Rubber track 542A one sprocket locking up in reverse

[Cdigioia5]

1969 542A Tucker, brought home from shop today after having clutch work, new seals and full chassis bearings grease ect. Went to unload off trailer and rear passenger side sprocket locks up at about half a turn, driver rear sprocket moving fine. Only happening in reverse gear, travels fine forward. Father thinks possible issue with clutch pack in rear end has 8 3/4 dodge. Any other thoughts before I pull rear end cover off and lose my new seals and Amsoil?
Thank You,
Cynthia

 

[Mill666er]

I had a similar issue last year that was caused by a overlapped splice in the belt causing the grouser to catch the UHMW glide. It made a ticking noise for awhile until the belt tension changed and it locked up hard. Mine worked fine in reverse but would intermittently lock the track until it tore the UHMW right off of the carrier.

Is this the same side with the badly worn sprockets? Does it have 1 continuous piece of UHMW glide going over the drum between sprockets or is it 2 short pieces with a gap that would allow a grouser to get hung up.

 

[redsqwrl]

Plus one for mill666 diagnosis.

 

[Blackfoot Tucker]

I know this isn't what you asked, but as a friendly suggestion I'm concerned about your method of securing your Tucker to the trailer.

You've attached your strap and chain to the rear frame above the fifth wheel plate. That means it's tied down above the suspension. As you drive along and go over bumps in the road the Tucker springs will flex. When they do that in a down movement the tie downs will be loose, but when the suspension rebounds up, the movement will be abruptly stopped and that puts undue stress on the machine.

A better way of securing a vehicle is to run the straps to the axle housings by the springs and then criss-cross them, forming an X. The suspension can move freely, and the whole time the vehicle is tightly secured without putting additional stress on it.

Just a thought...

 

[Track Addict]

Look at the carrier wear also. As those carriers which are offset the bottom tilts out actually hitting the sprocket. You should see shiny metal or worn off paint if it was as bad as mine right above that middle idler wheel.

Could be hanging up there?

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

might also want to look at wheel bearings to doubtful its in the differential more likely its a warn bearing or carrier issue you might also look at grouser timing some one might have drilled a few holes wrong.

 

[Cdigioia5]

I had a similar issue last year that was caused by a overlapped splice in the belt causing the grouser to catch the UHMW glide. It made a ticking noise for awhile until the belt tension changed and it locked up hard. Mine worked fine in reverse but would intermittently lock the track until it tore the UHMW right off of the carrier.

Is this the same side with the badly worn sprockets? Does it have 1 continuous piece of UHMW glide going over the drum between sprockets or is it 2 short pieces with a gap that would allow a grouser to get hung up.

Yessssss after moving cat into our shop this evening and inspecting the UHMW glide is snapped off... all one piece on other 3 tracks, there are two repairs that had been done to the belts that may have caused it to tie up and snap. THANK YOU. We will be tearing down both the front drivers side track with the badly warn sprockets and the rear passenger side to replace the UHMW glide. I hope Tucker has those in stock too. (Maybe they will take a horse or a kid for trade) Also checking all bearings ect when torn down. Again Thank You this forum has been very helpful.

 

[Mill666er]

Try professional plastics, there is a warehouse in Sacramento. It is 1” thick 3” by what ever length for your carriers. I think my 72” long pieces were $75 each.

 

[Cdigioia5]

Thank You, my husband corrected tie downs when he arrived home that day. He is a 28 year heavy equipment operator and commended me on my efforts to force a trip to the cabin by loading it myself.... I can tie a good slip knot though for horses learning the ins and outs of the cat as I go...

 

[tatman]

My Tucker has tie down loops on the axle housings and if I cross chain it to the trailer with these hooks I get a rebound, from the springs of the Tucker, when the trailer hits a bump. Its so bad that it will knock your head off the back window of the truck. When we headed out to McCall last year we made it 20 miles and I was ready to turn back. It was beating the crap out of us. So I moved the chains to the frame above the springs and that fixed the issue. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Blackfoot Tucker]

My Tucker has tie down loops on the axle housings and if I cross chain it to the trailer with these hooks I get a rebound, from the springs of the Tucker, when the trailer hits a bump. Its so bad that it will knock your head off the back window of the truck. When we headed out to McCall last year we made it 20 miles and I was ready to turn back. It was beating the crap out of us. So I moved the chains to the frame above the springs and that fixed the issue. Just my 2 cents.

Interesting. I have no idea why you had the problems you did. "My" technique comes from both my snowcat buddy and a mutual friend who has done heavy-haul trucking for many years. By heavy-haul I mean oversize and/or overweight loads - typically moving huge construction equipment.

Both of them are really good at securing loads to trailers. At first I'd "help" and they'd basically look at what I had done, shake their head(s) and completely re do it. Then for a while I'd just watch the pros do it and file away their techniques for future use. Now when I try and help they'll look at my work and sort of begrudgingly nod their heads that it's okay-maybe. (If they ever say "nice job" I'll probably have a heart attack!)

A few years ago I trailered a car to a fellow who does world-class muscle car restorations. I used the same technique of attaching the (in this case) axle straps to suspension components below the springs and using the ratchet strap binders in the X pattern. When I got to his shop he complimented me on my tie down technique and told me a story of another client who had similarly trailered a muscle car to him for restoration. That guy had attached his tie downs above the suspension and just as I suggested in my response to the OP, as the car's suspension flexed during the trip, the tie downs restricted the suspension's up travel abruptly. In this case though it damaged the car a fair bit.

 

[Cdigioia5]

Try professional plastics, there is a warehouse in Sacramento. It is 1” thick 3” by what ever length for your carriers. I think my 72” long pieces were $75 each.

Thank you, called today and placed order. Made sure to order extra to always have a spare. Also spoke to Tucker today and they have a full service shop even for the older Tuckers, so will be able to haul her up there for any future service work since we are so close.