Bobcat 825 Drive Chain Question

[2003rubiblue]

I have recently purchased a 1980 Bobcat 825 and have been working on getting it in good working order with the help of you guys. I have heard a light tapping when traveling at full speed sometimes on the right side of the machine. When I had the chain case open last weekend I inspected the drive chains and the right one is a little looser than the left. The right one probably has 1'' of deflection, whereas the left one has a little less. What I found is if I try I can make the right chain just barely touch the top of the chain case which I believe is my tapping sound. There are no rub marks or any indications it is hitting besides the occasional tapping. I was looking at the chain adjuster on the right side and found that the top mounting bolt is stripped, I have not looked any further into it but I think someone may have overdone it with an impact gun. I may get away with just a new bolt but i don't know. I truly feel that the right chain is nowhere near failure, and I think it has been run in its current condition for years. I do not believe the play to be excessive but I am looking for opinions from more experienced folks. Because my real question is am I opening a new can of worms by even trying to adjust the right side. Is there a seal between the adjuster and the chain case, my manual does not show one, but I really don't want to be leaking out my 27 gallons of brand new oil. I also can figure out by looking at the manual of the two mounting bolts go into the adjuster only or into the cain case, this would be helpful since I am planning on taking out the stripped bolt and having a look at whats wrong there, and with my luck it will begin leaking as soon as I remove the bolt. I am a homeowner maintaining a small private road, snow removal, picking stuff up, etc, so this machine will probably do max 100hrs per year, if it helps your assessment. Thanks, Brian

 

[Tazza]

Sounds about rite to me too.
Some older machines use a metal guide for the chains, the slapping is what you hear as the chain goes over the guide and smacks down on it. If it doesn't touch the bottom or top of the chain case, it's not too worn.
As for the bolts, this is a common issue. There isn't a whole lot of meat there for the bolts to hold on to and they get stripped out. I try and get over sized bolts and cut new threads for the larger diameter.

 

[2003rubiblue]

Sounds about rite to me too.
Some older machines use a metal guide for the chains, the slapping is what you hear as the chain goes over the guide and smacks down on it. If it doesn't touch the bottom or top of the chain case, it's not too worn.
As for the bolts, this is a common issue. There isn't a whole lot of meat there for the bolts to hold on to and they get stripped out. I try and get over sized bolts and cut new threads for the larger diameter.

Taz, Kinda what I figured, I couldn't really see the chain guides too well, theres not a lot of room down there for my head, lol... I think i'm going to run it like it is for now, and maybe try to find a bolt and a tap one size larger once I see whats going on with the adjuster. Worst case scenario i'll try a large heli-coil, I've had really good luck with them in the past in situations like this. Thanks for the help, Brian