Fixing Track Tension Springs Is Not Easy. Hard Lessons Learned!

I'm fixing an old 35 ton excavator. The track adjuster seals were blown out. I remove the idlers and the grease cylinders only to find that the spring pretensioner rods were both broken. I decide that I should fix those, which leads me down into a deep, dark forest of machining, steel properties, engineering, safety, and danger. Wow, did I ever underestimate this job!

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#excavator #Case #heavyequipment #farmlife #farmcraft101 #farming #farmer

[FarmCraft]

Did you have fun watching me get my butt kicked? ;-) That's how this job feels up until this point. Good grief! I forgot to mention in the video that if you harden and temper the threads on 4140 they are much less likely to gall. So commercially made 4140 threads would likely be better on many levels, being both rolled and heat treated. Maybe I should have bought those bolts after all... nah, I'm too cheap for that! Have a great weekend everybody!

[ericscott]

Holy crap, John. I don't know how others feel about the long form videos but, personally I love them. Thanks for taking us along for the ride. It's one thing to tackle these projects but a completely different thing to film edit and post in a manner that makes sense to the viewer. Cheers!

[DifficultyEasy]

Jon! You just saved me from doing the same thing with the EXACT same lube and 4140 threads on 2.5" bar!! I can't believe the timing! How lucky am I??? LOL! I usually watch you before embarking on a weekend project for inspiration, but now IT'S THE LAW!

[davidregehr]

Jon, you get the gold medal for patience and perseverence!

[paranoidandroid]

In a sea of youtubers pushing product and having fake struggles to compete builds this is so unique.

Good job on everything.

[ToddBishop-mn]

High on my list of reasons to to watch is seeing other people having the same kind of 'luck' I normally do. It's like a warm blanket to my soul.

[davidcameron]

1 hour and 29 minutes, I don't think I've been on the edge of my seat that much during the most high stakes Hollywood thriller.

Such great content, always a good day when we get a Farmcraft101 upload.

[knappingrk]

One of the few channels that can literally be watched from start to beginning without skipping a moment.

[stevestolarczyk]

1:47 Forgetting to include that one detail is a good reminder that, for all the skills you demonstrate on the channel, editing is one that is easily overlooked. You do a fantastic job of taking us through these things step by step and making them understandable. That's a huge part of your appeal. Well done.

[Kcv]

Honestly man, bravo to you for getting that deep into that machine. Track tensioners are firmly in the realm of professional mechanics usually. It takes a lot of drive and effort for someone who doesn’t do this professionally to get into that stuff.

[reidlarsen]

By far, the best thread galling video I’ve ever seen! Nobody else takes it apart to show the result of those metal “snowballs”. Imagine the tonnage of permanently welded scrap made from galling.

[rogerbeck]

20/20 hindsight is my specialty. Jon your hard-won experiences are helping me understand many of the misunderstood lecturers of my early life, thank you for the effort of compiling these free youtube videos. I really hope it is financially rewarding to you.

[warbirdwf]

A famous quote I love. "Your problem isn't your problem. How you're handling the problem is".. And you handled this problem like a boss.
Well done!

[bindestrek]

From a person with the attention span of a sneeze, this video kept me occupied for an hour an a half! the edits, the tension, the jumping back and forth and the patience just does it for my tiny brain! Thank You!
ps: Are you sure you're satisfied with that one shorter than the other? bothers you a little, doesn't it? Redo?😉
Nah i'm kidding, its fine 😁

[leer-winnobbeefarms]

Well Jon, this was one of those "You had to see it to believe it" events! From free-wheeling to Frozen! Wow! Thank the Lord you were steel-safe! But, today's episode is the reason I LOVE your channel: It's not only entertaining, but educational. I learn something almost every episode. Thanks! Lee

[ianmorris]

I've watched films this long and very rarely been gripped by this much tension and drama from begining to the end. Keep up the good work.

[SPEEDY-FABSHACK]

Jeezuz Murphy, I really felt your pain all the way through this debacle, well done John, that was gruelling!

[philmccracken]

As always I appreciate the time it takes you to make and edit these videos for us. I also totally appreciate how long the video is, just over 1.5 hours! That's an hour and a half where I don't think about anything but what's going on in the video. I'm stress-free for over an hour. Hopefully that makes sense, lol.

Hope you and the Mrs. are doing well, thank you again.

[handymanshan]

When I was an MR2 (machinery repairman second class) in the Navy, we manually machined a ton of tight tolerance pump shafts. Threading becomes second nature just like any machine operation. A few tools you could use are good thread combs for internal threads, thread files for external. And we used soft abrasive sticks at the end to really get them smooth. I have since been an engineer in a completely unrelated industry for 15 years.

[PacificNorthwestHillbilly]

Much respect, this is not a job for the faint of heart.