An Affordable, Versatile DIY Tool: The Track Pin Driver With Vibration Dampening

An Affordable, Versatile DIY Tool: The Track Pin Driver With Vibration Dampening

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Updated On February 08, 2025

An Affordable, Versatile DIY Tool: The Track Pin Driver With Vibration Dampening

We’ll discuss the design of a custom track pin driver, which resulted from years of experience pushing out pins on heavy equipment track links.

Keith, a seasoned heavy equipment mechanic, came up with the idea after trying other track pin drivers, which, although not bad, have design flaws.

Keith’s DIY track pin driver is affordable, practical, customizable, and versatile.

Let’s look into how to craft the tool, its advantages over other designs, and the way we recommend storing it in your service truck or garage.

You can also watch the video version of this article on the Tekamo HD YouTube channel.

Items You’ll Need

You can get everything from the list at a hardware store:

  • A 5 feet steel pipe.
  • Four male JIC plugs.*
  • Four female JIC straight fittings with shells.*
  • A piece of hydraulic hose (between 5 and 8 inches).
  • A piece of steel drill rod of approximately 12 inches or your desired length.
  • Steel caps.

Make sure the size of the hose, JIC fittings, and plugs match.

Crafting the Tool

Weld the nut of a male JIC plug to each end of the steel pipe, so it doesn’t matter which side is stored and which side you pull out when assembling.

Cut the hydraulic hose to your desired length. Set up the female JIC fittings and crimp the shells.

Weld (all around) a male JIC plug nut at 1/3 from the steel drill rod’s end. You can weld a cap to the end near the JIC plug for small drill rods, increasing the area to make it easier for the sledgehammer to hit it. Weld JIC plugs to the other drill rods using the same proportion (1/3 from the rod’s end).

For compact-frame machines, such as a Komatsu PC60, Kubota KX057, or Bobcat E60, you can taper down the end of the drill rod to reach the pin more easily.

The last step is to thread and tighten the drill rod to the pipe.

No time for DIY tools? No problem. At Fortis, we have the highest quality heavy equipment tools in the industry, rigorously tested by our mechanics on the field.

The Pros and Cons of This Custom Track Pin Driver

Unlike a hydraulic pin press, you won’t spend $1,500 – $2,500 to build this track pin driver.

To set up the tool, just thread the required drill rod. A hydraulic pin press takes quite some time to install on the track and requires straps to keep it in the air.

Swapping the drill rods allows you to use it on most steel track sizes, and if you or your apprentice happen to hit and break the hose, you can just pop it off and put another one.

The hose dampens vibration, so the guy hanging on to it doesn’t feel it. You can play with the hose length to further customize the track pin driver.

The longer the hose you use, the less vibration, but the tool is more flexible and hard to wield. The shorter the hose, the more vibration, but it’s easier to wield.

In addition, this track pin driver is collapsible and easy to store.

What are the only “cons” to this tool? First, the drill rods will eventually mushroom and start to get chunks that’ll break off. So we highly recommend using safety glasses or a shield mask while wielding this track pin driver.

Second, for every 15 to 20 hits, you’ll have to retighten the drill rod and handle.

Storing the Track Pin Driver

To store the track pin driver, we built a sort of “torpedo rack” on one of the sides of a service truck.

The rack consists of steel or PVC pipes with a diameter larger than the handle and the drill rods. Fix the pipes to a garage wall or the side of your service truck at a downward angle and cap the ends off.

The cap will stop the handle so it doesn’t slide through, and so will the JIC plugs on the drill rods.

Keith recommends storing the handle without the hose and loosely threading it on the drill rod.

Your track pin driver won’t get in the way while you store other stuff, but it will always be there when needed.

Last Thoughts

The custom track pin driver is an affordable, practical, customizable, and versatile way to push out steel track pins on compact to medium-sized equipment, whether the pins are tapered, T-style, or press fit.

To see the track pin driver in action, check the following videos: Keith swapping the steel tracks on a John Deere 135G for a set with rubber pads and another replacing a worn front idler on a Komatsu PC200.

Need to drive pins and don’t have room to swing a sledgehammer? The Mueller Kueps Air Hammer will steadily drive them out with its 6.2 bar of force at an impressive 2,500 BPM.Visit the Fortis HD tool section to purchase yours today.