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New Rails

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,259
Location
Canada
Pretty much everyone sells Trek undercarriage in Alberta. I got the best deal at Arrow West Equipment in Acheson. Years ago I bought directly from Trek and they were great to deal with so I went with Trek again for my 931B but had to buy from a dealer. When I had questions about unusual wear on the bushings, the new manager at Trek was a total jerk. He's telling me to talk the dealer, which I did and they suggested talking to Trek because they are the supplier/ manufacturer. I'm sure they have charts explaining reasons for all kinds of wear but the guy had absolutely zero interest in trying to help me and was extremely arrogant. I was hoping I could reuse my pads but too many were loose so I had new ones installed. I asked them if the had an impact wrench so they could take the master link apart to coil my old tracks and was told no. They torched the links. When I went to pick everything up with the new pads installed, the guy on the track press was using a large impact wrench to take someone else's master links apart. I hope I don't have to buy undercarriage again but will think twice about dealing with Trek again. I couldn't believe how bad the customer service was compared to how good it was the first time. The Trek depot seems to move to a new location every few years.
 

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,259
Location
Canada
Looking for opinions on the following
  • I'm considering welding bars on the tracks to increase the grouser height, I was thinking about using 1/2" bar stock. Worth it?
  • Should I be concerned about the gouges around the bolt holes? (Plasma cutter)

All comments are appreciated!!

Thanks guys

View attachment 177986

You should price out new pads. It was several years ago but the pads on my machine were about $15/piece. Flat bar will wear out real fast. By the time you weld and repair the gouges on the pads and weld proper grouser bar on, you're probably going to be close to what new pads will cost and it will take a bunch of time. I paid a couple hundred bucks extra to have the pads properly torqued on the track press. It would have been much better to cut the nuts off.
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,432
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
If I were going to add grouser height I would either 1) order Grouser Stock, there are manufacturers of that and will cut to length or as noted 2) buy new shoes but I would wear these out first, probably 1-2000 hours left in those.
 

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,259
Location
Canada
If I were going to add grouser height I would either 1) order Grouser Stock, there are manufacturers of that and will cut to length or as noted 2) buy new shoes but I would wear these out first, probably 1-2000 hours left in those.

Doesn't hurt to price out new track pads. For me it would depend on how many pads had the holes gouged from the plasma torch. Fixing the holes and running them as is sure. The holes would have to welded up and ground perfectly flat so the bolts would stay tight. Then add up the costs of the new grouser bars cut to length, welding electrodes and compare cost to new pads. On a loader you would need 2 or maybe 3 new grousers on each pad which almost doubles the cost over a dozer that only requires one grouser per pad.
 

bam1968

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2014
Messages
528
Location
IA
Occupation
Excavating Contractor
I had a 963B with double bar grouser pads that were @ half worn. I'm pretty sure I welded 1" (might have been 1 1/2") grouser bar stock on the front grouser of each pad. It took a fair amount of time. I remember wondering if it was going to be worth it in the end. It worked out real well for that machine it had alot more traction but it had a blade on it most of the time. I would probably go with 1/2"-3/4" bar with a bucket on it.
 

RustedHeroes

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2016
Messages
171
Location
Bonnyville Alberta, Canada
Thanks for all the replies.

Pricing on a set of shoes came in at 5500.00 CAD, i'm going to try get some pricing on bar stock so I can compare my options.

If anyone has info on where to acquire bar stock in Alberta it would be appreciated.

Thanks guys!
 

Metalman 55

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Messages
1,301
Location
Ontario
I purchased some grouser bar from this company about 2 years ago, for a D4D Dozer, but it seems to me the shortest bar available may have been about an inch, quite a bit for a loader if you are turning a lot.

http://www.titussteel.com/contact-us/

On my old loader I just did some buildup on the loader pads & that is plenty good for the amount I use it. Used .045 flux core, if I remember correctly.

If your machine is not used all the time 5/8" rebar would be just fine in my opinion, so long as you have the time to do the welding. Not as hard as grouser bar mat'l, but will still last a long time too.
 

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Metalman 55

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Messages
1,301
Location
Ontario
Is the "black dirt" a loamy topsoil type or would it be more abrasive?

How many hrs per year will you put on the machine?
 

RustedHeroes

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2016
Messages
171
Location
Bonnyville Alberta, Canada
I can't see the dirt being all that abrasive, not much for sand or gravel in it. For hours, I would say at the VERY most 100 hours per year.
Also got another quote for shoes that came in at 4500.00, still can't justify the cost. I should have really ordered the rails with the new shoes installed, would have saved a bunch of money... :oops:

Thanks for the replies, i'll check out these grouser vendors.
 

AllDodge

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
2,290
Location
Kentucky
What would be the grouser height from factory on a shoe like this? I found a chart shows 1.95" but that seems high..?

Might be able to look it up if I had your serial number

Would also say that with only 100 hours a year, I would not mess with new shoes or grouser bars other then the master link. The worst thing that could happen is you snap off a bolt.

Replaced everything with my 955 but I to maybe put 50 hours a year, so probably spent to much
 

catman13

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2011
Messages
435
Location
oregon usa
Occupation
refrigeration engineer/excavation contractor
if you are not working it hard and a 100 hours a year I would not worry about it.
 

RustedHeroes

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2016
Messages
171
Location
Bonnyville Alberta, Canada
More progress pictures, found the dirt!! What do you guys think of the rollers? Really tough getting decent pictures of them. What about that guard up front? There are 2 on each end of the track frame, what is their purpose?

IMG_1356.JPG
 

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DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,432
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Only see one double flange with any question it has the concave surface wear not all that bad, a few others appear to be recent replacements. The idler visible has been weld refaced and can still see the weld profile. As to the rock guard guide at the truck front, they will get serious wear, so long as Not sharpened like a axe leave it go. One note is the segments, already has some serious heel wear from pushing but have not ramped to a point, just keep an eye on bushing wear.

Good help you have learning the trade!!
 
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