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  #1  
Old 11-09-14, 14:13
20387774 20387774 is offline
John Dallimore
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Mt. Albert, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 116
Default number of links

how many links should there be in a track?

Thanks,

John
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  #2  
Old 11-09-14, 14:52
rob love rob love is offline
carrier mech
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
Posts: 7,517
Default

Brand new it should be 168, with the first link being removed after about 50 miles. As the track wears, you continue to remove links as required. After 10 links have been removed, the track is considered as being worn out.

This was by the book back when you could order new track, and the government paid for it. These days, it would not be unheard of to be running a track down towards the 155/156 link range. Mine is in that range now. Fortunately, I have picked up a much better set which I will install next spring.

I will also make up some new track pins for the old track and get some more life out of it sometime down the road. The pins end up looking like mini-crankshafts when they wear. Multiplied x 156, the stretch is quite appreciable. As long as the links have not been worn through where the sprocket meets the link, they should give a bit more service.
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  #3  
Old 11-09-14, 16:38
20387774 20387774 is offline
John Dallimore
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Mt. Albert, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 116
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Thanks Rob-Mine are at 163 links so I guess they are half way thru their lives. Should last my lifetime anyway!

John
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  #4  
Old 12-09-14, 02:02
rob love rob love is offline
carrier mech
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
Posts: 7,517
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A lot depends on how long ago it has been driven. A freshly restored vehicle will usually quickly go through a few links as the accumulated rust and debris is worn from the track pins. Mine was at 162 when I got it. After dragging it around the yard a bit, and the work done to the suspension etc, it ended up going back together with 160 links to be adjusted properly. After the restoration was completed a short decade later, the track quickly went out of adjustment after just a few miles. Within a few more it became necessary to remove the three links. The track is holding it's own now, but as I mentioned earlier, it will be replaced in the spring with a set of 165 link.

Your mileage may vary of course...it all depends on how rusty the pins are. I actually threw a track at the event we attended this summer. I had just been doing a series of sharp pivot turns about 1/4 mile away from our display area without any issue. When I returned to the display area, I had to do a 45° turn to park the carrier. I heard a slightly different noise, and on trying to back up, knew for sure what it was. I had thrown my right track. Two other forum members, Derk Derin and Gordon Falk, both pitched in immediately to effect the repairs. We had to break that track, back off the adjuster, get the track back over the sprocket, remove the required amount of links, and reassemble. This was at a working agricultural museum, and we had an audience. Some guys actually set up lawn chairs to watch.

While breaking track on the other side to remove a similar amount of links, a young lady with a low cut T-shirt also decided she needed to lean over and see what was going on. We call these "carrier groupies". They are not common to find, and alas my wife was standing just 6 feet away. The wife made mention of it a short time later whle road testing the carriers up through the little pioneer village, to which I had to reply that I saw nothing.
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  #5  
Old 12-09-14, 13:03
meduffer meduffer is offline
Michael Snetsinger
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Whitby, Ontario
Posts: 47
Default

What's the easiest approach to re-pinning a track? Tig weld caps onto ground 4140? I know it's been covered but I'm not sure. Thanks
Mike
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  #6  
Old 13-09-14, 22:26
Ben Ben is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 544
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Mine took 170 to fit NOS track and sprocket. After 10 miles I could remove three links. It's still not perfect and needs to stretch a little more to mesh properly. It moves a lot very quickly at first.
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  #7  
Old 13-09-14, 23:55
Keith Webb's Avatar
Keith Webb Keith Webb is offline
Film maker, CMP addict
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Macleod, Victoria, Australia
Posts: 8,216
Default Carrier Groupies

That's funny!
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  #8  
Old 14-09-14, 13:34
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Robin Craig Robin Craig is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Near Kingston, ON, Canada
Posts: 2,153
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Rob, where do you source your groupies from and what is the going rate?

R
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  #9  
Old 15-09-14, 06:04
rob love rob love is offline
carrier mech
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
Posts: 7,517
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One does not source carrier groupies. While they are quite rare, they will find you. You may be waiting a long time mind you. As for rates....they are priceless.
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  #10  
Old 15-09-14, 07:14
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Jon Bradshaw Jon Bradshaw is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 264
Default Making pins

If you have the time and a very basic amount of skill, you could do as I did.
I used cold rolled 7/16 steel rod. I made a jig to set the rod to the correct length. Then using a torch and a hammer I made the required pins (330+) to completely re-pin a T16. It took me a few day labour (spread over the winter) but the end result was a "nail head" on each end of the pin. The track works well so far and once I get the project running properly, I will take it out for a good long drive to see how it lasts. I have no doubt that it will work for a long time to come. When compared to the factory pins it is not as "pretty" but very functional.
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  #11  
Old 17-09-14, 13:47
meduffer meduffer is offline
Michael Snetsinger
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Whitby, Ontario
Posts: 47
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Thank you Jon.

Mike
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  #12  
Old 17-09-14, 19:24
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Ewen B Ewen B is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Lockport, Manitoba
Posts: 66
Default groupie

Too bad I missed that. I would have loved to have been there to seen this...and maybe help out in putting the track back together.
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  #13  
Old 17-09-14, 21:54
Hans Mulder Hans Mulder is offline
Frankencarrier owner
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Hope, B.C.
Posts: 309
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I put together the RWestmrR monument carrier track with somewhere around 157 links per side. Some of the track was in really bad (almost unsafe condition) due to the rust and pitting, but as it had not actually rolled in probably a decade, it is still quite tight. I'm sure if I had run that track on my carrier for a week or two it would have loosened up considerably.

I forget who previously mentioned using Corroseal, so thanks MLU, the monument carrier looks sharp with its nice shiny track.
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  #14  
Old 05-02-18, 01:47
Michael R. Michael R. is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,154
Default Free

. . . freeing your track pins . . .
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