number of links

[rob love]

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.

[20387774]

Thanks Rob-Mine are at 163 links so I guess they are half way thru their lives. Should last my lifetime anyway!

John

[rob love]

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.

[meduffer]

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

[Ben]

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.

[Keith Webb]

That's funny!

[Robin Craig]

Rob, where do you source your groupies from and what is the going rate?

R