There are a number of places to look at when a track is being thrown.

1) Is the track tension proper. Each manufacturer will state that there should be so much slack in the track and it is to be measured from a certain location on the track. Some work off of the top rollers for the measurement and others have you work off the slack on the chain when the side is picked up. Your maintenance manual will tell you the proper method for measuring and adjusting  the slack in the chain.  Too tight a track is just as bad or worse than too lose because you will start to break lots of things and will  cause abnormal wear.  One easy way to measure chain stretch is to put a large block of wood behind the tractor and gently backup. This wall cause the sprocket to take up the slack in the chain.

When there is too much slack in the chain then mud and other things can pack in around the front idler and you can drive it right off.

2) Look at the front idler, make sure that is not badly beveled. On many machines the side walls of the rib are perpendicular to the flange of the idler. If they are baldly beveled it means that the machine’s turning pattern has been largely one way and the track is kinking just enough to make is slide over the top.  Make sure  the idler is not wobbling, and the position of the brackets for the front idler are not past the end of the  truck. If they are it means your track is worn out and time to either have the pins and bushing turned or replaced this assumes that there is enough left of the rail per manufacturers spec. Some tractors there is some adjustment of the front idler or the truck so that the front idler and the rear sprocket all follow within the same path. Allis Chalmers had that kind of adjustment capability with shims.  Look at the  front idler wear  patterns to see where it was wearing.

3) As tracks become worn, they become what is called “Snaky” .  That is the links are no longer  laterally tight. This will cause a twisting motion when the crawler is being turned hard by its brakes.  This places undue pressure and wear on the idler and the flanges of the rollers.  If your track is lose then as you turn the slack will be taken up and the track will bow out from underneath the crawler and ride right of the rollers etc. A good rule of thumb to use the brakes as gently as possible to save wear on your machine.

4) Look at your rollers. There are two basic types of rollers. Single Flange aka SF and double Flange aka DF. As tracks wear and depending upon how well they were maintained and usage of the equipment the flanges will get worn away and no longer hold the track in line. So when you pivot hard the chain will have nothing to be held against and with enough slack it will ride over the side of the adjacent rollers and you will hear this popping and grinding noise and your next response will be ut oh refro. I lost a track in dam that way once that i was cleaning out and it was no fun. You may have to loosen the track and then drive the crawler up on some wooden blocks on one side so you can see underneath there. Always use caution. On some tractors that is the procedure whereby you can change the rollers without having to break the track and either raising the truck or removing it to change the rollers.

Submitted by: drott@ibdozing.com