How to check the undercarriage on a crawler dozer

Crawler dozers can be vital pieces of construction equipment, as they let you shift large amounts of heavy material quickly. These machines can also be used to crush or break up hard surfaces, but this will lead to wear and tear to the undercarriage, so it is important to know how to check this when looking at dozers for sale.

1. Overall check

Start with a basic undercarriage inspection. Obvious issues could include damage to the dozer’s trackpads such as them being bent out of shape. While the lower rollers on the machine may be concealed by rock guards, take a look at the upper rollers for indicators of wear and tear like leaking oil, as the state of these frequently offers clues to the lower ones as well. Check the rear sprocket teeth to see if they have sharp points, as if they do it means they are almost used up and new ones will be needed.

2. Rollers

Use a calliper tool for checking the roller wear level on any used crawler dozers for sale that you are looking at. Put the tips onto the roller’s widest part and when you have noted the diameter, check the specifications from the original manufacturer to see how closely it matches the ideal number. For the lower rollers, use a calliper tool with bent arms so that it can be fitted below the flange shield.

3. Track shoes

The best way to check the condition of the track shoes is to use a tape measure to find out their width and then a depth gauge for finding out their depth. Then compare this to what is recommended by the OEM specifications.

4. Rails

There are two aspects of the rail to check: the pitch and the heights. For the first, a tape measure will let you work out how much distance there is between the pins on the rail. You should also ensure the dozer track is sufficiently tight by putting the machine into reverse before backing up a short distance, as this will show if there is any sign of sideways track movement that can cause the links and pins to break. For the height, place the depth gauge horizontal bar on the downside of one of the rail segments to find out what degree of wear there is.

5. Track sagging

This can be determined by pulling something straight-edged along the dozer’s shoes – between the front and back rollers – and measuring the amount of sagging there is in the middle. Roughly two and a half inches is the right amount.

If you check carefully to ensure you get a high quality used crawler dozer, like the ones we offer, it will serve you well over a long period.