situation. If not that, then it's time to find a local mechanic with a real pin press, or sweet talk the Pape machinery service foreman to lend me the 100T field service pin press (I know - highly unlikely - they'll just want to send their service truck and charge me for a house call).

[jtrichard]

you can also burn the center out of the master if you have to and get new ones...... get your acetylene tank filled and torch the bolt heads off and punch them out is about all you can do to get the pads off

[JWB Contracting]

Often the bolts are tight or rusted in the rails. A couple more options, I have done both.

- loosen nuts with 2 box end wrenches hooked together

- if the rails are loose, lay them on there side and split the nuts with a chisel (held with vice grips) and a large hammer. Fairly quick one you figure out how hard to swing

Torching is usually my last option for me.

[ja600]

Try heating the nuts cherry red and impacting them off before they cool.