Track Repair

My SW 48  arrived with mismatched tracks.  The cleats on one side were nearly worn out, while the other side seemed just broken in.  In soft conditions, I had one track drive.  The belting was ratty, and the possibility of de-tracking while crossing a road or some such nonsense gave pause for thought.

I got word of a parts machine through the cat shop at work .  (It turns out I had previously done business with the owner).  This machine did not run, and was missing a few parts. The undercarriage was in decent shape, with good sprockets, and all six tires were foamed.  We reached an agreement on price, and he agreed to deliver; a significant consideration, as the cat was more than three hours from my shop.

The day arrived, and….

The hours went by, and still no cat.  Something was up.

Turns out they had trouble loading.  Sitting outdoors for many years, the differential case had filled with water. The brake bands were bonded to the drums, locking the differential.  I believe they skidded it onto the gooseneck with only a come-along…

Which added a few hours on their end.

I pulled it off the deck with the TD6.

It came, but not willingly.

The right side was straightforward. The splice was accessible, so It was a bolt-off affair.

The left side was the older one-piece banding (no splice).  I may be doing this the wrong way, but I removed the middle wheel. (The skull-cracker is useful for this kind of work).  This gave access to the track tensioner, which was then slacked, and removed.

The rear wheel was then removed.  I torched the 4 slider bracket bolts out of expediency.

Remove 5 of the inside wheel guides.  This will give enough clearance to get the inside band over the sprocket teeth.

Work the band forward with a prybar on the sprocket.

The c-clamps slide nicely along the tub rail.

This job is easier during warm weather.  When it’s not dark, or raining, and with less mud on the ground….