To you folks who replied to my dilemma, thanks very much. I was able to get the track back on after about 3 hours work (half of which was scratching my head and swatting black flies!).
Thought I'd share how I did it and reveal a little trick. The track came off the right rear sprocket After hooking a come-a-long to a tree and to the rear top of the track discovered that not only was this not pulling hard enough for the slack that I needed, it was also pulling the dozer back. I didn't have enough chain to tie the front to a tree or anything ( I was miles from access to any more tools or equipment) BUT....I did have a chainsaw. I then cut a stick of wood just long enough to fit between the blade and track front. Angling the blade to the right pushed the stick of wood which was against the right front of the track. Not only did this give me some slack from the idler, but because the way the wood pushed on the track, also "rolled" the track backward (I also had the rear of the tractor jacked up just enough to take the weight off). This combination: come-a-long pulling up and back, the tractor jacked in right rear, and especially the wood as a prop to use the blade to push back the idler gear and also to roll the track back was all it took.
Slick!
Back to tearing up Mother Nature once again.
p.s. what I described was dangerous! If any of you try this stick of wood trick, keep in mind that it can slip under the pressure and come flying so quick you'll never know what hit you! Just be careful!
Thought I'd share how I did it and reveal a little trick. The track came off the right rear sprocket After hooking a come-a-long to a tree and to the rear top of the track discovered that not only was this not pulling hard enough for the slack that I needed, it was also pulling the dozer back. I didn't have enough chain to tie the front to a tree or anything ( I was miles from access to any more tools or equipment) BUT....I did have a chainsaw. I then cut a stick of wood just long enough to fit between the blade and track front. Angling the blade to the right pushed the stick of wood which was against the right front of the track. Not only did this give me some slack from the idler, but because the way the wood pushed on the track, also "rolled" the track backward (I also had the rear of the tractor jacked up just enough to take the weight off). This combination: come-a-long pulling up and back, the tractor jacked in right rear, and especially the wood as a prop to use the blade to push back the idler gear and also to roll the track back was all it took.
Slick!
Back to tearing up Mother Nature once again.
p.s. what I described was dangerous! If any of you try this stick of wood trick, keep in mind that it can slip under the pressure and come flying so quick you'll never know what hit you! Just be careful!
