Extending Undercarriage Life: Shoe Size Matters

Published on May 16, 2017
Shoe size affects wear – always use the narrowest shoe possible.

Narrow shoes will provide adequate flotation for your application. Proper floatation helps to reduce wear by keeping track from being submerged in material, but using wider shoes than required by your application can lead to:

Increased bushing and sprocket wear

Turning resistance, loads, and weight increase with wider shoes, especially in rough underfoot conditions. This added stress causes faster wear rates for bushings and sprockets.

Increased link, track roller, idler tread, and flange wear

Using shoes that are too wide increases the interference between these surfaces, causing them to wear faster.

Loosening of pins, bushings, and shoe hardware

Leverage forces increase with wider shoes. In high impact or especially rough terrain, greater leverage forces may lead to premature loosening of bolted and pressed-fit components.

Reduction of track joint life

Bending forces are exaggerated when using wide shoes in high impact applications, causing pressed track joints to “open up.” This may lead to loss of lubricant, internal wear, and replacement or reconditioning of track joints sooner than expected.

Shoe breakage

Severe turning resistance in extreme conditions and bending forces may cause wide shoes to break.

Not sure what the best show width is for your underfoot conditions? An experienced product support sales representative can help at 1.800.937.2326.