Hd6g info/question about hydraulic track adjus

I have a 1966 hd6g loader that is in rather good mechanical condition but does have a few issues I am slowly trying to fix as I use the loader to build a 1500 ft road and clear a building site for us to build on all in heavy timber.  It has worked great so far and I have put 60-70 hours on it since I purchased it early this year.   We are doing almost all the work ourselves on evenings and weekends so it slow going but we are saving a lot of money and learning a lot as we go.
Issues I have

Left side track has popped off 3 times in this 60-70 hrs of use.  It is currently off and I am attempting to get it back on but this is the first time it has came completely off the front idler and part of the lower rollers.  I have released the tension on the hydraulic adjusters and found the adjuster rod was not seated in the spring pocket and the rod does not want to line up with the pocket. It is about an inch below and to the side of the pocket.   I haven't had a lot of time to work on it yet as I only have 30 minutes to an hour each evening before dark to work on it after work.   Also as my rails are worn and stretched out and my idler is almost all the way out  but when I went to release the tension I found the adjuster housing was hitting the cross brace and appeared to be fully retracted and bottomed out.  The rod will retract further inside the adjuster but as it is not touching the pocket  and the adjuster appears bottomed out against the frame bracing this does not help.  In diagram below the area in red on the adjuster is hitting the outside of the box welded on the frame that the adjuster rod goes into before entering the spring pocket.  It doesn't seem correct to me as I would think the frame/adjuster would have more than the 1-2 inches adjustment before pushing the idler off the end of the frame.


6000 series engine with muffler rusted out top and bottom.  When I get time I will try cutting the center section out and welding a y pipe in between as I have seen others do if this does not work I will try making my own manifold. not a major issue just gets annoying with the exhaust in your face all day.

Rail are worn out to the point the bottoms section is almost worn through.  Trying to get the building project done with what I have as the wife has me on a deadline to get everything done by the end of the year.  Have like new rails to install but don't have the time until I get us moved in.  Sprocket shows minimal wear as do the pads that are near full spec.  Not sure what operation would wear the rails but not the pads or sprockets.  I do know it was a small towns machine for most of its life and was used for packing and not pushing or digging for many years.

Rollers are shot but I have found enough good ones to replace all of them with like new rollers for cheap.  Will change out when I put the new rails on. After this my undercarriage will measure out to 90-95% new and hopefully the old loader will last  another 50 years as I try to take care of my equipment.

I have already built a basic brush cab, fully serviced unit, replaced several bad hydraulic lines, batteries and all new 4/0 cables,  Left clutches and brake lining, u-joints, and many little adjustments and fixes to bring it back into specs per the operators manual.  Still looking for a digital copy or cheap hard copy of a service manual for a 20000+Sn HD6 and any suggestions to help cut final grade for road and building site with loader and tooth bucket(at least in the near future as the teeth and adapters just arrived)

Thanks for all the help and information I have already received from the site and will add a few pictures when I get them uploaded.
David




Edited by dav68camaro - 26 Sep 2012 at 11:42pm

My Son just noticed the 68camaro   "nice car".......

I got the track back on thursday night as I got off work early and had a few hours to spend working on it.  A couple come alongs and bottle jack did the trick  once I got all the crap out from around the track.  I did check the bearing while the track was off and it was nice and smooth with no play.  I have the loader back at the house now so I will check the alignment and try and get the track adjuster fully functioning before I put it back to work.
The idler does slide smoothly on the slides. My rails are stretched well beyond the limits and I have been monitoring the rear sprockets for wear as they are in excellent shape.
My question about the adjuster hitting the frame is more for when I put my new rails on that are much tighter.  Currently it appears I can only move my front idlers back 2-3 inches total from the end of the frame before the adjuster housing marked in red on the dwg above bottoms out in the holder welded to the frame.  Is this normal as I was thinking It should have alot more adjustment. 

Remember that few inches of movement is double the amount , so 3" of movement is equal to 6" of take up on the track.  That would be like a full link of the chain. Remember a 1/8" of wear in each pin and bushing X 39 links = 4.875 of wear for full track = 2.375 or so movement of the front idler.

If the carrier roller(s) are bracket mounted you can put a spacer plate under that too.