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Track Tearing Problem

Haddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 6, 2011
Messages
146
Location
Atiamuri New Zealand
Occupation
earthmoving contractor
No worries :). I think machine has too much horse power ( 100 ) for it,s own good , even it is one good operator machine and we aren't in hard material . What do you think , is 100 hp to much for the tracks ?
 

ctheddy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
37
Location
missouri
Its been my experience that things in general are made to hold up, but just that not much more. It used to be, not too long ago at that, things were over engineered , seems like this economy has companies cutting cost anyway they can... not good. Honestly though, 100 hp is a lot but I would'nt think it would be the main culprit, certainly a factor.
 

rigandig

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2008
Messages
157
Location
Va
I have been following the Skid Steer threads lately as I have been looking to purchase a Tracked Skid Steer. I thought I had a deal on a SR80 ASV, but that seems to have turned a bit dodgy, so I have settled on a 289C from Cat. I had a meeting with the Cat Sales Rep and his Sales Manager last week. One thing the Sales Manager pointed out on the tearing of the tracks was this. He said if you noticed a tear starting, a good practice would be to drill the end of the tear, much like you would do if you had a crack in a piece of steel that you were going to weld. Makes sense to me. At least worth a try. They are delivering the machine out to a job I have that has a lot of slate to be moved. It is material that was moved in there recently for fill, so will be more like working out of a stock pile, 56 (loads) stock piles to be exact. I was concerned that the tracks would be destroyed in the material, so they met me there and seemed confident that their tracks would hold up. I don't intend to punish them(the tracks) as a test, but will certainly give them a work out for the next week or so. I'll try to remember to report back, especially if there are any catastrophic failures.
 

ctheddy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
37
Location
missouri
As with any machine, keeping the surface your working on smooth is key. Don't get sloppy and run over rocks or needlessly spin your tracks and ya should be fine.
 

watglen

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2009
Messages
1,314
Location
Dunnville, Ontario, Canada
Occupation
Farmer, drainage and excavating contractor, Farm d
My dealer is working on it. They have sold a pile of asv units, so i guessed they would have some experience dealing with these undercarriages.

The asv units they have done before use a sealed bearing instead of an open bearing, like my CAT. They got 3500 hours out of the last unit they serviced(note that is an RC50, which is much lighter than the 257b. That is a major factor.)

The routine they use is pull all the wheels once a year, and inject grease into the bearings with a grease needle. It is very time consuming, but the bearings last. On mine, with open bearings, the consensus is to drill the wheels and countersink a grease nipple into the wheels so we can add grease easily. The only problem may be blowing out the seal with too much grease, but the seal design is extra heavy duty, so they figure that might not be an issue.

Either way, with only 500 hrs to the first teardown, anything is worth a try. It can't do any worse.

We are installing the bair wheels across the back, new bearings across the front wheels, as well as a few of the boggies. The dealer was surprised at how much dirt was inside the hubs. I guess even though i try to baby the unit, and really wash it a lot, its not enough. So the best approach is to loosen the track and physically check the wheels for play often.

What i have learned is the undercarriage problems are very application specific.

Trying to keep this thread all in one place. Maybe i should have started a new one.

Anyway, after its all back together the repairs to the 257 came to about $5500. That's about $10/ machine hr to date. Thats a lot no matter how you cut it.
 

NCPIPELINE

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Messages
444
Location
Raleigh, NC
Occupation
The Fixer
Thinking we get about 800+- out of a track, sometimes they just get something under it and BAM bye bye track, accidents happen. But if your getting a 1000+- hours out of a track I WOULD BE HAPPY. Had to go and pick up 2 tracks yesterday, and install onsite in the mud :) JOY
 

traxter

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2012
Messages
6
Location
NJ
Leading cause of track failure is over-tensioning. Make sure you leave some slack in case you get a stick or rock that wraps around the sprocket or cage on the inside of the track.
 

Oxbow

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
1,201
Location
Idaho
We have a 287C that is used in stream channel construction, in mud, in cobble, through water, in freezing temps, etc. I have replaced all of the composite idlers with steel from Cat, and will soon need to replace the tracks. They have a few small tears, but are hanging in there so far. We now have 1500 hrs on the origingal set. I suspect that when I replace the tracks I will replace all the bogeys, as well as the sprocket bolts and bushings. I would like to find all steel or aluminum bogeys but have yet to find a supplier as I don't think Cat has come out with steel bogeys yet. Does anyone know af an aftermarket company that carries steel or aluminum bogeys?
I would guess that the MTL cost per hour is more than the CTL, but the ride and productivity because of faster speeds due to smoother ride would be hard to part with.
 

watglen

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2009
Messages
1,314
Location
Dunnville, Ontario, Canada
Occupation
Farmer, drainage and excavating contractor, Farm d
We have a 287C that is used in stream channel construction, in mud, in cobble, through water, in freezing temps, etc. I have replaced all of the composite idlers with steel from Cat, and will soon need to replace the tracks. They have a few small tears, but are hanging in there so far. We now have 1500 hrs on the origingal set. I suspect that when I replace the tracks I will replace all the bogeys, as well as the sprocket bolts and bushings. I would like to find all steel or aluminum bogeys but have yet to find a supplier as I don't think Cat has come out with steel bogeys yet. Does anyone know af an aftermarket company that carries steel or aluminum bogeys?
I would guess that the MTL cost per hour is more than the CTL, but the ride and productivity because of faster speeds due to smoother ride would be hard to part with.


from earlier in this thread...

http://www.bairproducts.net/index.html
 
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