I'm planning on doing some work on my SK755 mini skid including replacing the tracks. I've heard some about roller bearings going out on the idler wheels that the tracks ride on. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this and whether they should be replaced preventatively. My machine has ~850 hrs on it. Thanks!
Ditch Witch Sk755 Roller Bearings
- Thread starter Evan_WI
- Start date
When you get the tracks off, spin each roller and listen for any crunchy sounds or roaring. If they spin smoothly and don't have excessive play, I'd keep running them. When they do start to go out it's a pretty quick fix. The tracks are easy to take on and off.
When you do go to replace, don't save the rollers and just replace bearings to save a buck. You'll have to remove the old bearings and press new ones onto the rollers. Plus those old rollers will not be perfectly round anymore which will wear more on your new bearings and not ride as smooth. You only save about $40-$50 a piece. You can buy the whole roller and bearing assembly already put together for only about $100 a piece. You take the one bolt out on the back side of the frame, knock the old assembly out with a hammer and punch. Tap the new one in and your done. Use a generous amount of penetrating lube before you start tapping the old out and then soak with lube before you tap the new one in. They fit tight and pepper rust locks them in.
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flyingsquirrel25
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- South East, PA
We went through the undercarriage of our 1050 today. We’ve been noticing a bit of slop in the rollers so we went after it. Had two outer bearings that we questioned but when we pulled them out they were fine. All of the main (6) rollers were loose and took a 1/6th turn on the castle nuts. We did not do the front or rear tracking rollers but those are for the next rain day (Friday). I would say we had a total of 2 hrs on the adjustments so far. For reference we have just over a thousand hours currently. Unless you are pounding your machine over curbs, through mud/water or other extreme conditions I would say check/grease them adjust as needed and move on.
Yeah Ditch Witch recommends checking that slop every 8 or 10 machine hours(can't remember but its in the manual) and pressing the bearing back tight with the castle nut as needed. I get several hours more than that before I need to tighten but I am on the gentle side with the machine. Ive noticed that they seem to seat a little better if you spin the roller a little as you tighten the nut.
And how about that 40 mm socket that you had to buy that has almost no practical use otherwise. Lol
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flyingsquirrel25
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- South East, PA
Every 8-10 is a bit excessive (especially considering I think their hour meters run fast). To adequately check the slop the rollers need to be off the ground and unless you have found a silver bullet that is a PIA. But I will say making sure they are adjusted properly will extend their useful life. It also give you the opportunity to check the grease as there is no way to add any other than tearing the machine down and manually repacking them.
A tip about your socket... try a 1 1/2” socket! It fits exactly (you aren’t putting an impact on it either) and that is the same size as all of the BMG bolts... and four or five other heavy equipment items we use.
Thanks for the info! How many hours did your machine have when yours needed to be replaced? I might just pickup a bearing assembly to have on hand in case one decides do go during the busy season.
I bought a gently used 850 with low hours. It shitted the right rear idler wheel bearing at about 1100 hrs. I'm not sure where yours is at but I can tell you that it will vary wildly depending on how it's been driven and what it's been driven over. I NEVER hop curbs without using a large truck tire. I clean the undercarriage every time it goes through the mud. I don't do tree work so if that's what you do, you can expect the most wear by far on your front idlers and the rollers right behind them if you've been handling logs and heavy debris piles.
If yours has been cared for you might get another couple hundred hours out them. No need to jump the gun buying parts.
Snug those castle nuts. If they are still sloppy when you back the castle nut off then your bearing is on its way out and you should replace.
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Yes it is excessive. And no I haven't found a magic bullet. I use the down pressure of the loader and a 2.5 ton floor jack in the rear. Admittedly, I usually don't bother with the floor jack. I should but those rear idlers take the least beating. Yes...PIA.
I have found a magic bullet on those damn dust caps though. A pair of locking C-clamp vise grips with regular tips. Those tips fit right into that little divet. Lock it down, jiggle it a little and pull. Cap doesn't fly off and get dirt in it. Stays clamped in the vise grips. You can do it with one hand.
As far as the socket goes, where I live there wasn't a parts house around that carried a socket that size so I had to order it. That was my point. I also don't have any other equipment that requires that socket and I do not own a BMG. I'm a one man show. I clean up debris here and there with a standard root grapple but I almost exclusively do nothing but residential/small scale commercial brush mowing. 36 in. Eterra Sidewinder Flail and a 44 in. CID Extreme Mini Rotary Cutter. Niche market.
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Bucknut
Carpal tunnel level member
TreelineNH
New member
- Location
- Southern, New Hampshire
My fronts were 900hrs, rears were 960. Deff replace front and rear together. I have just bought the whole hub assembly and replaced em, good to have a few on hand. They are a pain to remove because they rust in. I just bought two new machines. I’m going to take all the rollers off while they are new and neverseize the shafts so they are easy to replace when the fail.
Be sure to keep the radiator clean. Small leaks on my sk752 lead to more problems because oil was causing my rad to clog and machine to overheat causesing more seals to go. Learned a lot of what not to do with the first machine, hopefully my new ones last 4x as long!
Be sure to keep the radiator clean. Small leaks on my sk752 lead to more problems because oil was causing my rad to clog and machine to overheat causesing more seals to go. Learned a lot of what not to do with the first machine, hopefully my new ones last 4x as long!
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TreelineNH
New member
- Location
- Southern, New Hampshire
Yes, she gets passed around
My SK850 blew out a bearing on the right rear idler like that at 1100 hrs... literally just finished a job and was trying to load it on the trailer. My bearing shaft for the assembly was seized up like that as well. I sprayed penetrating oil on each side and let it sit a couple minutes. It didn't budge much at first but I tapped it back and forth a little on each end, the oil creeped in further and it popped right out
How was oil clogging your radiator?
Also....neon green Ditch Witches? I'm probably late but I didn't know they would do custom colors. Nice!
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TreelineNH
New member
- Location
- Southern, New Hampshire
I had a bad seal by the operator controls. Just saying when and if you get a leak, address it. Be sure to remove the radiator shield and get in there and wash the machine. I was getting a thin layer of oil and it would cause dirt to cling to radiator. Basically address oil leaks and wash the machine down weekly.
My problem was we are so dependent on the machine I couldn’t afford to take it completely out of service and get all the leaks squared away. Thus I bought two.
I did the bearings and tracks on my machine today. One of the rear bearings was a little sloppy so I decided to replace the front and rears (4 in total). As others said, they were super hard to get out. Lots of pounding! I wouldn't want to try to reuse that bearing shaft after all the abuse. Each bearing assembly was $130 from Ditch Witch. Removing, replacing both tracks and 4 bearings took me about 6 hours. Also did the throttle cable, which had been temporarily rigged since November, that was super tough!
