So that was easy

"Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen" (distraxi)
10/27/2018 at 00:20 • Filed to: Make Casey Great Again

Turns out that refitting a track isn’t that hard if you have the proper tools. Proper tools in this instance equaling crowbars , sledge, socket set...... and a 6 ton excavator with a driver who’s been using it long enough that it’s an extension of his hand.

After

Before

Method:

Fire him up and use his bucket to lift his nose off the ground. Remove track from front idler wheel.

Compress track tensioner by removing the preload cylinder, removing the grease nipple from it, then standing on it to extrude the grease out and compress it. This took about 2 hours but it’s a 15 minute job now I know how to do it

Refit cylinder and knock nose wheel back to minimum extension with sledge hammer

Drop his nose back on the ground and use chains on excavator bucket to lift track onto rear ( drive) wheel

R aise his bucket to lift his tail a little, stick him in gear and let him pull out the slack underneath

Lift his nose off the ground again. Use chains on excavator, crowbars and some cussing to lift track partly over nose wheel

Drive him forward against his bucket wedged into the ground, while pushing sideways on the track with the excavator bucket, to get track all the way round both main wheels

Push him sideways with excavator till he comes off the ground on the problem side, then bash bottom of track with sledgehammer to get it back over the rollers

Drop him back on the ground and reverse him a few feet to settle everything in place.

Job done. Or at least it will be once I go buy a grease gun to re-pressurise the track tensioner.

Having access to an excavator isn’t regular thing, so I better not lose the track again - I’m not sure refitting it’d even be possible for one person without heavy equipment.

As is standard for Project !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , it was a “one step forward, one step back” day though - blew a hydraulic line during the process, so now I’ve got two leaks in the bucket system :-(.

DISCUSSION (8)

atfsgeoff > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
10/27/2018 at 00:26

You’ll make all of this time and effort back, with interest, the first time you use Casey to move some dirt instead of a shovel !

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > atfsgeoff
10/27/2018 at 01:00

Time and effort, damn straight. Money, maybe not so much. The amount it’s likely to cost me to get him to the point where he’s actually useful would probably pay for several days of digger and operator hire, and having the guy onsite for the past couple of days I’ve been amazed how fast an operator who knows what he’s doing can rearrange the landscape. Two days of his time is probably two weeks of me and Casey. Or a year of me and a shovel, for sure.

Nom De Plume > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
10/27/2018 at 02:18

Never hurts to decide what type of project the object in front of you will be; educational, whoeffinknows, seasonal, full blown concours level restoration taking many years and rendering the object unusable, good enough to wreck it/another object/youtube view charts with its awesomeness.

Nom De Plume > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
10/27/2018 at 02:20

Been enjoying your ongoing labors on this. Hope it runs well enough to reward your efforts.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Nom De Plume
10/27/2018 at 03:08

Oh, this is definitely a “because it’s there” project. If I was being practical I’d sell it for scrap and invest the money towards a tractor with a front end loader, which’d be a hundred times more useful.

If I manage to get it going well enough to be actually useful without spending serious money , I’ll play with it for a while then when I get bored sell it - if I get that far I’ll pro bably be able to recover my costs and maybe even turn a profit excluding time), though that’s not really the point. If I encounter a showstopper - or simply get bored - it can go back to being lawn art or go for scrap, and the time and expense get written off to entertainment.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Nom De Plume
10/27/2018 at 03:11

I’ve been enjoying doing it. It’s been a while since I’ve played with a basket case - my cars recently have been relatively modern because till we bought the farm I haven’t had room for toys. Been fun learning about heavy machinery too.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
10/27/2018 at 06:23

When I operate an excavator it looks and performs like a very expensive and mostly useless weed wacker. God forbid anyone giving me the keys to a bulldozer...

arl > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
10/27/2018 at 08:54

You had me at sledge hammer.

Glad you got her back up and running. Er, back up and tracking!