Case 310G crawler track tension

310G diesel, 6way blade. I have the left front idler wheel off for a bearing replacement. The track tensioner threaded rod/bolt, middle nut (the threaded disk with the spanner wrench holes)and rear nut are all frozen solid. Can't get the spring out. The rod/bolt won't turn, the middle nut won't turn, the front nut wrench faces are wiped off so I had to use a pipe wrench to back it off. The spring should just come right out but, no go. If there's a nut on the back screwed onto the back end of the bolt that makes no sense, there wouldn't be any spring action. I'll have to take out the 8 bolts and remove the whole casing to see what's up. I don't like the design so I'm going to convert it to the system used on my 310E where the bolt passes through the middle disk so you compress the spring with a nut just in front of the disk and adjust track tightness with a nut just behind the idler carrier. Also on the G the front nut, the one that sits inside the idler carrier hole, is threaded with a nut behind that to hold it's place, on the E the bolt passes through with a nut behind it to hold it's place. I like the E system much better, you can adjust the spring tension and track tightness separately.
I'll wait on removing the spring casing while I work on the idler bearing problem to see if someone here knows what's going on inside the spring casing, why the front and middle nuts are threaded and what the rear nut on the back of the casing actually does.
 
I cut the frozen nut off the rod with a sawzall. I then cleaned the rust of the threaded rod as best I could. I made an extra deep socket by cutting one in 1/2 and welding a piece of pipe between the two halves. I then took by "new deep socket" and a new nut,lots of PB Blaster and worked it up and down the rod until it turned freely. Discarded that nut and replaced with a new nut and lots of never seize. I did not have to go farther than that. It now adjusts as it should
 
I am working on a case 310 crawler. Just removed my front idler and adjuster assembly. The large nut next to the yoke on the idler has a collar on it. it is used to adjust the track tension. The smaller nut on the inside of the adjusting nut is there to tighten against the large nut to hold it in place and to keep from damaging the threads. The spring helps take the force if you hit something with your front idler so both nuts keeps is from stripping the threads. Not sure on the large nut in back although I think its just to hold the spring together. just my thoughts. mine is earlier than 1967. Norm in Missouri
 
I got the yoke collar nut and it's backup nut free but the threaded disk with spanner wrench holes still won't budge. It's impossible to turn or move the rod or get the spring out. I'm going to go ahead and try to take the whole spring casing off.
 
No go. Some of the spring carrier bolts don't have head enough to get a socket on. I put a 2" pipe on the yoke adjuster nut and propped it against the dozer blade, fired up the dozer and turned the blade in that direction to compress the spring hoping to get the rod to stick far enough out the back of the spring carrier to cut off the square nut. The full power of the blade hydraulics did nothing to compress the spring, it is absolutely locked solid. Can't push it in, can't get it out. I can turn the rod/spanner nut 1/2", the distance allowed by the rear square nut. That's it.
I have no choice but to put it back together and run with no spring movement.
 
No go on getting the spring carrier off, some of the bolts don't have head enough to get a socket on. I put a 4' long 2" I.D. pipe on the front yoke nut and wedged it to the dozer blade, started the dozer and swung the blade to force the spring to compress, hoping I could get the square nut at the back of the casing to pop out enough to cut it off and get the spring and rod out. With the full power of the blade hydraulics pressing on the rod it didn't budge, not even a hair, no spring compression, something has it totally locked up solid, won't move in or out. The rod/spanner nut will rotate 1/2", as much as the rear square nut will allow in it's three sided confine on the back of the casing.
Looks like I have no choice but to put the idler and yoke back on and run with no spring action.
 
The idler bearing's not coming out, not without a 50 ton press, nothing like that around here. The spring casing bolts are already rounded off so that's not coming off either. I did manage to get new adjustment nuts on the rod so I can at least tighten the track. Shame to run with no working spring, though.
 

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