working in sand advice

[rami1]

can anyone give any advice when working in sand. today i was trying to clear around some building footings with my 4 ton kubota and after a while i tried to go forward and couldnt the tracks would only spin to certain point forward i could go back but only forward to a certain point. so i lifted the tracks off the ground using bucket at blade and and ran the tracks forward and back they worked fine ???? i noticed alot of sand and a few small stones stones coming out of the tracks between the rollers at first they struggled to spin a bit then as they ejected all the sand they were spinning fine ?????.now every half hour or so i got to lift the tracks off the ground and spin them to eject the sand.is this normal ? i think when im turning on the sand im getting sand janned into my rollers ?

also one off my tracks seems to be getting tight after i have loosened it. i did this buy undoing the bolt behind the grease nipple for tracks. but then after a while that side feels tight. is that because all the sand has jammed in there ? im noticing it has gotten tighter as im steping on the track to get on/off machine. i have not checked if if gets loose after a lift the tracks off the ground and eject the sand ? once again could the sand be the reason.

any info would be appreciated.

 

[cat943]

Yep sand is the cause of your track tightening issue the same thing will happen in mud..

 

[rami1]

cheers mate thanks for the reply that is alot off my mind i thought something was wrong with tensioner inside the tracks. they tell me to turn with the tracks in the air using my boom as opposed bto just turning in the sand and getting it all jammed in your tracks.. once again thanks alot for the info mate

 

[rami1]

thanx

 

[RDG]

Sand and some other materials will cause packing in the tracks, mainly in the sprocket as the material packs in the root of the tooth and thus increases the diameter of the sprocket. Best way is to avoid pivot turns and unneccesary screwing around in these materials, jacking up and running in rev lets the material drop out of the chains as it goes across the top run of the tracks, same goes for dozers, run backwards for a bit to clear the tracks. It can cause recoil springs to break and track chains to break as well and it puts a lot of strain on final drives etc. Cheers RDG.

 

[Juice]

I've got a similar problem I think. Sand built up, when I tried walking up the hill the machine wouldn't step out with the same speed. Followed RDG's advice but same thing still happens on flat ground. Tracks crawl for about 1m then stop for a second then pick up again. 1st time digger buyer 2 months ago of 2nd hand machine that came with no manuals. Anyone got a copy of manual for the control panel in the cab to change all the work settings?

 

[rami1]

I've got a similar problem I think. Sand built up, when I tried walking up the hill the machine wouldn't step out with the same speed. Followed RDG's advice but same thing still happens on flat ground. Tracks crawl for about 1m then stop for a second then pick up again. 1st time digger buyer 2 months ago of 2nd hand machine that came with no manuals. Anyone got a copy of manual for the control panel in the cab to change all the work settings?

what type of machine is it ? when i clear the sand out of mine it seems to work fine. it might be a hydrloic motor problem in your tracks.

 

[Juice]

Thanks. It's a Cat 315.
Machine's in pretty good order, but sat idle for a year before I bought it off an old bloke.
Hyd motor? Sounds expensive and difficult.
Thanks for your assistance.

 

[Juice]

Hey thanks for that.
It's a Cat 315. It sat for a year before I bought it.
Hyd track motor, sounds difficult and expensive. Is there any way I can test it to make sure that's what it is?

 

[rami1]

Hey thanks for that.
It's a Cat 315. It sat for a year before I bought it.
Hyd track motor, sounds difficult and expensive. Is there any way I can test it to make sure that's what it is?

not sure mate ive just bought my own machine and truck 6 months ago. when you lift the tracks of the ground using blade and boom will the tracks spin freely then ???
post your problem as a new thread in this forum im sure there are some guys on this forum who can help you out. they helped me out alot.
but id try to lift the tracks of the ground and see if the spin. also are your tracks to tight ? also check the gear oil in the the hydr motor for the tracks especially if it has been sitting for a year

 

[rami1]

you probably dont have a blade on that beast so you probebly cant lift the tracks off that way . id post your problem as a new thread and you'll get your answer

 

[cat943]

You can lift one side of the machine and clean one track at a time if the machine doesn’t have a blade

 

[rami1]

You can lift one side of the machine and clean one track at a time if the machine doesn’t have a blade

:Banghead true

 

[lgammon]

you probably dont have a blade on that beast so you probebly cant lift the tracks off that way . id post your problem as a new thread and you'll get your answer

HAHAHAHAHAHA. sorry i had to. i was thinking maybe i am missing something here, like a don't dig over your drives superstition. but no not even that

 

[rami1]

HAHAHAHAHAHA. sorry i had to. i was thinking maybe i am missing something here, like a don't dig over your drives superstition. but no not even that

????? totally over my head

 

[Juice]

Will post thread.
But yes, with tracks lifted, tracks will spin freely both directions.
Thanks for everyone's help.