955H Recoil Spring Length.

Recoil springs are preloaded either by an internal bolt or compressed by a bolt until installed and then the tension released so the spring fits the track frame.

Only ever dealt with the old style where the internal bolt holds the length. Have one with the bolt broken on our 9U that I have welded stops on the track frame so it doesn't extend too far.

I installed an after market recoil spring on my 941b. It was a little bit longer than what my book calls for but after a little research (from the company that sold it) it's spring constant value was a little less than Cat's so when installed it would give the same load on the idler. Seems to work fine. The spring I took out had been cracked in three places for over 20 years so I'm sure it had much less resistance than spec.

On the "H" models spring compression is limited by the sleeve on the spring bolt. If you can get full retraction without bottoming the coils it will probably work ok. Extending the stop mounting location will come at the expense of lost hydraulic adjuster travel and may interfear with service work or the ability to retract the front idler enough for track removal.

Thanks all. Going to put the spring back in the press and go for the last inch. It's nerve wracking, working with all that pressure, but the nut is on the rod so it can't go anywhere. Once this is done and the idler is back on, I can install the new chain and be done. With this side.