John Deere 350 Idler Bolt Replacement

[bulletpruf]

'67 350 straight. Realized today that the idler on the right side was held on with a regular 3/4" bolt and no grease fitting, so it hasn't been getting greased.



The bolt is NLA new, so I'll have to source a used one.

A few questions -

-Can I just remove the current bolt and install a correct one? Or do I need to jack up the front of the machine and support it? Do I need to do anything to keep the idler and track from sliding off?

-How can I tell if the idler is junk?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Jim.ME]

Is the bolt with the grease fitting on the inside? The shaft could be installed either way.

You should be able to pull the bolt out without supporting the crawler. The end of the shaft is in a bore of the bracket, the bolt holds the shaft in the bracket, it does not carry the weight.

To check the idler you need to get the weight off it and pry it around to get an idea of the play between the shaft and bushings in the idler.

Your SM2063 Service manual should have the detailed info and specs if you want to completely measure and check under carriage components.

 

[bulletpruf]

Is the bolt with the grease fitting on the inside? The shaft could be installed either way.

I'll check this morning.

You should be able to pull the bolt out without supporting the crawler. The end of the shaft is in a bore of the bracket, the bolt holds the shaft in the bracket, it does not carry the weight.

Ok, that confirms what I saw from what it looking in the parts manual.

To check the idler you need to get the weight off it and pry it around to get an idea of the play between the shaft and bushings in the idler.

Gotcha.

Your SM2063 Service manual should have the detailed info and specs if you want to completely measure and check under carriage components.

That's on my list of things to do.

Thanks for the input!

Scott