Not managed to get into the workshop as much as I'd like recently as still in land agent mode, however today brought the ultimate justification for having a workshop, answering the sceptics who just don't understand!
I was using my 3/4 ton microdigger yesterday. One track has always been a bit clanky, and it was on the 'when I get time' list, however it failed in an awkward mode - jamming when reversing. As I was tight up against a trench that I was back filling it required ingenuity to get it away. However - to the point....
Dismantled the track undercarriage and found that the front idler wheel that tensions the track had no bearing left whatsoever!!! It is a cast iron disk about 10" diameter by 1" thick with a fatter hub, and should have had a pair of 25mm inner 52mm outer ball races. All that was left was one cracked outer race of one bearing, the rest having graunched away. The boring in the wheel that took the bearings had worn away to be about 54mm on one side and 57mm on the other. The 25mm axle shaft was utterly mangled. Solution: bore out the wheel to the next size up (62mm), and cylindrical grind a piece of 1" EN8 down to
25mm as a new axle. Result: back digging in a day for the price of two cheap bearings.Very satisfying!
AWEM