Track pin wear.

[Adrian Harris]

I've spent the afternoon dismantling the tracks for the first time, prior to installing nylock nuts in place of the current ones.

I'm quite surprised by the wear on the track pins (pictures in my gallery). I would have thought that contact between a plated pin and an aluminium track pad would result in wear on the pad, not the pin.

I've tried cleaning the bent pin with a brillo pad and although this does remove most of the roughness, it it still possible to feel the wear with a fingertip and the discolouration remains. I'm not sure whether this is also further weakening/eroding the plating.

When rebuilding the tracks, I had intended to place the old nut under the spring clip, as has been discussed here before. However, most of the links came apart because I was using a hex ball driver on the cap-head. If the nut is added under the spring clip, does this not mean when undoing the tracks in future, I will only have the nylock to work with ? At present, I can attack stubborn links from both ends but with the nut in the middle, this will no longer be possible.

Adrian.

[Allan Richards]

Adrian,

I'm not that surprised at the wear you are seeing, its surprising what a hostile environment these tracks are working in. My Tiger track pins are quite rusty and also show signs of wear. When I made the Tiger return rollers spring loaded I soon found out that there is considerable tension on the tracks, especially when turning on "sticky" ground. This translates to lots of side force on the pins and with a little grit in the system even plating is going to suffer.

As to the additional nut it will lock the socket screw in the spring clip. I invested in a small box spanner for the 2mm nuts when assembling the tracks which makes things much easier for putting them together and undoing them.

[David Ward]

Adrian

Allan is right, the extra nut makes life a lot easier when working on the tracks. You will find the cap head when filled with dryed mud is a pain to try and fit an Allen key into and with the extra nut you will not need to.

David

[Lucien Runge]

Adrian;

This is why I have been nitro-carburizing track pins for everyone. The nitrocarburizing process improves corrosion resistance, hardness and friction lubricity. An even greater increase is seen in low alloyed and unalloyed steels after Nitro-QPQ treatment. During post-oxidation, a thin FE3O4 layer is formed on the outer compound layer and, at the same time, the pores are sealed with oxide.It provides the protection you need for this kind of exposure.

The only other thing I can think of doing is having the pins made out of a high austenitic stainless steel to eliminate pitting and crevice corrosion due to the high molybdenum content in the steel. Just a couple of thoughts.

Lucien

[Adrian Harris]

Allan

The Sherman tracks are under much greater static tension (is that even a term ?) than the Tiger, which may accntuate the wear. Some of the pins had corroded such that they needed a drift to remove them from the track and as such, they rotated under the spring clip rather than within the track pad.

David

Thanks for the info on the fixings. I have found breaking the tracks down to be a pian because of the gunk in the cap-head. I'm debating as to whether it would be worth replacing them with SS bolts, so that there isn't a pocket in which corrosion can form.

Lucien.

What would it cost to nitro-carburize a complete set of 320 pins ?

Would this be a permanent fix for the corrosion or would they still deteriorate over time ?

Adrian.

[Allan Richards]

Adrian,

I sometimes have real trouble getting the pins out of the Tiger tracks as they have rusted and jammed in a link. I need to get some more spare pins as I damaged the ends of some hammering to remove them. I eventually found it helped alot to heat the track link with a blow torch. It doesn't need much heat, even to remove the most stubborn link. I've cross drilled the ends of the track pins and fitted split pins but these corrode in solid so I have to file off the ends of the pin then carefully "re-drill" the split pin hole. Now if the tracks get really muddy after a day out I remove them and hose them and the wheels down then dry the tracks and drop them in a bucket of diesel to soak. This has helped a lot keeping down the corrosion

[Roland Mann]

Hi Allen,

if however you continue to use original steel pins from Armortek,
may I point your attention to the "Sales and wanted" part in the forum.
There is my complete set of pins and clips still to be sold for a reasonable price. You may decid for a surface treatment on this new set of pins.
Just to give you an idea.

Regards Roland

[Graham Ord]

Hello everyone
Sooner or later I will be making the track pins for my Panzer IV. Is it beneficial to make the track pins from stainless steel and use stainless steel washers and split pins?? The drawings call for 3mm diameter mild steel ( non plated).

[Allan Richards]

Roland,

Thanks for the offer of the track pins, but I only want a few really. A complete set would be too many at present. If I ever consider replacing the tracks it would be with the new standard that Armortek make with the plated pins.

Graham,

I would certainly consider the stainless steel route if you are making from scratch. The only thing I would check first is how well the two metals mix in contact, in particular things like galvanic corrosion.

[Roland Mann]

Hi Allan,

thank you for checking. I understand your decision. Regarding your concerns of pairing stainless steel with aluminium you are correct.
There will be a electrolytic reaction between the two metals. It will result in a rough surface on the pins. This will have the effect of wear in the track link bores.

Graham, the way I went is titanium pins. For your Sherman the pins are of a simpler shape than the Tiger ones. It should be not that difficult to do a set on a lathe. The raw material is aviable from time to time at ebay. Thea are offered in various diameters as left pieces from a CNC machining process of medical nails for bones. This was my source when I done my pins. Hope this help to make your plans.

Best regards Roland

[Lucien Runge]

Adrian;

I ususally have to check with Burlington Engineering because their cost is based on the price of fuel at any one time because the parts are heating to 1100 degrees F. in a moten salt bath. So I get quotes when I know I have enough people interested in having their parts treated. I think last time I got the Tiger pins done....hmmmm... I think it was aroungd $65.00 US (Correct me if I'm wrong, guys). But the finish out performs any plating out there, bar none. I'm going to have more parts treated so I'll let you know... I'll call for parts in a little while.

Lucien