OK.. just bought a crawler (1950 HG42) This is my first tracked vehicle, so I am very green here, so please bear with me. I am trying to assess this tractor and see what I may have for issues.
OVERALL TRACTOR CONDITION: Engine is in great shape, no smoke, lots of power. Chassis and undercarriage solid and clean, not even any leaking at any seals to speak of.
Tracks, pins and sprockets in REALLY fine shape. Little wear by the looks of it. Frame appears quite straight as well.
PROBLEM: looking from the front of the tractor, the tracks are straight and level all the way to about the mid point of the track lenght, then they curve inward along the track frame and also at an angle downward. To better describe, Ill use wheeled vehicle terms. Like a car or truck, when the wheels are closer together at the bottom vs the top, and closer together at the front vs the rear of the tore, that’s called toe in. Thats exactly what it looks like here.
So I took some measurements. The rear sprockets and tracks and all look level and in alignment . the bottom of the tract and the top of the track are perfectly in line vertically.
All seems fine on this side (near the driving sprocket end).
The front is where it appears as if the front wheels are “toed in” a bit. Using the same level, the track at the bottom is about 1” further in on each side in comparison to the top.
My first thought is that maybe the front wheel bearing is worn.. But that doesn’t sound right. It would seem to me than that the tracks would splay outward if the weigth of the vehicle was on a worn bearing,. AM I correct here at least?
Then I thought that maybe the front main ties bar was merely out of adjustment, but looking closer that’s don’t make sense either. That would only pull or push out the tracks near the top, but the tracks up near the top are straight. Am I correct here as well or no? Or could this be a culprit?
Lastly, I thought maybe that the track adjustment screws, near the front wheel, might be able to fix this. The end near the wheel has a sort of “wish bone” end on either side. So not only can the front wheels be adjust front to back evenly, it can also be adjusted to move a bit side to side? Can this be a possible solution?
What I fear may be the real issue is the inner tract frame. Taking a straight edge across both sides, on the otside, they are pretty damn straight.
However, the inside track frame apears bent a bit. Inward as well.. I suppose this MIGHT be the real reason, but I am hoping that I can compensate by other adjustments as I described here.
Can anyone offer suggestions on where to start on my journey of trying to diagnose exactly the issue here?
If the inner track guide is the issue, can one take a hydraulic ram and push it back outward into alignment? I think this is possible.,.. BUT I don’t want to mess anything else up, so that’s why I am asking all these questions.
Anyone ever have this issue or seen this situation? And if so, was it possible to remedy a inwardly bent track frame in this manner? If I ateempted this, what screws and bolts woiuld I loosen to alow the ram to do its job?
Many thanks in advance to all the experienced owners out there!
OVERALL TRACTOR CONDITION: Engine is in great shape, no smoke, lots of power. Chassis and undercarriage solid and clean, not even any leaking at any seals to speak of.
Tracks, pins and sprockets in REALLY fine shape. Little wear by the looks of it. Frame appears quite straight as well.
PROBLEM: looking from the front of the tractor, the tracks are straight and level all the way to about the mid point of the track lenght, then they curve inward along the track frame and also at an angle downward. To better describe, Ill use wheeled vehicle terms. Like a car or truck, when the wheels are closer together at the bottom vs the top, and closer together at the front vs the rear of the tore, that’s called toe in. Thats exactly what it looks like here.
So I took some measurements. The rear sprockets and tracks and all look level and in alignment . the bottom of the tract and the top of the track are perfectly in line vertically.
All seems fine on this side (near the driving sprocket end).
The front is where it appears as if the front wheels are “toed in” a bit. Using the same level, the track at the bottom is about 1” further in on each side in comparison to the top.
My first thought is that maybe the front wheel bearing is worn.. But that doesn’t sound right. It would seem to me than that the tracks would splay outward if the weigth of the vehicle was on a worn bearing,. AM I correct here at least?
Then I thought that maybe the front main ties bar was merely out of adjustment, but looking closer that’s don’t make sense either. That would only pull or push out the tracks near the top, but the tracks up near the top are straight. Am I correct here as well or no? Or could this be a culprit?
Lastly, I thought maybe that the track adjustment screws, near the front wheel, might be able to fix this. The end near the wheel has a sort of “wish bone” end on either side. So not only can the front wheels be adjust front to back evenly, it can also be adjusted to move a bit side to side? Can this be a possible solution?
What I fear may be the real issue is the inner tract frame. Taking a straight edge across both sides, on the otside, they are pretty damn straight.
However, the inside track frame apears bent a bit. Inward as well.. I suppose this MIGHT be the real reason, but I am hoping that I can compensate by other adjustments as I described here.
Can anyone offer suggestions on where to start on my journey of trying to diagnose exactly the issue here?
If the inner track guide is the issue, can one take a hydraulic ram and push it back outward into alignment? I think this is possible.,.. BUT I don’t want to mess anything else up, so that’s why I am asking all these questions.
Anyone ever have this issue or seen this situation? And if so, was it possible to remedy a inwardly bent track frame in this manner? If I ateempted this, what screws and bolts woiuld I loosen to alow the ram to do its job?
Many thanks in advance to all the experienced owners out there!
