CAT 955K Help

AllDodge "I think" is quoting new Rails/chains and pads?

That spring is there to release tension so other things don't break when a problem arises in the undercarriage. If the coils are overlapping each other you take away from that ability.

I don't have a good feel for track pricing except that if you enjoy the working on the machine you probably will not mind sniffing around the various used equipment suppliers looking for bargains.
What I'm talking about here is to find some tracks and maybe rollers that the guys who have to run a machine 8 hours a day with will have to toss to avoid downtime that will cost them money. Their perception of "worn out" can be a heck of a lot different from what you or I would consider worn out!!

You will need to find how wear is measured on a track chain-- it is pretty straightforward. The other thing to get familiar with is what chain you have in the 955 and what other machines have the same track chain. This gets a little more complicated because some track is made to inch sizes and some is made to metric sizes. Newer track can be nicer to deal with since the master links are bolted rather than having to find the master pin, which is press-fitted (and sometimes welded) in place and pull it out. Your machine may have bolted master links if you are lucky.

Rollers and front idlers and the big tension springs are another discussion. I think most people just grit their teeth and buy new parts rather than try to fix. Unless you have a home machine shop and a press.

I talked to a guy many years ago about fixing rollers on a TD9 Dozer he had on his farm. He was a decent welder and built up out outsides of the rollers but had an idea he wanted to try with the bearing guts in the roller--he wanted pull everything out of the inside of the roller and simply assembly the shaft into the empty roller and fill the whole thing with babbitt metal (like lead) and use grease lubrication. I never did get to talk to him again to see how that turned out!!

Jon.