440 hydraulic tensioners

[crgenther]

Good morning all,
A while back I replaced the seals on the end of the shafts of my track tensioners. Yesterday one track when slack and when I looked close there was a whole lot of grease coming out of the barrel. pushed the seal on the end of the barrel right out.
I took it apart and the seal looks fine. the new seal is rubber and I think that the old one was leather. I wonder if the leather works better? I can't imagine that the barrel would wear but I suppose it is a possibility. Also I was wondering if you can over fill with grease and that might cause the seal to fail. my repair manual does not have the hyd. tensioners it must be older that my machine.
Does anyone have experience with the hyd. tensioners.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Curt

[crgenther]

On further inspection, the seal does look like leather.

Curt

[Lavoy]

Correct, it should be leather.
Lavoy

[Gil]

Hydraulic tensioners are not covered in any version of the JD440 Service Manual. Probably were covered in a Bulletin. The parts are in the Parts Manual however.

The inside of the tube can have a scratch or a gouge in it to allow grease to pass. Was it doing this before? Sounds like the new seal may have been installed incorrectly. Look at the Parts Manual to be sure all the right parts are in the right place. Gil