D6C 10K Hydraulic Track Adjuster

Yes, that is what the manual says but I think they got the instructions mixed up with removing the recoil spring. No reason you would want the pressure off the stops to work on the adjuster.

There is barely enough room to pull the adjuster cylinder out with the spring against the stops and the idler pushed all the way forward....maybe not even quite enough to get it out.

When I did mine, before breaking the track I pumped up the adjuster enough to compress the spring a 1/2" or so (assuming it's not leaking so bad that you can't) and put a couple of 1/2" blocks between the stops and the spring. (You could also compress it by putting an old track pin in the sprocket and backing up a little) Spin up the nut on the end of the center bolt for a safety. Don't think you want to try and compress the spring by tightening the nut alone as things could go bang if the nut failed....and most of them are pretty rusty.

May not be absolutely necessary but gives a little more working room.

Welcome to ACMOC cmeyer19, I am wondering if your D6C 10K tracks have the master pin or the later master link (sometimes refered to as an alligator or split link) that can be recognized by that links solid profile. The last 10K was built in 1976 I think, so the undercarriage could have been replaced several times.
I don't know the level of your experience so I thought I would mention this.
Happy Dozin' :cool2:

The safest thing to do is clean up the threads on the big nut and use the track to pull the spring back a shade then do the nut up, the bolts in the spring retainers have a nasty habit of breaking and you wouldn't want the spring trying to escape part way through the job. Once this is done, you have a choice, split the track and remove the adjuster, or remove the spring retainers and pull the spring sideways to get to the adjuster piston, be sure the threads on the big spring bolt are in good order to use the second easier method. If that spring escapes, it will go off like a bomb.

Thank you for the replies. This tractor does have aftermarket undercarriage in it and has the alligator links. So that should save me quite a bit of time by not having to beat out the master pin. I've been working on farm equipment on the side for quite a few years but I don't claim to be an expert. I appreciate having a forum like this where I can learn from people with far more experience than me.

Yes, that is what the manual says but I think they got the instructions mixed up with removing the recoil spring. No reason you would want the pressure off the stops to work on the adjuster.

Hi Old Magnet, I need to fix seals on my Cat D6B track adjuster. I was confused as to why I would have to do anything with the spring to remove the hydraulic tensioner unit as you mentioned.
My track frame has a plate (2inx4in) welded on which prevents sliding the piston forward too far ??. Must be a safety thing. If I remove the 4 studs which connect the front idler yoke to the valve unit on the piston, I can slide the idler forward ( after cutting the above mentioned stop plate off) then pull the piston out for seal repair. It appears that my problem is the grease leaking inside the spring coil so I am not sure which seal is gone. I was going to wrap a chain around the spring coil and under the roller frame just for safety. Does this sound OK?

The ONLY way to make that spring safe is to tighten the big nut at the back to hold it, put some spacers over the rod so you only use the 'good' thread which has been protected by the nut, use the drawbar pin in the track to take the spring back off its stops. then do up the nut, trying to tighten it with a spanner is asking for trouble. Once the spring is held, if you find further problems, it is safe to carry on. Using chains etc will only turn them into shrapnel if the spring lets go.

Thanks catsilver. Got it sorted and found the seals on the piston were the problem.
When I first had the problem with the track adjuster I cut a piece of thick walled ferrule that fit over one of the 9/16 bolt heads of the ring retainer to keep it in position on the adjuster and fitted it between that and the valve plate to maintain the track tension. Worked a treat and did about 200 hours with it. Have just replaced the tracks so had the opportunity to fix the adjuster. The Nylon ring in the piston was broken and had damaged the flat seals (Rings).