frozen pins
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- 40C crawler
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:59 am
- Location: new jersey
frozen pins
Hello all and happy new year. Just a quick question about the pins and bushings on the tracks. A machine I have seen must have been sitting for some time and some of the pins and bushings are frozen. THey are running the machine the way it is but you can definately see how the pads are not laying flat. If you spray some rust buster or penetrating oil on them will they free up over time?? The pads are in good shape other than the frozen pins. THanks Howard
Get in water or snow and run it til they free up, far and away the best way to do it.
Lavoy
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
I'm serious, snow or water is the absolute best solution for frozen track pins, been there, done that, had the neighbors looking at me funny making laps in the snow.
Lavoy
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
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- 2010 crawler
- Posts: 597
- Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:08 pm
- Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Water treatment
My dad has been soaking frozen rails in our pond for years. I too was surprised but it does work.
Jason Benesch
John Deere 420, 430, 440 & 350C With 3 Point Hitch
John Deere 400G With Winch
John Deere 2010 Crawler Dozer
John Deere 420, 430, 435 & 440 Wheel Tractors
John Deere 420, 430, 440 & 350C With 3 Point Hitch
John Deere 400G With Winch
John Deere 2010 Crawler Dozer
John Deere 420, 430, 435 & 440 Wheel Tractors
Nothing like dashing through the snow with a rusted up set of track chains the colder it gets the better it works as well .I took the old excavator out last winter on the coldest day and did some field running with it the rusted up rail areas were lose in no time and the rust powered out of the kinked areas just enough water gets in to lube slightly and keep running it till the kinks and binding areas are lose as well stay in the snow if you get a bunch of mud on the tracks I found it just doesn't work as well .Digitup.
Water is absolutely the best rust penetrant made, rust comes from water, water is the only thing that truly dissolves it, other than probably acid.
Lavoy
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
Lavoy is absolutely right!! Water is the best for this and muddy, sandy water is even better.
I would like to add to what Digitup was saying. You need to at least once in your life get on a dozer with frozen or rusted up tracks and then take it out on frozen, rock solid ground and be in at least third gear when you do it. A bucking bronco has nothing on the ride you will get. And do it when you have a back ache or a tooth ache or hemorrhoids or something! Or maybe a good sinus infection! There is nothing like running equipment in winter! It will either kill you or make a man out of you!!
I would like to add to what Digitup was saying. You need to at least once in your life get on a dozer with frozen or rusted up tracks and then take it out on frozen, rock solid ground and be in at least third gear when you do it. A bucking bronco has nothing on the ride you will get. And do it when you have a back ache or a tooth ache or hemorrhoids or something! Or maybe a good sinus infection! There is nothing like running equipment in winter! It will either kill you or make a man out of you!!
40 plus years working on JD 350s, 400Gs, 450s and other equipment both Ag and Construction.
- Paul Buhler
- 350 crawler
- Posts: 991
- Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 6:25 pm
- Location: Killington, VT
Running a crawler in the winter makes for slippery tracks - I have had a few bruised shins as proof. As said, the snow lubes up all the parts nicely.
As a caution, I'd recommend carrying a narrow shovel on a crawler to dig out the undercarriage each evening (particularly in cold weather). The mix of packed snow and dirt freeze hard and keep rolls from turning, bind up track adjuster springs and front idlers, and can freeze up around the sprockets too. All of these events increase undercarriage wear and operator aggravation when this frozen mass needs to be chopped out. Cleaning the track each night while the mass is still liquid and loose is pretty easy and quick.
Good luck with your machine. Paul
As a caution, I'd recommend carrying a narrow shovel on a crawler to dig out the undercarriage each evening (particularly in cold weather). The mix of packed snow and dirt freeze hard and keep rolls from turning, bind up track adjuster springs and front idlers, and can freeze up around the sprockets too. All of these events increase undercarriage wear and operator aggravation when this frozen mass needs to be chopped out. Cleaning the track each night while the mass is still liquid and loose is pretty easy and quick.
Good luck with your machine. Paul
Paul Buhler
Killington, VT
420c 5 roll with 62 blade, FOPS, and Gearmatic 8a winch
Killington, VT
420c 5 roll with 62 blade, FOPS, and Gearmatic 8a winch
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- 430 crawler
- Posts: 83
- Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 10:31 am
Frozen Pins
So if I understand this correctly, where as I have many rusted/frozen pins on the my dozer tracks and about 15" of snow, I should drive around for awhile and maybe the snow will un-rust the frozen pins. I love the idea and shall do it this Sunday. Anything else or any other tricks I need to do? Thanks, Frank
1984 John Deere 455D Crawler with 4 in 1 bucket
Dress up warm, and drive it to town for coffee. As they start to loosen up, you will notice the rust start to bleed out of them, once you are to this point, you are gaining ground. Drive it until they are loose, and you should be good to go.
Lavoy
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
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- 430 crawler
- Posts: 83
- Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 10:31 am
Well, I started up the 455D track loader yesterday to drive in the snow and loosen the track pins. It started right up, almost as quick as my 2010 Dodge Ram !! The tracks were not stuck to the ground and it was actually fun driving in the snow. I was away and the internet said 15" of snow where there was really only about 8 to 10. I think it was too cold to have the tracks loosen up because of no snow melting, but I drove it around for about 1.5 hours. One noise that I had forgotten about seemed to happen more often. On both sides the rear drive sprokets are slightly hitting the roller in front of it. It's actually the front side edge of the sprocket hitting the inside side edge of the roller. It's hard to observe while driving. Any ideas? Thanks, Frank
1984 John Deere 455D Crawler with 4 in 1 bucket
Either the thrust plates are broken in the rear rollers, or bad bearings in the final letting the sprocket move.
Lavoy
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
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- 430 crawler
- Posts: 83
- Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 10:31 am
I tried to find a picture of the thrust plate in the rear rollers in my parts manual to no avail. I think I found the final drive bearing picture. Do you have a picture of each................I'll take a few camera shots of the noisy area and I'll also GOPRO it in action. Hopefully the GOPRO will catch the moving piece in action and post it . Thanks, Frank
1984 John Deere 455D Crawler with 4 in 1 bucket
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