Cat 943 track tension adjustment

Aaron medley

New User
I have a1980 cat 943 that I've been using for about a year and
appears to be a good sound machine. I've tightened the track
a couple of times since I got the machine by following the
manual directions. However, now the track on the right side
won't take grease with a manual grease gun, but the track still
appears slightly too loose. The maintenance manual mentions
loosening a relief valve then tightening by adding grease again
to tighten track, but it doesn't label the relief valve. Is it the
actual grease fitting that should be loosened then retightened
or the 4 bolts at the corners of the plate around the zerk
fitting? I think the assembly isn't sliding on the shaft properly
and therefore too much tension is needed for the zerk to take
grease. The machine is operating well, I just want to keep it
properly maintained. Thanks for any advice.
 
my two cats have a relief valve right next to the zerk valve. you can loosen the zerk valve and relieve the adjustor pressure--its not uncommon for the shaft to bind and not move--so it helps to have it retract a little and realign itself
 
Aaron, I am not familiar with your machine, but have rebuilt some track tensioners on other machines. I believe that it may be dangerous to remove the zerk fitting while there is pressure on the tensioner. The zerk can shoot out with bullet like velocity, due to the weight of the track. The relief valves that I have seen have a hex head that you loosen with a wrench. The relief valve is big enough to release the pressure slowly and safely. Jack
 
If it's like my 931B, there is a hex bolt beside the grease fitting to relief pressure but it says not to loosen it more than 1/2 a turn or something like that. I can't remember but there is a plate on the machine under the cover. You don't remove the grease fitting. You might need new seals in the track adjuster. One of mine seems to loosen easier than the other but I think a little loose is better than too tight.
 

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