master pin hardness

Forum,
Previous owner of HD3 Allis crawler welded both ends of the master pin on one of the tracks. Question is can I drill into the master pin? Plan to use a 1.25 inch hole drill to cut into the welded surface of the 1.25 inch pin end. I do not have access to a torch which would make it an easier task. Any and all thoughts are welcome. Reason for this question is the crawler is four hours away and need to have all options covered.
Mr. T. Minnesota
 
you can not drill it . best is to grind weld off each end then drive out .reason it was welded ether it is the wrong pin or holes in the rails are stretched and pin will not stay in or someone ground pin down to make it go in easy but any way you look at it something is wrong it should fit tight and stay in with out welding. but some times you got to do what you got to do.Good luck
 
P.S be very careful when you pound the pin out they are hard and sometimes they will chip off on the side and that little peace will go flying got one in the leg on time not fun
 
A fifteen dollar side grinder from harbor freight will make that job easy. Just get a pack of the 4 inch wheels and grind down till you see the cracks of the old pin, then do your thing with big sledge and a pin knocker, (cold rolled steel welded to a handle.
 
I've removed more than my share of master pins. You can not drill it out. The best way is to use a grinding wheel and grind down until you can see a crack around the edges of the pin. Once there, simply drive it out. If it was welded in, it's probably not that tight.

If you've got a small spike hammer, they work good as a punch because they have a handle for the other guy to hold. I know some will say don't hit one hammer with another, but between myself and my Dad, we've been doing it for at least 50 years, combined, and it's never been an issue. Another thing you can do us make a punch handle/holder from a piece of pipe, and just use an appropriately sized piece of round stock as a punch.

If your planning to put it back together you'll also need a few blocks as well as a pin a bit smaller than the master pin.

When your ready to wrap, put a block under the very end of the track and run the machine back to it. Let the sprocket pick up a link, and then walk the machine forward using a big bar to hold the end of the track up, and guide it up and over the top roller. If your alone, take a come-a-long and use it to keep tension on the track as you pull forward. Once at the front, and over the idler, put another block under the front end of the track and run the machine on forward until the holes line up. Put the small pin, or a bar, in the hole and back the machine up until the joint is back on the sprocket. With the block under the lower part of the track, the sprocket teeth will hold the top part in place and allow you to line up the pin holes and install the master pin without too much effort.

Good luck. On a machine that size it's not usually too bad, even for one man. When you get done you can come help me rewrap the tracks on a 963 CAT Tuesday...LOL
 
Was putting a new handle on a hammer with another hammer, chip went thru a rain coat,work shirt, tee shirt and in deep enough doc had to get it out.
 
can you elaborate on the track reinstall. Getting ready to install our repaired track on our 2 cyl crawler. Thanks, Bill
 
(quoted from post at 03:46:08 04/12/16) can you elaborate on the track reinstall. Getting ready to install our repaired track on our 2 cyl crawler. Thanks, Bill
asiest way is to do it with the chain coming together at the 3 o'clock position on the drive sprocket. Then you can put a hdy jack under the chain and push it up if you need to with the top of the gear holding the chain above, least it seems to work best for us.. your mileage may vary..
 

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