Cribbing:

[1693TA]

How beneficial would it be, (or not) to easily crib up a tracked machine to run the undercarriage unloaded? I've been floating this idea around for a few months after cribbing mine up to both steam clean and lubricate moving parts after removing 40+ years of crud and buildup. It sure made cleaning the underside easy including the inner sides of the track frames and rollers. Now I didn't have anything moving, or rotating while under there, but it made for easy repositioning of the tracks for access, and easy feeling for "notchy" rollers.by hand.

I see a lot of skid steers and mini's in for service and a couple have expressed interest in having their machines periodically cleaned so I'm wondering about a niche market as nobody I know offers this service.

 

[skyking1]

Blocking inside the track frames is tricky to get it stable enough. You are getting narrow with the cribbing if you want to turn the tracks.
Once you get it cribbed you'll have no access at all remaining to do any work down the middle, so I would wonder about the benefits.
I see running it up on blocks and then jacking one side at a time might be workable for looking at rollers etc. That way the other side is down on the track, and you are just using some blocks and jacks and have room to work them on the one side.

 

[Nige]

When doing undercarriage work we cribbed up tractors all the time. However it was done with steel stands, two under the front directly below the hardnose and two under the corners of the rear gear case. That method of support was pretty much earthquake resistant.

 

[MG84]

I often run my dozer up on 8x8 wood blocks in the shop to get better clearance when dropping the belly pans or doing service work underneath. If I need the tracks off the ground I use a large bottle jack and heavy stands to get the rear of the machine up, then use the blade down pressure to lift the front, then add cribbing or stands as needed.

 

[1693TA]

Glad to read the idea is not that far fetched. Removing belly pans is what started this idea when under I discovered there is only about 11" clearance from the bottom of the equalizer bar to ground and really not enough room to slide under on a creeper.

I used a 20 ton floor jack under the rear drawbar hitch and blocked with hardwood cribbing just inside the lift point outermost on the main tractor casting. I then used 6X6 hardwood blocks under the cutting edge and pivoted the dozer up level. After cribbing up under the hard nose, I had about 24" under the equalizer bar and about 4" at the lowest point of track sag to concrete. I could go higher by repeating the process with spacer blocks in the jacking points, but this served the purpose needed. I only removed the belly pans for cleaning and straightening and cleaned everything up a little bit. I was remote at our family property so tools were limited. Now with the tractor back at my shop, I'm thinking of an easier type setup using rolling jacks and stands. I have plenty or hardwood cribbing as I salvage shipping skids implements are bolted to when they come in which is quite often.

 

[Nige]

Reference your above we would drop the belly guards before jacking the machine up and cribbing it. More as a result of our permitted work practices than anything else.

 

[1693TA]

Thanks, I discovered that with limited working room as skyking noted. Had the machine up and cribbed, then discovered how heavy those guards were being full of fuel oil and mud about four inches deep, (averaged). I had to drop the back of the tractor back down removing cribbing to allow a smaller floor jack with a wide saddle to roll underneath. I then reblocked the tractor back up and used the floor jack to support the weight, and drop the belly pans down. They weighed about 1/3 once cleaned up, but were still to heavy to manhandle by oneself without use of a jack.

 

[Nige]

Try a come-along or chain block anchored to the hood on one side then with a sling under the machine to the track on the opposite side of the tractor and then lower it that way. Apart from removing the bolts nobody has to go under the machine.

 

[1693TA]

I often run my dozer up on 8x8 wood blocks in the shop to get better clearance when dropping the belly pans or doing service work underneath. If I need the tracks off the ground I use a large bottle jack and heavy stands to get the rear of the machine up, then use the blade down pressure to lift the front, then add cribbing or stands as needed.

Is this a common practice when doing routine type maintenance tasks, or only major repair types? Reason I ask is I see a lot of equipment and it's just caked in grease and dirt which would be best removed if easily done. An elevated machine where panels can be removed for access would seemingly make this task less miserable and a better job performed. I can see this need for wheeled equipment also to a degree.

 

[MG84]

Is this a common practice when doing routine type maintenance tasks, or only major repair types? Reason I ask is I see a lot of equipment and it's just caked in grease and dirt which would be best removed if easily done. An elevated machine where panels can be removed for access would seemingly make this task less miserable and a better job performed. I can see this need for wheeled equipment also to a degree.

On the dozer I change the oil every 200hrs along with other service, so I pull it up on the blocks, drop all the belly pans and wash everything out. Keeps every thing clean and easy to work on, and reduces the risk of a fire when I’m pushing up burn piles. I do the same on my skid steer and CTL.

 

[OzDozer]

I used to use a small, engine-driven, 2" centrifugal firefighting pump along with a 200 gallon tank of water containing a couple of handfuls of laundry detergent, to wash tractors down.

Washing out radiators and keeping cooling systems clean and full of quality coolant, is certainly an area where neglect normally runs rampant.

Never bothered cribbing my tractors up, just used to drive them up onto wooden blocks or sleepers (railroad ties) to lift them a little, to allow the dirt and trash to fall away.

Personally speaking, I can't see where there would be much of a business proposition to offer a washdown service using cribbing - but perhaps the situation is different in your local area.

Cribbing takes up room, whereas a machinery stand takes up little room, and allows better access.

 

[1693TA]

My line of thinking mirrors yours. I have several ties from a former rail line I've used in the past but they are nearing end of their service life as getting "soft".

I have a disused outdoor wash bay that is 26' deep and currently 12' wide but could be expanded easy enough. When in business it was used a lot in the warmer months and on the other side of the wall is the interior wash bay for the colder months which doubled as the detail shop. Not in the car business any longer so looking to repurpose these spaces.

 

[Welder Dave]

I know a guy who owned a custom trailer shop. A customer wanted an easier way to wash under trucks. He designed a hoist that pivoted to raise the front of trucks up quite high so it was easy to clean the underside. He used air bags from a semi to do the lifting. Could you make 2 seperate platforms for each track with ramps to get on top of them. They would be just high enough to fit air bags. Once on top you inflate the air bags (1 or 2 at each end depending how much weight you want to lift) to lift the machine higher. Drop neck trailers use air bags a similar way. Could incorporate safety pins or something so they couldn't fall when the air was shut off.

 

[1693TA]

I've had fleeting thoughts on this for a long time really. I have four 4" bore hydraulic cylinders that stroke 9'8" with a 3.5" rod I salvaged from container unloaders several years ago. Just last year I put 2000psi against all four and they work well. I've thought of emulating a four post semi truck lift with these raising 60" to 72" using vertical standing 3/8" wall square tubing with sidewall reliefs and necessary gusseting to offer the needed strength. 10" beams spanning 10' to the outer post legs would lift/carry 20 tons with 1500psi applied pressure according to rough calculations with an acceptable safety factor. This is actually thicker/heavier material than a factory built four post semi truck lift I would somewhat emulate. Crazy? Sure. Can I build a business case out of it? I don't know but everything starts with an idea; some "crackpot", some feasible and fitting a need. More research is needed of course but being able to do a lot of this engineering myself does not tie up a lot of $$$ to bring to fruition.

This is a snip I've grabbed from an online vendor, but it shows basically what could be done with runways on the cross beams which could be removed and replaced with centered "jacking beams" to lift a machine clear of the floor with cribbing. This of course would not leave a clear span under anything but that could probably be worked with. Most manufacturers use a cable and sheave type system to lift the opposing saddle supporting the cross beam and if I did similar, a six column lift could be utilized.

Just free floating ideas at this point and it may not go anyplace at all. Right now floor, and bottle jacks work pretty well for what I'm doing by myself but if I enlist future help in the shop before my final "curtain call", I'll want to make it easier for all.

 

[1693TA]

Starts with these:

 

[Willie B]

I have a grease pit for belly work.
For rear work take ramps off a trailer.
Track, undercarriage work you need wooden cribbing. My crawler isn't real heavy (14600 LBS) so whatever you have. A very heavy tractor I'd use 6x6 timbers laid up log cabin style.

 

[1693TA]

My downdraft spray paint room is set up like a shallow grease pit. 30" deep and 24" wide covered with crossbar grating. There are restricting baffles under the blanket filter media and grating to ensure even airflow through the trench.

I have thought about that pit idea also with buried heavy angle in the transition of the concrete edges to support rolling bridges to use as jacking beams. My cribbing is mostly 4X4X18, and 4X6X18 and I do step the "lifts" or as you state "log cabin" style for support elevation. It's about the longest clean pieces I can get from the source. The rest have counterbored bolt recesses, or mortise joints through them.

Ultimately this may be the most cost effective arena to evaluate further. Only a pad and block work would be required and the proper zoning is already in place. As long as I don't erect a permanent structure over the top, the taxes won't increase either.

 

[OzDozer]

If you can acquire reasonably cheap heavy steel sections, a tilting ramp is another option. But you wouldn't be able to spin the tracks freely in that option.

Here's a light vehicle duty version, you'd need to build a heavier model of course, for tractors.

 

[OzDozer]

We use portable wash pads here a lot in heavy construction and mining. They have the advantage of being environmentally friendly, and the contaminants and weed seeds don't get spread around.

They have removable grating above a containment bund so the dirt and grease and mud washed off can be removed and disposed off in an approved manner.
I see where you have them in the U.S., and Canada, too. However, they're an expensive setup, unless you can pick one up used from an auction.

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[Welder Dave]

A portable wash pad doesn't make it any easier to clean underneath. It might make it harder.