what is 50% undercartiage ?

[Randy Richards]

I have a 1010 w/ 6 way and I read about 50 / 75 % undercartiage and I am not quite sure what all they are refering to. I new to this and appricate very much all the info I have read about. Thanks

[Gil]

The undercarriage refers to the track system. It is made up of all the components including the track pads, the track chain links and pins, the sprockets, the rollers, idlers, etc. When an owner says their undercarriage is 50% it should mean that the components have half of their useful life left. This can be a very subjective judgment. There are many different components and each wears differently and some are easier to evaluate visually than others.

In my experience people saying they have 75% or 85% undercarriage are trying to say that it is in decent shape and people saying only 35% or 50% are saying you may be lucky if it makes it to the end of the driveway without throwing a track. But then that is only my cynical experience.

Obviously the word of a professional evaluating the undercarriage objectively is a whole different matter. There are measurements that can be used to determine pin wear, etc. When components start to wear significantly, the decline can be rapid and can impact multiple components. For example, a new sprocket driving a badly worn track chain will cause the sprocket to wear much more rapidly than with a new chain.

[Randy Richards]

Thank you for the much appreicated info it'll give me a better understanding of undercartiage. It's to bad for me that some of the most experienced mechanics aren't just a short drive away...Thanks

[Tigerhaze]

Hi Randy-

I think this discussion thread will help you- specifically there is an Dresser/IH Manual at one of the links discussed (Stan's link) that is easy to read and will greatly aid you in understanding undercarriage wear.

http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/ ... ercarriage