![]() Don’t turn on side slopes or when tracking over a pile or a curb.You have a bucket, shift rocks, rubble etc out of your way rather than tracking straight over. To be fair this is not usually the sole reason for de-tracking, but a rough operator coupled with worn undercarriage can tip the scales from reliable to pain-in-the-neck.Īt the end of the day a few basic operating rules can save a lot of problems: No-one wants to admit that they are not a good operator!! Too much space either side of the sprocket and/or idler flange.Track rollers cutting grooves in the sides of the track.Banging or clunking on the sprocket when tracking (can also be sprocket wear).Indicators for poorly fitting tracks include: At the very least we can set your mind at rest or confirm your suspicions. If you are concerned that you might have a track fitment problem, give us a call. ![]() We keep scrupulous listings, indexes and track reference guides to take out the guesswork and my staff are as experienced as they get. This coupled with the many fly-by-night backyard rubber track importers is a recipe for disaster and a common cause of grey-hairs, and de-tracking is only one of them, believe me!!Īt the end of the day, we have been selling and fitting tracks since 2004, we see and learn new things every day, but I would have to say we have seen most things. Just because the sticker says it is a common model Kubota 5 tonner, doesn’t always mean that that is what you have got. ![]() With all the grey imports on the market these days, it is often very difficult to know exactly what you are dealing with. Feel free to request a photo of new sprockets at any time to compare with the existing, this is often the best way to gauge how much wear is evident.Īll of these can cause issues with keeping tracks on, although unless particularly bad are usually a contributing factor rather than the sole cause. Worn sprockets is another possibility and often harder to diagnose. Do all rollers rotate smoothly and are not loose and wobbly? Are the roller flanges still distinct and upright, not rounded off? Does the idler still have a prominent and straight sided center guide flange and tight bushings without excess slop? Probably the first and easiest problem to eliminate. If the tension has noticeably dropped off, then I would highly recommend pulling the adjuster out for examination. The easiest way to eliminate this as a causation is to tighten up the offending track first thing in the morning, then regularly monitor during the day whilst working. This causes the track to slowly come loose over time, the resulting slackness provides the perfect conditions for de-tracking. This can be caused by a bent, scarred, rusted or contaminated (often by concrete set on the exposed rod) adjuster piston. Particularly at the idler end.Īnother common cause of de-tracking is leaking or bypassing track adjuster seals. This retraction causes temporary track slackness which will often result in de-tracking. If the idler is retracting more than 5mm under the weight of a person – imagine how much it will retract with the weight of the excavator. Whilst you are jumping get someone to carefully watch the idler and measure the amount of retraction. Lift the machine off the ground (using bucket and blade) and jump on the bottom edge of the track. ![]() Therefore, if the machine has been converted from steel to rubber tracks (without the spring being tightened), the track spring is worn and has lost tension or has broken you are likely to experience de-tracking problems.Ī simple but effective way to identify this as a problem is to perform the following test. Rubber tracks however, due to their design and construction have a certain amount of inherent flexibility and typically run a much tighter spring tension. The reason for this is that there is no stretch in steel tracks, therefore the adjuster assembly has to be tuned with enough give to relieve tension build up if any material is caught in the track. Many manufacturers of mini-excavators including Komatsu, Hitachi, Kubota, Kobelco have track adjuster assemblies with two tension settings tight for rubber tracks and loose for steel tracks. The reason for this is in my experience, insufficient track spring tension is the most common cause of this problem. The first question I always ask when de-tracking problems are reported is – was the machine converted from steel tracks to rubber tracks? Let me now step through each one of these issues to help you determine if it is a factor in your situation. Insufficient track spring tension or broken track spring.In my experience, rubber tracks de-track due to any one, or mostly a combination of the following: I often get asked questions as to why rubber tracks are coming off, and like many other machinery issues – the answer usually is that it depends.
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