Filling track rollers

I have a slight leak on a track roller and want to add a grade 00 grease to stop the leak before I declare the roller bad. The leak could be just from sitting for awhile. Its a D3B/931B roller but aftermarket. I think it has a hex plug in the end where the OEM looks to have the plug in the middle of the shell. Anyway how much lube do you put in, till it runs out the fill hole? I'm hoping to do it on the machine and can tilt it on an angle with the backhoe if needed.

Most people use a fill nozzle with 90 wt oil.
Bob

The 00 grease is a semi-liquid pourable grease. Turns to liquid in use (warm) but thickens some when not in use so won't leak out. It comes in what looks like a caulking tube and is commonly used for leaking wheel hubs on trailers and used to be specified for track rollers. I was thinking of putting a small hose on the nozzle to get the lube to the far side of the roller and then take the hose off to lube the near side but I'm not sure if the D3 rollers are the same as larger ones. I can tilt the machine to make it a little easier for it to run to the far side. Just not sure how much to put in? I'll have to look at the roller closer to double check it has a plug in the end and if it is leaking on the inside flange. I noticed some oil on the outside flange but not enough to even drip on the track pad. If the plug is in the shell, I'll have to take them off.

https://www.wakefieldconnect.com/u/0/products-detail?pr=5098 Castrol SPHEEROL SHL 00

We used to have a a tool on a grease pump that looked like a long needle like used for filling basket balls which we used. Should be able to make something like that out of tubing might have to warm the grease a bit to get it to flow is all.

How much do you put in?

cat sells a special nozzle that attaches to a volume pump. it forces oil in through the inner passage and at the same time allows air out through the outer passage

Welder Dave said:

How much do you put in?

Click to expand...

On the old one that had oil to begin with we just pumped them full.

56wrench said:

cat sells a special nozzle that attaches to a volume pump. it forces oil in through the inner passage and at the same time allows air out through the outer passage

Click to expand...

Not sure if that tool works on D3 rollers. The rollers I have, have a small hex plug in the end, guessing 1/8" NPT.

So just get as much oil in as possible? I've searched everywhere and can't find anything with regards to how full to fill them. I found reference that there needs to be some air space to allow for expansion when they get warm and is preferred to stand them on end but I'm hoping to fill them on the mchine so can't stand them up vertical.

Maybe this will help...
There are aftermarket nozzles that aren't so pricey, some without threads

PERFECT! Thank you so much Old Magnet. Fill them till the lube runs out when horizontal. I was surprised I couldn't find that listed anywhere. I don't think my rollers use the filling tool as the plug looks to be 1/8" NPT. The original Cat rollers look to have the fill plug in the middle of the shell. It looks like the 00 grease I ordered comes in a caulking tube. I was thinking of putting a short piece of clear hose on the nozzle to inject the lube to the far side of the roller. I can tilt the machine a little to help the lube flow in. I'm not in a hurry so can let it sit to allow air to escape. Below are what should have originally been on the machine.

https://avspare.com/caterpillar/sebp1246/sebp12460316/

Yeah, that tool isn't going to work for the 1/8" pipe plug in the middle of the track roller. Doesn't show any plug at all on the carrier roller for the 25Yxxxx 931B.

The carriers on my machine look to have a plug and I think one of them is leaking a bit too. I'll put some of the thicker lube in it as well. My aftermarket rollers have a plug in the end of the shaft. I'm guessing it's just easier to make them the same as other rollers they manufacture.

I made up this contraption from an old refrigerant tank with oil added to the tank & hooked compressor air to it, using the Cat filling tool shown above by Mark250 & it works ok in lieu of the pump, a bit slow filling but it does the job ok.

The Cat filling tool won't work on my rollers. The rollers aren't Cat with the fill hole in the middle but the plug on the shaft is only 1/8" NPT. I read where someone else used a small hose on a squeeze bottle to fill the rollers which is similar to what I was thinking. I suppose a big syringe could work too.

A bit of an update. Of course the leaking roller had the fill plug on the inside but I lifted the machine up on a slight angle with the stabilizers and backhoe and put a 2" ratchet strap across the stabilizers (3000lb rated, 10,000lb breaking) and some 6 ton jack stands under the machine. I also put some blocking under the tracks. There'd have to be a lot to fail for it come down on me. I'll know tomorrow if it's still up. I believe the plugs are 1/8" NPT but of course the normal 3/16" allen wrench is too small. I picked up some good metric allen wrenches with a 5mm that is about .009" larger. Looking online it does appear that some NPT plugs can use a 5mm metric allen wrench so hopefully this works. I don't want to fiddle with it too much so wondering if it would be good to just apply some heat right off the bat to get the plug out? I'd like to have it all ready to put the thicker oil in which hopefully will arrive on Monday. Roller turns a little stiff which I think is how it's supposed to be. Top carriers seem to turn OK but one is a little concave. They have a plug in the middle but are covered with dirt. If it was getting hung up, would that cause them to get a little concave?

If they’re getting hung up you’d have flat spots. Concave is normal.

Thanks.

I think I got some 00 grease in the roller. The grease was in a caulking tube but thicker than I thought it would be. I squeezed some in through a small hose to the far side of the roller and then used a couple short bursts from an air nozzle to force the left over through the hose. It ended up pressurizing and blowing some of the grease and original oil back out. Then I put the nozzle of the grease tube against the fill hole and pumped some more in. Again it seemed to pressure up and blow most of it back out. I didn't think a caulking gun would develop too much pressure. I turned the roller a few times between pumps. I hope some of the original oil came out because it would be better to have the thicker 00 grease anyway and less chance of leaks. The shaft wasn't packed full of grease so I figured it had some room for expansion and put the plug back in. Interesting that the original fill on the roller seemed a little thick because when I stuck the small hose in, it had a grease like consistency on the end of the hose. Just have to keep an eye on it I guess. Messy job and wasted most of the 00 grease but if it saved the roller from a premature death is worth it.