Track carrier / cross bar wear

[reedgmi]

Another place with a ton of wear - the track carrier/frame to the rear cross bar. And front too, although haven't looked at that in detail. When the crawler is on the ground, it causes the carrier to sit at angle, making everything out of alignment. I measured around 4 deg. I assume the cross bar is a single, straight diameter all along this outer portion when new? And is then a nice sliding fit in the carrier bore? A little hard to see, but the bar is a larger diameter at the outside - what would be inside the clamp - than the portion inside the carrier casting.

Any good suggestions for a hack to close up this gap?

[pop pop]

i had the same if not worse problem on a 440.
along with slop, the round bar was bent.
i replaced the bar and brazed the hole and re-machined it.
this was many years ago when materials were cheaper, and i , (we) did all the labor.
it took 4- 5 guys to carry in the track frame and set it on a mill,
if i were you, just get it into the right position and squirt it full of J-B Weld, otherwise you can take it all apart , weld up and true up the bar,
maybe have a sleeve made for the trackframe or fill it with J-Bweld and bore it to size. you could also "oversize" the bar to fit the hole and try to make it tight and straight.

[reedgmi]

JB Weld ..... interesting idea, hadn't considered that. I wonder how robust that would be? That is pretty much a one-way trip though, isn't it? That makes me a bit nervous.
Even though I'm seriously thinking about finding an old lathe to be able to make bushing, shafts, and other misc stuff, unlikely I'll get one with the required 60" between centers to machine the shaft (thinking about welding it in the wear areas)

[gus]

Wear is most certainly on the bottom. Not a great fix, but weld the area, grind back to fit with a hand die grinder. Use a piece of sized material to get a fit. Rotate the shaft to move the wear area.

Likely very hard to find any machine shop to sleeve it.

[reedgmi]

Wear is most certainly on the bottom. Not a great fix, but weld the area, grind back to fit with a hand die grinder. Use a piece of sized material to get a fit. Rotate the shaft to move the wear area.

Likely very hard to find any machine shop to sleeve it.

Even though I haven't yet pulled the track carrier off, you're probably right about the wear - top of shaft inboard, bottom of shaft outboard. Turning 90 deg is a good idea!

[Lavoy]

If you turn 90 degrees, you will have to cut the drawbar tabs and reweld. Not a big deal, just would have to be done.
Lavoy

[reedgmi]

If you turn 90 degrees, you will have to cut the drawbar tabs and reweld. Not a big deal, just would have to be done.
Lavoy

Oh yes, good point! Totally forgot about that.