Adjusting Drive Chains on Ford CL 30

[Don Shilling]

This loader uses two chains, one for the front wheel and one for the rear wheel. The repair manual says to adjust the drive motor until the chain has 1/2" deflection. It doesn't say which chain. On my unit, if one chain has the proper deflection the other chain is more loose. Am I missing something here or do I need to just replace the chains with new ones?

 

[Don Shilling]

Today, I found the reason for the discrepancy in the tension of chain adjustment on my machine. At one time, some numnuts installed a #60 chain instead of 60h on each side along with the 60h chains. I laid out both chains from the left wheels, side by side and noticed a definite creeping out of phase/pitch of the two chains. This different phasing causes each wheel to travel at different rotational speeds. This was the case on both sides of the machine and probably contributed to an occasional "Galloping Gerdy" occasion. Other dufus repairs included using rebar tie wire instead of cotter keys on the axle nuts, and spacing a too long of a bolt with a large square nut under the head. Also I have two different size wheel lug nuts.

 

[Tazza]

Today, I found the reason for the discrepancy in the tension of chain adjustment on my machine. At one time, some numnuts installed a #60 chain instead of 60h on each side along with the 60h chains. I laid out both chains from the left wheels, side by side and noticed a definite creeping out of phase/pitch of the two chains. This different phasing causes each wheel to travel at different rotational speeds. This was the case on both sides of the machine and probably contributed to an occasional "Galloping Gerdy" occasion. Other dufus repairs included using rebar tie wire instead of cotter keys on the axle nuts, and spacing a too long of a bolt with a large square nut under the head. Also I have two different size wheel lug nuts.

I never knew there was a pitch difference between the two. I thought one was rated for heavier duty than the other, good to know though.
The sprockets are still ok after the slightly different pitch/wear?

 

[Don Shilling]

I never knew there was a pitch difference between the two. I thought one was rated for heavier duty than the other, good to know though.
The sprockets are still ok after the slightly different pitch/wear?

I don't know, maybe there is a metric version of the #60h chain. The one chain doesn't look to be stretched but it is definitely on a longer pitch than its companion. This chain was running looser and the sprockets do not show any undue wear. On another note, this machine has a parking brake on it whereas the other one does not even have provisions for one. Was there a certain year when Ford started installing park brakes on their CL 30/40 machines?

 

[skidsteer.ca]

I don't know, maybe there is a metric version of the #60h chain. The one chain doesn't look to be stretched but it is definitely on a longer pitch than its companion. This chain was running looser and the sprockets do not show any undue wear. On another note, this machine has a parking brake on it whereas the other one does not even have provisions for one. Was there a certain year when Ford started installing park brakes on their CL 30/40 machines?

The std 60 chain on he 60h sprockets would perhaps not let them seat fully into the sprocket resulting in the chain running a larger diameter on the sprocket???

 

[Don Shilling]

The std 60 chain on he 60h sprockets would perhaps not let them seat fully into the sprocket resulting in the chain running a larger diameter on the sprocket???

I'm just now learning a lot of this myself but my research has revealed that the "h" designation refers to the extra thickness of the side plates on each link. This will, of course, resist the tendency to stretch during operation. The "60" indicates a 6/8 or 3/4" pitch of the links. The parts book lists the chains as 60h x 93. The 93 being the number of links in the chain assembly. I'm going to look closer at the chains for any identifying info.