Clean up the grease valve and the end of the grease gun to prevent dust or dirt from entering the system.
Make sure to align the valve properly and thread it by hand. If the valve stops right away, it means you are cross threaded. Don’t cross thread the valve, or you’ll damage the track adjuster. Finish fastening the valve with the 19mm wrench.
Time to pump grease into the nipple.
Depending on your equipment, the location of the grease valve varies. Sometimes, it’s in an access hole on the front roller guard, other times at the back of the undercarriage. The variation even affects the type of adjuster. While most are hydraulic, some Cat skid steers have mechanical adjusters.
Initially, we pulled in the front idler to loose the track. Now, we’ll push it out by pumping grease into the adjuster. Pump grease until there’s no more slack on the bottom and the top doesn’t have much sag. Refer to the manufacturer’s specifications for the recommended tightness and the top and bottom sag measurements.
If the grease leaks out between the grease valve and the gun, then the end of your gun is worn out, the grease nipple has had damage, or both.
Tell the operator to travel the track forward or backward for 30 seconds and recheck the tension.
Finish by putting back the cover plate of the grease valve access hole and lowering the machine.