D6K System One Undercarriage

[Nige]

There has got to be a set of HD rails and pads out there on an excavator or something that will work on the early D6K track frame.

There isn’t. Wishing will not make it so.

Meanwhile I am looking for D6K2 track frames .

They won’t fit, at least not as a bolt-on replacement anyway.

I bought a early D6K LGP model that had 6000 hrs on it ,the tracks seemed ok except for some minor damage to pads,

A bit of due diligence regarding System One undercarriage before purchase and you would have taken the appropriate steps - big ones in the opposite direction.

 

[OzDozer]

I've got a set of used D6H System One track chains and shoes for sale, if anyone is interested. All the cartridges are in good condition, no leaks and smooth articulation - but the rails are worn, and the shoes are about 50%.
I'm open to offers a bit above scrap value. I think there's about 3 tonnes in them (6000lbs).

Could be good for a runout set, for selling a machine, or a cheap option to avoid major costs otherwise.

These came from a local council machine, they didn't seem to have major problems with System One here - but they weren't working in rock or highly abrasive conditions either, just mostly stockpiling sandy clayey gravel material for road base.

They threw these chains off and bought new ones because Cat said they needed new undercarriage.
I don't know what criteria Cat used for determining they were shot, but they look like there's still 2000 hrs left in them, to me. Maybe other components in the undercarriage were at their limit.

However, I must add, I've got no experience with running System One undercarriage, all my experience is with regular SALT and dry undercarriage.

 

[akcatskinner]

Im pretty sure the H model tracks are a bit larger. The press the service truck had was for the larger scale hightrack version. If they are the same then I will come buy them from you. The part number on the masterlink is 318-2486H

 

[akcatskinner]

This is what I call worn, lol.

 

[akcatskinner]

Working Next day,...lol.

 

[akcatskinner]

There isn’t. Wishing will not make it so.

They won’t fit, at least not as a bolt-on replacement anyway.

A bit of due diligence regarding System One undercarriage before purchase and you would have taken the appropriate steps - big ones in the opposite direction.

Salesman baited me with lies , I swallowed the bait.
The best track man on the planet says hes 100% sure it can be converted to HD tracks, just not sure exactly how yet. Pioneering is what we do to thrive here in Alaska.

 

[akcatskinner]

Salesman baited me with lies , I swallowed the bait.
The best track man on the planet says hes 100% sure it can be converted to HD tracks, just not sure exactly how yet. Pioneering is what we do to thrive here in Alaska.

Caterpillar is still doubling down on the big lie. Beginning of their end.

 

[OzDozer]

I don't know if you're aware, that I'm in Western Australia! The freight to AK on a set of used tracks might be a deal killer!
I don't currently have the part numbers from the links, the chains are 80 miles away from me at present, stored on my block in the wheatbelt. I won't be able to get the numbers for a week.

I'm amazed that Cat would produce a newer set of SO tracks with smaller links?! - particularly as they must have been aware the earlier ones were giving problems?

Like so many products designed many decades ago, original designs were as good as we'll get, they might only need a bit of fine tuning with more modern technology, but the old-timers knew what worked and what didn't!

So many new design ideas are more about increasing company profits, than producing real gains for end-users.

 

[akcatskinner]

---

Wow, I am impressed by the quickness of the responses.
There has got to be a set of HD rails and pads out there on an excavator or something that will work on the early D6K track frame. Searching...... Meanwhile I am looking for D6K2 track frames . I like the hydraulic drive that dials down to 1/10 gear, the view of the cutting edges and the pressurized cab. I've been an open cab guy in Alaska for 46 years. A Cat man ,about to go Komatsu, lol.
I bought a early D6K LGP model that had 6000 hrs on it ,the tracks seemed ok except for some minor damage to pads, I ran it a hundred hours in a couple years ,it seemed fine. This year, It got worked hard for 500 hrs walking over logs and stumps, silty mud and burning tundra, the master pins kept turning in the link. I called the track guru up here, told him I had problems with the masterlink and he said "get used to it, they are junk, weld em" We have been searching for a solution , in vain so far. $30K for new chains (sys one) and pads and sprockets from the dozer mafia is the best I can find so far. I had to replace the masterlink, the mafia service people were really no help with a field repair, they arrived without the new masterlink I had gold streaked some 60 hours earlier, and no tools. The press he had was for a hightrack and didnt fit. He left at his bosses instruction, I had to practically accost him to get one of the inner links, and a pair of outer links he did bring. I had to send an expediter 200 miles to get the new masterlink left at the shop. That was a long night in the rain for me. I cut an outer and innerlink off with a cutoff wheel and pressed on a new inner and outerlink with a bottle jack, sledge hammer and a couple pieces of pipe and blocks of wood cut out of a burnt log. I then installed a new master link on new pins by sunup. The new pins in new masterlinks with new bolts had spun in the link during the first hour, I had to weld them in to stop that.....How can Cat not recall that junk or at least provide a solution ??. To add insult to injury, the cat service sent me a bill for $2,500 for showing up without the parts or the tools, blocked me from ordering more parts untill I paid the bill. I tried having a friend buy parts in Oregon and they refused to sell them parts to be shipped to Alaska. Ya, might be mafia if they come after me. Sadly I have 4 other Cat dozers, all old school , all reliable. May be time to retire.

---

 

[akcatskinner]

Wow, I am impressed by the quickness of the responses.
There has got to be a set of HD rails and pads out there on an excavator or something that will work on the early D6K track frame. Searching...... Meanwhile I am looking for D6K2 track frames . I like the hydraulic drive that dials down to 1/10 gear, the view of the cutting edges and the pressurized cab. I've been an open cab guy in Alaska for 46 years. A Cat man ,about to go Komatsu, lol.
I bought a early D6K LGP model that had 6000 hrs on it ,the tracks seemed ok except for some minor damage to pads, I ran it a hundred hours in a couple years ,it seemed fine. This year, It got worked hard for 500 hrs walking over logs and stumps, silty mud and burning tundra, the master pins kept turning in the link. I called the track guru up here, told him I had problems with the masterlink and he said "get used to it, they are junk, weld em" We have been searching for a solution , in vain so far. $30K for new chains (sys one) and pads and sprockets from the dozer mafia is the best I can find so far. I had to replace the masterlink, the mafia service people were really no help with a field repair, they arrived without the new masterlink I had gold streaked some 60 hours earlier, and no tools. The press he had was for a hightrack and didnt fit. He left at his bosses instruction, I had to practically accost him to get one of the inner links, and a pair of outer links he did bring. I had to send an expediter 200 miles to get the new masterlink left at the shop. That was a long night in the rain for me. I cut an outer and innerlink off with a cutoff wheel and pressed on a new inner and outerlink with a bottle jack, sledge hammer and a couple pieces of pipe and blocks of wood cut out of a burnt log. I then installed a new master link on new pins by sunup. The new pins in new masterlinks with new bolts had spun in the link during the first hour, I had to weld them in to stop that.....How can Cat not recall that junk or at least provide a solution ??. To add insult to injury, the cat service sent me a bill for $2,500 for showing up without the parts or the tools, blocked me from ordering more parts untill I paid the bill. I tried having a friend buy parts in Oregon and they refused to sell them parts to be shipped to Alaska. Ya, might be mafia if they come after me. Sadly I have 4 other Cat dozers, all old school , all reliable. May be time to retire.

Changed the bad link with what was on hand at a remote fire One bottle
jack, some wood blocks cut from burnt trees, piece of pipe, some junked track links ,and a 20 pound sledge hammer and we were back to salvage logging in a active forest fire . Did for free what the dealers shop truck and mechanic couldnt do , but charged $2500 for just showing up. The guys comment that Cat let this travesty of systemone happen even if it is a proven failure , just to make more money looks like the Gospel truth. Below are pictures of pressing the pins in during the wee hours so as not to lose availability on the job. Excuse me but I have lost all respect for corporate America. The last pic is a acquaintances idea of how to modify the Cat to take it to the dealership to get further screwed

 

[ih100]

I don't know if you're aware, that I'm in Western Australia! The freight to AK on a set of used tracks might be a deal killer!
I don't currently have the part numbers from the links, the chains are 80 miles away from me at present, stored on my block in the wheatbelt. I won't be able to get the numbers for a week.

I'm amazed that Cat would produce a newer set of SO tracks with smaller links?! - particularly as they must have been aware the earlier ones were giving problems?

Like so many products designed many decades ago, original designs were as good as we'll get, they might only need a bit of fine tuning with more modern technology, but the old-timers knew what worked and what didn't!

So many new design ideas are more about increasing company profits, than producing real gains for end-users.

I’ve run two 963’s with S1 and they seem a good match for that type of machine. Probably because in most applications they aren’t pushing for the same % of time as a dozer, and are on narrow shoes. That‘s my humble opinion, anyway.

 

[akcatskinner]

Wow, I am impressed by the quickness of the responses.
There has got to be a set of HD rails and pads out there on an excavator or something that will work on the early D6K track frame. Searching...... Meanwhile I am looking for D6K2 track frames . I like the hydraulic drive that dials down to 1/10 gear, the view of the cutting edges and the pressurized cab. I've been an open cab guy in Alaska for 46 years. A Cat man ,about to go Komatsu, lol.
I bought a early D6K LGP model that had 6000 hrs on it ,the tracks seemed ok except for some minor damage to pads, I ran it a hundred hours in a couple years ,it seemed fine. This year, It got worked hard for 500 hrs walking over logs and stumps, silty mud and burning tundra, the master pins kept turning in the link. I called the track guru up here, told him I had problems with the masterlink and he said "get used to it, they are junk, weld em" We have been searching for a solution , in vain so far. $30K for new chains (sys one) and pads and sprockets from the dozer mafia is the best I can find so far. I had to replace the masterlink, the mafia service people were really no help with a field repair, they arrived without the new masterlink I had gold streaked some 60 hours earlier, and no tools. The press he had was for a hightrack and didnt fit. He left at his bosses instruction, I had to practically accost him to get one of the inner links, and a pair of outer links he did bring. I had to send an expediter 200 miles to get the new masterlink left at the shop. That was a long night in the rain for me. I cut an outer and innerlink off with a cutoff wheel and pressed on a new inner and outerlink with a bottle jack, sledge hammer and a couple pieces of pipe and blocks of wood cut out of a burnt log. I then installed a new master link on new pins by sunup. The new pins in new masterlinks with new bolts had spun in the link during the first hour, I had to weld them in to stop that.....How can Cat not recall that junk or at least provide a solution ??. To add insult to injury, the cat service sent me a bill for $2,500 for showing up without the parts or the tools, blocked me from ordering more parts untill I paid the bill. I tried having a friend buy parts in Oregon and they refused to sell them parts to be shipped to Alaska. Ya, might be mafia if they come after me. Sadly I have 4 other Cat dozers, all old school , all reliable. May be time to retire.

Changed the bad link with what was on hand at a remotes fire One bottle
jack, some wood blocks cut from burnt trees, piece of pipe, some junked track links ,and a 20 pound sledge hammer and we were back to salvage logging in a active forest fire . Did for free what the dealers shop truck and mechanic couldnt do , but charged $2500 for just showing up. The guys comment that Cat let this travesty of systemone happen even if it is a proven failure , just to make more money looks like the Gospel truth. Below are pictures of pressing the pins in during the wee hours so as not to lose availability on the job. Excuse me but I have lost all respect for corporate America. The last pic is a acquaintances idea of how to modify the Cat to take it to the dealership to get further screwedView attachment 296708View attachment 296709View attachment 296710

I don't know if you're aware, that I'm in Western Australia! The freight to AK on a set of used tracks might be a deal killer!
I don't currently have the part numbers from the links, the chains are 80 miles away from me at present, stored on my block in the wheatbelt. I won't be able to get the numbers for a week.

I'm amazed that Cat would produce a newer set of SO tracks with smaller links?! - particularly as they must have been aware the earlier ones were giving problems?

Like so many products designed many decades ago, original designs were as good as we'll get, they might only need a bit of fine tuning with more modern technology, but the old-timers knew what worked and what didn't!

So many new design ideas are more about increasing company profits, than producing real gains for end-users.

Checking the shipping cost.

 

[OzDozer]

I went back through my photos and found a photo of a link on my SO tracks, that I could zoom in on.

The part number on this link is 234-9699. The Cat parts store says that link fits all the following models;

D6 D6H XL D6R D6R II D6R III D6R LGP D6R XL D6T D6T LGP D6T LGPPAT D6T XL D6T XL PAT D6T XW D6T XW PAT D6 XE D6XE

I haven't got a rail height measurement on these rails, and I don't have the new rail height measurement for them. But these rails appear to be quite useable - and interestingly, they certainly are heavier links than the ones on your tractor.

The last photo is a snip from the Cat Undercarriage Sales Kit, 7th edition, showing the exact fitment for 234-9699 link.

 

[OzDozer]

akcatskinner, I just realised, after going back through the posts, your tractor is a low-track D6K.

That's a whole lot different tractor to the D6H, D6R and D6T. It's a whole size smaller than the H, R and T!

Typical Cat - move the tractor size numbers down with every new model - and pretty soon you're bragging about driving an 80HP D8Z!!

Here's the undercarriage information on the D6K track. The D6K uses a 7.50" pitch track with 18mm track shoe bolts, the D6H, R and T use an 8.00" pitch track with 22mm track shoe bolts.

 

[akcatskinner]

Yes, its a bit of a little tinker toy the K model , the low ground clearance could get in-sensitive operators into trouble in the woods and its a bit light skinned, a finish cat. Its quick and cheap to run, and deadly accurate with no lack of power. Its ability to put every tree it touches right where you want it in slow motion in concert with ground crews and other equipment make it a very safe artful tool under the direction of an experienced forest dozer hand . It can drive about anywhere any track rig can go , deep in the swamp and muskeg and over jackpotted timber and D7 piles to reach a flare up in a stringer of big timber with its water tank with pump and hose reel perched above the winch. I worked in an out an area for a couple weeks that was very wet without making any ruts , a D7 showed up tried to follow my tracks and buried its self hopelessly in the first 2 minutes. The K model easily straddled the deep ruts and picked the D7M up by the ripper and tossed it sideways out if its hole and then easily filled the hole & erased the mess without a trace . The low gearing and powerful hydraulics are a joy to use. . It is A good size for interior Alaska not far off from the traditional classical pioneer cat D7 3T, 7M , and 17A direct drive angle dozers of old that I have run for 46 years around here . The pat blade performs suppression repair 3X as fast as an excavator spreading out pushed up piles of trees stumps and foot thick tundra mat, downside is Its a bit temp limited at times when hand crews are having heat exhaustion problems the robot nanny starts bitching about 170 degree hydraulic oil, handicapped by no purge cycle on the fan/ radiator group you have to brush the sphagnum moss and cottonwood fuzz off the radiator by hand. The dainty SO tracks are tiresome and sometimes terrifying to maintain.I didnt have a problem with them untill they got a bit snakey and kept trying to jump off the sprocket, then they just got so loosey juicy that I couldnt keep em from harm in the stumpy sidehill with rocks and mud. Ridiculously expensive to replace comparative to HD rails.
Below is a pic of her with her older sister the C model taking a break after putting in a hot line and walking down the black fire side to establish a canopy break without pushing up mountains of green . Kind of a ballsy approach but very effective and expedient with a favorable wind, late in the day as the humidities are rising. It really freaked out the hand crews from The Pacific North West.

 

[akcatskinner]

Yes, its a bit of a little tinker toy the K model , the low ground clearance could get in-sensitive operators into trouble in the woods and its a bit light skinned, a finish cat. Its quick and cheap to run, and deadly accurate with no lack of power. Its ability to put every tree it touches right where you want it in slow motion in concert with ground crews and other equipment make it a very safe artful tool under the direction of an experienced forest dozer hand . It can drive about anywhere any track rig can go , deep in the swamp and muskeg and over jackpotted timber and D7 piles to reach a flare up in a stringer of big timber with its water tank with pump and hose reel perched above the winch. I worked in an out an area for a couple weeks that was very wet without making any ruts , a D7 showed up tried to follow my tracks and buried its self hopelessly in the first 2 minutes. The K model easily straddled the deep ruts and picked the D7M up by the ripper and tossed it sideways out if its hole and then easily filled the hole & erased the mess without a trace . The low gearing and powerful hydraulics are a joy to use. . It is A good size for interior Alaska not far off from the traditional classical pioneer cat D7 3T, 7M , and 17A direct drive angle dozers of old that I have run for 46 years around here . The pat blade performs suppression repair 3X as fast as an excavator spreading out pushed up piles of trees stumps and foot thick tundra mat, downside is Its a bit temp limited at times when hand crews are having heat exhaustion problems the robot nanny starts bitching about 170 degree hydraulic oil, handicapped by no purge cycle on the fan/ radiator group you have to brush the sphagnum moss and cottonwood fuzz off the radiator by hand. The dainty SO tracks are tiresome and sometimes terrifying to maintain.I didnt have a problem with them untill they got a bit snakey and kept trying to jump off the sprocket, then they just got so loosey juicy that I couldnt keep em from harm in the stumpy sidehill with rocks and mud. Ridiculously expensive to replace comparative to HD rails.
Below is a pic of her with her older sister the C model taking a break after putting in a hot line and walking down the black fire side to establish a canopy break without pushing up mountains of green . Kind of a ballsy approach but very effective and expedient with a favorable wind, late in the day as the humidities are rising. It really freaked out the hand crews from The Pacific North West. View attachment 296722

D6K model tossing a D7 out of its hopelessly stuck position like a toy