I was wondering how difficult it would be for the experts on the board here to post some photos of undercarriage, sprockets, etc. and give a description of the "goods" and "bads" of each of them. What to look for or what to run from and maybe why.

There is some real horse...I mean CATpower here and I think this could be a useful undertaking...

As always-thanks

bernie

the first thing and easiest to recognize is the distance from the front idler to the end of the roller frame...That will give you the condition of the rail pins and bushings...the sprockets should have a short flat spot on the edges of the teeth yet...bottom rollers shouldn't be near the pin bosses of the rails yet...I think I can figure out the pictures in time, but it will take a while...email is a whole bunch easier but unfortunately it doesn't let everyone see...The Caterpillar undercarriage is truly a science in itself and very important to the owner's ability to make money without charging an uncomfortably higher rate...we have found the wet pin and bushing arrangement to be well worth the extra cost...there is virtually no internal wear at all.

I have a bunch of pictures of good and bad undercarriage items, mainly on the D2,D4,D6's. These pictures are already labeled and ready to go. Just give me a day or so to gather them up and I'll post them.

Excellent idea----comparison photos showing points to be aware of. No doubt, undercarriage should be given priority in consideration of the condition of most of these old tractors and in most situations may be the most expensive repair item experienced in a restoration/rebuild.

One point that needs to be considered when looking at the distance of the front idler to the front of the track frame is verifying the proper number of links in the chain. A link may have been taken out to shorten the chain---and allow you to continue to run for a short time, but will result in the chain climbing the rear sprockets due to the elongated pitch (internal wear in the chain).

Therefore the importance of measuring the pitch and counting links (as well as comparing other dimensions).

I feel confident that Old Magnet will put us together a very helpful reference guide that some of the other "old pros" can add to.

Excellent "candidate post" for Archives.

Delta Dirt

Hey! Thanks for the response. I am not looking at a particular tractor now and from what I understand of the undercarriage my D42T is in fair condition...Delta Dirt hit it on the head for some archive resource. I am sure the info will come in handy time and time again.

Dave-I am originally from Vincennes, not far from you. We are in Bloomington now. It is always nice to see a "neighbor" here.

Thanks to all for the positive comments and especially for offering your help.

bernie