Great Day!

chrisherk

Ok, yesterday I went to fill up my external fuel tank, and my debit card was denied. Thats never hapened before. tried it at another station. Same deal. After a half hour on the phone, turns out somebody got ahold of my #, when i bought something on dell.com the night before. So they shut my card off, good thing but now i dont have any money. had to go home to get another cc. 4 hrs gone. finally start digging, an hour later my !@#$% track falls of my excavator. I let all the grease out of the front, still coulnt get it on. I think the guy doing the site next door saw me giving the mach the finger, and he came over. he ended up getting it on, but then i forgot my grease gun, had to run out and buy another one. Anyway i got about 2 hrs in yesterday. Anybody else ever through a track?

chris

PipeGuy

Chris, IMO relying on a VISA/MC device for something as critical as your fuel supply is worrisome. They're ripe for outside attack (as you just found) and can facilitate employee misconduct. Get yourself a fleet account with either major oil company or one of the companies that specializes in providing credit for fleet fuel purchases. They'll provide you good information (in report form) about your purchases that can be used in a variety of ways. Though I don't do it myself, I suspect you can even track fuel consumption by job with a fleet account.

Not unless I was doing something I shouldn't have been . But if you're gonna' throw a track, and have to put it back on yourself, you're probably best off doing so in a hoe.

CGofMP

I try to always carry enough cash to ge tme through a couple or three days if I were stranded or incinvinienced.

Cards are great but cash is still king.

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jmic

Chris,
How many hours on your excavator? And what kind of condition are the tracks in ( pins and bushings), sprockets? I've had it happen a few times over the years, usually with worn equipment and always in the worst possible place on the site, really gets you and takes some finness to get back on especially if your by yourself.
Joe

chrisherk

the excavator has 3400hrs. I was turning slightly uphill in topsoil. I have been in far worse cond. my undercaridge looks great actually. I find if i have to turn sharp, I use the bucket, but this was not sharp. I dunno! I think IF it happens again, I can get it back on, only if i catch it in time

chris

mdshunk

I saw a guy throw both tracks doing donuts at pretty high throttle with a JD crawler loader on a shale covered lot. It was pretty spectactular, but I'm betting he had some splainin' to do. That machine sat right on that lot with the key still in it, both tracks severely dislodged, for a few weeks. The machine was just gone one day. I think it might have been hauled off, but I'm not sure how or by what. It looked like the one track at least had the chain broken.

jmic

Do your tracks actually tighten up and stay tight when you pump them up?

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Joe

jmic

[QUOTE=mdshunk It was pretty spectactular, but I'm betting he had some splainin' to do. [/QUOTE]
I'm sure he did,and then probably sent packing!

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Joe

PipeGuy

Low hours for a hoe undercarriage by any measure. Probably just got slack over time and you didn't notice. Are you taking the time to clean the tracks at the end of the day? Even just knocking the stuff off the the rollers, sprockets and idler arms will go a long way towards avoiding unwanted track complications.

chrisherk

I never relized cleaning the track makes a big difference. thanks, chris

chrisherk

I dont know, before yesterday I neverpumped them up, or noticed a loose track. ididnt realize these things require alot of maint.

jmic

Oh yeah,
You don't want them super tight, if you have a manual it should tell you how much slack you need. Other wise you'll need more to get it back on again

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___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

jmic

Again especially in the winter!

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

jmic

You might also want to check the chain guides on the bottom of the machine. Our 3 yr. old 2ooSRL lost one ( these are welded onto the frame, broke off somewhere ) Anyways my operator lost the track last year, put it back on, then next day lost it again then after looking at other side I noticed the guide was missing. Had to order a new one and have it welded on.

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___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

dreamwvr

I have been involved in a few track incidents. bars, chains, cussing, and a big smile when that bitch goes back on. Always clean out the interior of your tracks also. especially before freezing. I'm talking about the areas under the rollers. grease regularly. ALWAYS USE THE SAFETY STOP BARS. I know a guy that jump4ed out of an excavator and didn't flip the lever; a string on his coat caught the joystick on the way out and swung the machine into the new building. 10k damage, there were men nearby 2. ALWAYS TRIP THAT LEVER