Freezing track master pin before installing

That will work.......but I can't say that I'd recommend it. Last time I did
D6 pin pounding I vowed never again. Even with someone else supplying the muscle it can be a hazardous business, not worth the risk of injury.

KJ as Pete says a hard master pin can yield SHRAPNEL. Freezing can increase the danger if the pin dosen't slide in free. This can be minimized by wraping the end of the pin with electrical tape. This will scrape off as you finish driving the pin home. I get the feeling you have slightly used rails, if so use a flap wheel and polish out the pin bores and the pins. A welding apron will help protect some of your body's. You need 3 people, one on sledge one holding the drift with handle welded on to it and one in back with a crowbar holding the links in place and later holding another sledge head against the inner link to keep it from spreading as you drive the pin home. Even useing a pin press can cause shrapnel to fly off of the pin or links.
Later Bob

[quote="bob"]KJ as Pete says a hard master pin can yield SHRAPNEL. Freezing can increase the danger if the pin dosen't slide in free. This can be minimized by wraping the end of the pin with electrical tape. This will scrape off as you finish driving the pin home. I get the feeling you have slightly used rails, if so use a flap wheel and polish out the pin bores and the pins. A welding apron will help protect some of your body's. You need 3 people, one on sledge one holding the drift with handle welded on to it and one in back with a crowbar holding the links in place and later holding another sledge head against the inner link to keep it from spreading as you drive the pin home. Even useing a pin press can cause shrapnel to fly off of the pin or links.
Later Bob[/quote]

I've seen frozen master pins shatter like glass when driving them in...DON'T FREEZE them.

Polish the pin and rail boss area (Just clean it up nice and shiny is all) then slather pin and boss with "STP" oil treatment. I wouldn't put that stuff in an engine of mine but I used a bunch of it to put in master pins.
Believe me, using STP will make a world of difference.

Oh, and don't start with a small hammer, use at least a 12 pounder. I used either a 16 or 20 pound according to the size of the dozer.

It's not just the pin hazards I was thinking about.....fingers can get mashed.....a glancing blow from the hammer.......slip of the guide pin etc. and your now responsible for injury. I'd hate to be responsible for getting junior or anyone else buggered up. That's one job best left to the pro's and their equipment. After you've had a close call you'll understand.
Just seems the D6 size is the dividing point.

Wouldn't heating the track link help tremendously? The ID circumference would increase and just cooling down the pin would shrink it to make the fit not that tight? I have placed a few transmission gears on shafts by that method without any pounding.

That is certainly an option but rarely a drop in situation. Assuming this is at least sealed track things can get pretty busy with hot parts. Works ok for the old dry type. Certainly can be done if your determined and accept the risks.

Something that's worked well for me in the past is to have a slave pin that's .030 -.040 under the master pin size and put that in first to get everything lined up. Then drive that pin out with the new master pin. Beats trying to keep everything lined up while banging on the master pin. I also polish the inside of the links a bit with a fine flap wheel and warm 'em up just hot to the touch.

I hadn't thought of the STP but I'll sure give that a try next time. Anything to make life easier😆

As long as were talking about D2 pins. When I was first disassembling my D2 track. I heated the link, made a holding jig for the drift and with my first swing neatly clipped the head off of my sledge hammer by missing the pin. Nice track greenhorn move.😆 It was about 11.30pm on a Sat night. I was alone and laughing out loud. Just thought share a typical machine moment. This is an informative thread give I'm putting tracks on in a couple of weeks. Thanks

It's been more than thirty-five years since I have "pounded pins". I remember one occasion while in my early twenties when installing a master pins on a D4 [7U]. I had a friend holding the drift while I swung the sledge. He was wearing jeans and work boots and while I was pounding away he made a comment that he thought that his was foot wet. He took off his boot and found that his shoe was full of blood. Apparently a chip from the drift broke away and penetrated his jeans and his leg. The fragment went all the way to the bone and he didn't feel a thing! Incidently, I remember that we had a a heck of a time stopping the bleading. The point to telling the story is that driving these pins with sledges is dangerous. We weren't wearing protective eyewear and didn't think anything about it.
Thanks for the reminder; I am going to have a professional press the pins!