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 Common causes of thrown tracks....

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Jarlath
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Jarlath

Posts : 2434
Join date : 2016-06-01
Age : 51
Location : Kitchener, ON

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PostSubject: Common causes of thrown tracks....   Common causes of thrown tracks.... Icon_minitimeThu Jan 14, 2021 11:13 am

So a small little placement for the known issues that cause tanks to throw tracks on a recurring basis.
This is in no particular order and has more to do with the tank setup itself versus external factors (aka rocks in the tracks).

Idler is loose/cock-eyed
The number one tank related issue. Especially with plastic hull tanks which run heavier tracks. When the idler is loose on a tank it tends to bend towards the centre of the tank while under the strain of track pulling. As the track travels, the guide horns are now not in line with the idler wheel edge and can "ride up" due to friction/biting of the horn into the idler edge. This riding can cause the track to lift out of the idler and outwards causing a track to be thrown (Or if unlucky, snap).

Drive Sprocket is loose/cock-eyed
Usually not as common as the idler version, but, not all gearboxes are made equal, and some are not mounted very securely (Or have the mounting holes so worn that a squared up motor/gearbox is not possible). When these ride up, the sprocket horns cause the tracks to come off relatively quick.

Drive line misalignment
This is talking about the running wheels/sprockets/and idlers being in line. If any one is significantly out, it will cause guide horns to ride up on the sprocket/idler/wheels. Pretty hard to do unless you are mix and matching from brands. (aka Mato vs HL vs Tamiya). HL lowers and plastic road wheels are notorious for not being in line, but angled due to the slop and flex in the suspension arms for the road wheels.

Hull flex
Usually not an issue with tanks who have screwed together upper/lowers, or a metal reinforced hull. But hull flex causes any/all of the above depending on where and how severe the flex occurs.

Track Tension
Not an issue with tanks with adjustable idlers (which usually are re-enforced to prevent misalignment) but with older tanks where the only tension adjustment is the road wheel suspension springs and adding/subtracting a track link. To loose and the tracks will usually ride up and out when under a side load (turning). Too tight and you get idlers being stressed to be cock-eyed.

Wrong track matchup
Ever put Mato Metal tracks on a HL lower? The drive sprocket teeth do not mesh. Automatic ride up of the tracks. Make sure your tracks work for your sprockets/idlers/roadwheels.

Damaged track components
Bent track guides can catch on sprockets/idlers/roadwheels. Bent track pins can open up the distance between tracks to cause issues with sprocket meshing. Track pins working their way loose can cause tracks to separate on one side.
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Jarlath
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Jarlath

Posts : 2434
Join date : 2016-06-01
Age : 51
Location : Kitchener, ON

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PostSubject: Re: Common causes of thrown tracks....   Common causes of thrown tracks.... Icon_minitimeThu Jan 14, 2021 11:22 am

This is not to say go a throw out your HL all plastic T-34, or King Tiger because the idlers will bend at some point in the future. When it fails/breaks, fix/replace it.

Example#1 is my eldest son's HL King Tiger, which after two years of battling, the idlers are starting to wear and bend inwards causing it to throw tracks occasionally.
The all plastic tank with plastic clutch gearboxes is otherwise in perfect shape. Solution? Buy an aftermarket idler tensioning system to fix the idler issue.

Example #2 is my youngest son's Jagdpanther an plastic HL with metal tracks, idler and sprockets. It's thrown tracks in under 3 months due to the added track masses bending the factory plastic idler mount. Solution? Taigen metal hull lower with tension adjusters.

Example #3 is one of my acquisitions, a HL M41 Bulldog, whose motor mounts were loose and the screw mounts non-existent due to damage. Loose gearbox = loose sprocket = thrown track. Soltuion? Resin the mounting area and through bolt the gearboxes into the hull. (Idler mounts are still cracked, but you see where I am going...
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Jarlath
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Jarlath

Posts : 2434
Join date : 2016-06-01
Age : 51
Location : Kitchener, ON

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PostSubject: Re: Common causes of thrown tracks....   Common causes of thrown tracks.... Icon_minitimeFri Jan 15, 2021 8:47 am

Some aftermarket solutions:

  • Gearbox External Bearing units - These help prevent gearbox/sprockets from being cockeyed due to track tension/loose gearboxes (Does not help misalignment).
  • Aftermarket Track Tensioners - Help with proper track tension and usually have a full bar between them to reduce the idlers from becoming cockeyed under track tension.
  • Metal Suspension Arms - May or may not assist with reducing misalignment. When combined with metal/bearing road wheels, there should be none in the arm/road wheel connection. Misalignment will depend on the chassis connection/flex.
  • Road Wheels with Bearings - As with suspension arms, may or may not reduce misalignment. Road wheel friction is important for SOME control boards that reduce voltage to a drive motor when turning (Not super spin which is voltage application in opposite directions). Loss of friction can make turning much slower than expected.
  • Torsion Bar Lower - One of the best and most expensive solutions. Usually contain metal suspension arms, a metal reinforced hull, and track tensioners. Expensive because for the most part if replacing a HL plastic lower you will need to purchase new road wheels and likely idlers in addition to the lower hull itself. Some tanks do not have this option available (Sherman, Panzer IV, T-34, etc...)
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knispel
Retired
knispel

Posts : 1318
Join date : 2012-07-01
Age : 72
Location : North of Kitchener

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PostSubject: Re: Common causes of thrown tracks....   Common causes of thrown tracks.... Icon_minitimeMon Feb 08, 2021 1:31 pm

Hip Replacement
At our last KW battle day Norma was disappointed at how often her KT lost tracks. Big Mike flipped it over, took one look and pointed out the obvious. The tracks were out of parallel by at least 12mm.
This HL KT is now 6 years old and has had a number of repairs and upgrades including metal road wheels, sprockets, suspension arms, and tracks. I also installed a set of serrated track adjusters that are pressed into the plastic hull.
These had torn out, most likely because of the stresses exerted by the metal tracks.
The repair;
I re-enforced the back hull with a section of brass sheeting. Then used the more ridged track adjuster, which included an adjustable threaded rod to join and  secure both sides.
The heavy metal tracks were replaced with plastic tracks and adjusted accordingly.
Local field trials showed the repair to work satisfactorily.
Due to the age this will likely be the last repair on this old Tiger until a major overhaul.
( Its true, a metal lower hull would have worked but where is the challenge in that? )


Common causes of thrown tracks.... Tank_r12
Common causes of thrown tracks.... Tank_r11
Common causes of thrown tracks.... Tank_r10





Common causes of thrown tracks.... Tank_r16Common causes of thrown tracks.... Tank_r15

Side note: I found storing my tanks on a section of 2x4 helps reduce the suspension compression.
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Jarlath
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Jarlath

Posts : 2434
Join date : 2016-06-01
Age : 51
Location : Kitchener, ON

Common causes of thrown tracks.... Empty
PostSubject: Re: Common causes of thrown tracks....   Common causes of thrown tracks.... Icon_minitimeMon Feb 08, 2021 6:33 pm

LOL. And here we were hoping that KT would retire from battle completely! Smile

Yeah I've "made" a couple of those suspension relief blocks myself...
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PostSubject: Re: Common causes of thrown tracks....   Common causes of thrown tracks.... Icon_minitime

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