I have seen many posts that mention using a low pressure volume pump to push grease into the track rollers so it doesn't blow out seals. Does anyone know what the operating pressure of these pumps are before the relief valve kicks in? I was thinking of installing a relief valve on a grease gun because I don't have access to a volume pump. I can get valves that are rated at 1-5 psi, 7-15 psi or 18+ psi. If this is an acceptable alternative, how much pressure does it take to adequately lube the rollers without damaging my new seals?

Just doing some shade tree engineering and allowing for Kentucky windage, most volume pumps are about 500 psi but that would definitely damage a seal. You can definitely feel when the bearing is full as there is more resistance on the handle and one has to do it gingerly by feel so as not to blow out the seals. I would estimate the pressure to be in the 75 pound range when the relief valve kicks out on mine but I have never actually measured it. Based on the force I have to exert on the handle, the 75 pounds sounds reasonable. The handle force is only about 10 pounds or so. Someone else may have some better numbers but that is my best guess.

D4Jim: Sounds good to me on Volume gun. We need rain, how about you? Darrol

Thank you guys for your input. I'll do some experimenting and see what I can come up with.

Darrol, it is dry as heck here too. Some of the early wheat is already showing brown spots in the field and the later wheat is still OK but if we don't get anything in the next 10 days, it will all be toast. We have not had one drop of rain since last Oct but we did get some snow that laid on the fields but the moisture of all it was only about .40 which is better than nothing. We have had so darned much wind up here and it is up to 28 mph here today. Jim

this rig works good for me. I got the button head fitting adapter from cat. A
person might be able to get one from lincoln also. I keep a eye on the guage
as pressure builds up then let the pressure drop then another pump cycle.
the better rollers will hold 200 psi , others won't go past 75. I'd take the #'s
with a grain of salt and rely on more on feel as pressure builds.Even the worn
rollers (less than the max book spec of .050 bush wear ?) seem to hold the grease back with only a small ammount seeping out.

Waukman, thanks for posting that picture of your setup. I'm finding it takes more pressure that I thought to push the grease to both end caps. I bought a new low pressure grease gun and it seems to work good, I just pay close attention to what I'm doing. Before I rebuilt the undercarriage none of the roller seals were any good, the previous owner said that before each use he just greased the rollers until it squeezed out to try to keep the dirt from coming in. After all the cleanup, then getting everything tight and in good condition, I'd like to try to keep it that way.

toby where did u find the parts to rebuild your rollers?i am about to tear into a 5u-d-2 that i bought and it is pretty tired so will be needing some parts for not only the track rollers but the steering clutches as well and was wondering where to get most of it?thanks rudy

The undercarriage on this machine was generally in good condition before I started. The rollers required the most attention, they weren't worn down at all but there was some wear on the shaft bushings because of the entry of dirt sifting past the bad seals. These are the older J model D2 rollers so the bushings and seals are different from the U series. I got some of the bushings from Cat, the rest can be turned out on a lathe from shaft stock, the ends bored and threaded for the grease fittings and plugs. The lip seals I obtained by cross referencing the old Cat number to a modern equilavent, making sure the construction of the new seal is similar to that of the old. I've found National and Chicago Rawhide seals that are almost identical.

I don't know what the parts availability is for the U series rollers, I would imagine the bellows style seals on these would be hard to come by unless through Cat, if still available. I remember reading a post on the old board where a guy machined his U series roller caps to take lip seals because they were either cheaper or easier to get than the bellows. The U roller bushings are more like a standard, open on both ends bushing, unlike the older ones like mine, which are open only on one end. You could try Cat or measure the outside and inside diameters and obtain them from an aftermarket source. I get a lot of my bushings, seals, grease, fittings, and the like from an industrial supplier called Applied Industrial Technologies, web site www.Applied.com . There are also good parts suppliers for steering clutches and most anything else listed on this website.

toby thanks so much for the detailed information.i will put it to good use.rudy