Kebelco SK210 LC Track Repair Questions

[PRDiesel]

Hello to all, newbie to the forums here. I can't belive I've never heard of this site before... what a wealth of information!!!

I operate a Kobelco sk210 lc and recently noticed a track was loose. The tensioner was spurting grease from around the seals on the ram. The idlers are actually out past the edge of the undercarrige frame on each side so I need to take a link out of each side I presume. I wasnt sure if this is why the seal is leaking on the tensioner(because the tracks are adjusted so far out) or if the seal has just gone bad. I have been planning on removing a link from each side but b/c of the failed seal... it is now time.

Well the real question is about track and link removal. Can I remove any link of should it be a certian one (master pin/link). I know theres not a master link like on a dozer but I'm not sure about a master pin. Can i just remove any two pins, a link, and connect the track back together with a new pin?

The last question is about seal replacement on the adjuster. Does anyone have any opinions on this? Can I do it myself or take it to a hydraulic repair shop? (or some other repair shop??) I assume the idler, spring, and adjuster will just roll out of the frame once the chains are busted loose.

Hopefully some of you can help... these tracks seem to be getting towards the end of their life but I'm not to sure about track repair and surely dont have the money for new tracks but they could be fine. Sorry to ask so many questions but I figured I'd just jump right into this site.

Thanks in advance.

 

[willie59]

Hello to all, newbie to the forums here. I can't belive I've never heard of this site before... what a wealth of information!!!

I operate a Kobelco sk210 lc and recently noticed a track was loose. The tensioner was spurting grease from around the seals on the ram. The idlers are actually out past the edge of the undercarrige frame on each side so I need to take a link out of each side I presume. I wasnt sure if this is why the seal is leaking on the tensioner(because the tracks are adjusted so far out) or if the seal has just gone bad. I have been planning on removing a link from each side but b/c of the failed seal... it is now time.

Well the real question is about track and link removal. Can I remove any link of should it be a certian one (master pin/link). I know theres not a master link like on a dozer but I'm not sure about a master pin. Can i just remove any two pins, a link, and connect the track back together with a new pin?




The last question is about seal replacement on the adjuster. Does anyone have any opinions on this? Can I do it myself or take it to a hydraulic repair shop? (or some other repair shop??) I assume the idler, spring, and adjuster will just roll out of the frame once the chains are busted loose.

Hopefully some of you can help... these tracks seem to be getting towards the end of their life but I'm not to sure about track repair and surely dont have the money for new tracks but they could be fine. Sorry to ask so many questions but I figured I'd just jump right into this site.

Thanks in advance.

Well, in this case I hate to agree with you, sounds like your tracks are nearing the end of their life. Generally, when the idler frame nears the end of the track frame, it's because of excessive wear of pins/bushings of track chain. You'd have to take the tracks to a track shop to have a link taken out, but I'd say chances are the pins/bushings are so worn that even if you could get them to do it for you, your only buying a short period of time before tracks start failing. Most excavator tracks have a master pin instead of a master link as on dozers. It's hard to tell you what to look for except the master pin usually has a different look than all the other pins. Even then, sometimes those things can be tough to knock out. When that happens to me, I don't fool with wearing myself out getting it out, I take the track shoe off of the master pin link and cut the link with a torch, then have the track shop put a new link on it. Good Luck

 

[PRDiesel]

Thanks for the info... I was just assuming knocking two pins out and taking that link out was the extent of it. Do all of the pins come out or just the master pin.

I did some track repair about a year ago on an mdi yutani 140B and just punded out a random pin to break the track loose. it was definatley a pain in the A but I have some free time to mess with the kobelco and not a lot of money.

 

[willie59]

Thanks for the info... I was just assuming knocking two pins out and taking that link out was the extent of it. Do all of the pins come out or just the master pin.

I did some track repair about a year ago on an mdi yutani 140B and just punded out a random pin to break the track loose. it was definatley a pain in the A but I have some free time to mess with the kobelco and not a lot of money.

Well, you can give it a try, nothing to lose there. It ususally doesn't work that way though. The master pin is designed to be "removable". The other pins require being pressed in/out with a track press. If they come out with relative ease, that usually means things are in pretty bad shape.

 

[PRDiesel]

Well, there was nothing easy about it... that for sure! It took a few hours of heating the link, pounding with a t handle drift pin and a 16 lb sledge, and plenty of sweat. I guess this approach produces the same result of a track press except the press probably takes about 2 min. and not 2 hours. Taking both tracks off and hauling them to a shop is just short of out of the question.

Got any ideas about the adjuster?

 

[finaldrive]

The master pin on Kobelco has a dimple in the center of it. Once clean, it should be clearly visible. Then the hard part of heating and pounding.
For the track adjuster, it's easy to reseal. Just an o-ring and wiper seal. The problem usually is with the chrome wearing thin on the grease cylinder. Sometimes the seal and o-ring won't solve your problem. I would recommend taking it to a hydaulic shop to check the tolerance between the chrome rod and the the barrel to make sure you don't waste your time and money. If the tolerances on the barrel are bad, then even a new rod and seals won't help.

 

[PRDiesel]

Well, tomorrow is the day im gonna go at it swinging. Talked to the shop foreman at the kobelco dealership in town, he said any of the pins will come out with enough pounding and heat. He seemed to think the "remove two pins and a link and put the track back together" repair would work (actually he said he had done it several times). Also picked up the track adjuster seal kit and he said that was a piece of cake (except that the whole assembly is 600 lbs +/-). The trip to the dealership may have hurt more than it helped b/c now I feel like I can handle it myself which might not be the case.

Anyhow, if anyone else can offer some advice... I'm all eyes.

Thanks again in advance.

 

[PD Mech Steve]

PRDiesel: The track links are interlocking. They can only be separated at the master link without major torch work. You can take a link out, we have done it many times. Remove master pin and separate track ends. You will be left with 2 ends, one with pin bosses and the other with master bushing. If you can....heat and drive out next pin in line from master bushing end of chain. It will come out much harder than master pin as it is a heavier press fit. If it will not drive out you can gouge the ends of the pin out with a torch (assuming you dont want to save pin.) Once pin is out or ends gouged cut master bushing in half. This should separate the link from the rest of the chain. Now you should be left with a bushing end where the bushing protrudes from either side of the link. Trim off ends of bushing flush with link to create new master bushing and reassemble track with original master pin. Good luck. Steve. www.pdmechanical.com

 

[PRDiesel]

Thanks for the help. All went well... I ended up doing some major torch work and cut the two links out. The track adjuster pistons on both sides are pitted pretty bad. They are 400.00 each from kobelco so maybe a hydraulic repair shop can refinish them. Got some new master pins so when I get the adjusters figured out everything should be good to go.

 

[John C.]

PRDiesel,
Check out this site and go into the tracks section. It will explain how tracks work. There is a master pin with a dimple in the center but it might be only on one end. I have seen where people have installed the dimple in backwards and you have to look on the inside of the tracks to find it.

I don't think the dealer man is trying to help you.

http://www.constructioncentric.com/forum/YaBB.pl

 

[SterlingR]

PRDiesel Hydraulic repair service out of Spartansburg will recrome the pistons. He is in your neck of the woods a couple times a week.Also master machine in Spartansburg does the same. I use to be the service manager at a dealer in Columbia and used both of them on a regular basis. Great work out of both shops.