Industry News

Track Pins and Bushings - To Turn or Not to Turn

2022-10-11



Your bulldozer or excavator chains are getting to a point where it’s time to consider some maintenance. There are a few options including a wet turn, grease turn, pin and bushing replacement, or a complete track swap out.

Making decisions about how best to handle a wearing chain involves a number of factors—including the size of the tractor, its age, condition, application, cost of components, and how you anticipates using the machine going forward.
Knowing how your pins and bushings sustain wear will help you perform certain maintenance tasks to help extend the life of your undercarriage.

Pins and bushings wear internally when there’s a lack of lubrication.  The affected area is generally on one side of the pin and on the mating surface of inner diameter of the bushing. 


Wear causes the track’s pitch (the distance between pin centers) to extend, resulting in a “stretched” chain that will loosen. 

Normal wear on the outside of the bushing also occurs primarily on one side, the reverse-drive side, because the bushing rotates under considerable load at the top of the sprocket when the machine is in reverse.  Although the bushing rotates at the same spot during forward travel, the load isn’t as heavy. 

 Pins need to be flipped while and bushings should be turned 180 degrees as a way to bring new surfaces to working areas, both internally and externally. 
Turning restores track pitch and can prolong undercarriage life by enabling the chain to last until links and rollers need attention. 


 track pins turning 

“Turns” on today’s machines with lubricated tracks can be either “wet” or “greased.”  During a wet turn, the pins are refilled with oil, a process that involves pulling a vacuum in the pin’s oil reservoir (through a self-sealing plug in the end of the pin) and drawing in new oil. 
 
If the assembly won’t pull a vacuum, chances are that the seals will leak.  With a grease turn, pins and bushings are simply reassembled with heavy grease.

We use cookies to offer you a better browsing experience, analyze site traffic and personalize content. By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Privacy Policy
Reject Accept