Effective practices to maintain your Cat D7G Dozer
When you are looking to maintain the crawler dozer then it is important to check for the undercarriage and do it on a priority basis. If you will do periodic inspections that it will help you to caught uneven wear easily and it can be corrected on the initial level that will increase the life and quality of the equipment. For example when the operator is using a CAT D7G Dozer and working it on slopes in a single direction then the downhill track of the machine will wear rapidly then uphill track. It is totally up to the operator and his skills that how he can avoid such wear patterns. The undercarriage of this machine carries about 20% of its cost and also it can cost you about 50% of the lifetime repair cost of the equipment that is why it is essential to have proper and complete maintenance for the owners so they can maximize their investment. It is necessary for the fleet managers and company owners to follow the service interval and maintenance chart that is recommended by OEM but one thing that can really turn things around is to have inspections daily while walking around. All the hardware that is inside the undercarriage must be checked daily and it should be checked for any kind of wear on the roller flanges and idlers and also check on the bottom roller for debris and wear as well. Alignment and track tension should also be checked on a regular basis whenever you perform the walk around and also it is important to make sure that the track sag is perfectly fine. If the chain of the machine is too tight then it will increase the chances of getting wear or damage on the sprocket and the assemblies as well just because of extra load. On the other side, if the chain is too loose then the tracks and the rollers on the sprocket can be misaligned. Due to these reasons, CAT has always made sure to give the right amount of balance to the tracks of the dozer because it is directly related to the undercarriage. If there will be improper track tension then it will make the joints dry and also it will reduce wear life. When the load is added to the machine while the tracks are too tight then it will also lead to dry joints and oil loss if not taken care of properly. If the roller frames are cleaned regularly and properly then it will maintain the track tension.
When the material is packed inside the undercarriage then it will cause the tight track that will eventually increase wear rates when the undercarriage components are moving. It is important to monitor the track tension when the conditions are changing. Tracks must be adjusted properly with the accurate amount of sag when the working conditions change. It is important to increase the soil moisture that will help to cause packing in the sprockets and a tight track. It is important to inspect different factors as well before purchasing this type of heavy equipment for sale. When the climate change like if it’s the season of rain then it is necessary to check the sag of tracks daily because if there will be any type of change in the packing of material then the machine sprocket will cause the chain to tighter or loosen that is why the track sag must be adjusted so it can maintain the proper amount. When it will be excessive tension with the chains then it will add up the stress on sprockets, track links, track bushings, and idlers. If the tension among the chain is not inspected or checked regularly and if it is kept with proper tension then it will cause high static loads, track popping, and dynamic spike loads on the track lings, pins, bushings, and other components. When the track is too tight and if it is pulled up to two to four times then it will apply more tension on its chain and it will not adjust the tracks properly. When the components of the machine have some wear and are not evenly matched it may lead the machine to not run effectively just because of its vibration and it will also reduce the horsepower of the engine. The permanent solution to get rid of these issues is to replace that one component that has wear because it will be less expensive and it will also save the time to replace all the components like bushings, thrust, seals, pins, etc. All these components must be inspected carefully at once because if it gets unnoticed or ignored then it will create a lot of damage for the machine. It is a bit difficult to determine the life of tracks by just checking the wear on its bush or when it is rotating track systems.
The efficiency of operator:
The way that the operator handles the machine can put a major impact on the life of the undercarriage. If the undercarriage is put under a proper maintenance program that it will easily identify the habits of the operator and how he is using the machine. This will help to correct the mistakes and give the information to the operator that how he can change his working habits that will allow increasing the life of the machine. If the machine is having uneven wear then this is one of the biggest problems which have to be corrected properly with the help of periodic inspections. It is understood that through proper and frequent inspections we can easily see and catch things that can shorten the undercarriage’s life or hurt the production of the machine. If you will do regular inspection then it will not only help you to understand the life span of the components but you can also measure the wear of the undercarriage. We can take the example of track shoes of bent, when you realize the shoes are bending then communicating with the maintenance manager will help you to go through all the options that are considered. When the components of tracks are wearing down faster than it is just because of the wrong selection of tracks and if the company is obtaining the operator that has less knowledge and experience then it may also cause damage and wear. When the machine will travel less distance then it will eventually cause less wear. Nowadays manufacturers are producing those types of machines that include 2D and 3D systems that help the operators to make plans faster and accurately so it only requires the material to move a single time. It is not only important to check the undercarriage of this type of heavy machinery but other components should be checked as well on regular basis to maintain the quality and get better results.
