Volvo ECR88D Vibration

[wfpben]

Evening everyone, first post so go steady on me. I purchased a 2014 ECR88D rubber track last year with 3000 hours on the clock for general ditching work on the farm. I like the machine mostly but its just so rough when tracking. Windows fall out and the alternator fell off. The tracks are fairly good and the idlers all seem sound, track tension is as suggested in op manual but its so awful when moving it around. Anybody have any suggestions on what I could check ot is this just what they are like. I also have an old CAT 307B and its lovely and smooth compared to the volvo.

[Muz]

Welcome wfpben .. I assume its not start/stop roughness you are talking about. The CAT was indeed a very smooth machine for travelling, I noticed this myself. What affects this are bottom roller spacings and track pitch. I assume all the rollers are ok, and none are worn out ? . I also owned an ECR 88 and hated it .. the balance was all wrong with its massive heavy boom and incorrect counter balance, in fact I had one of the first ones and was responsible for a world wide mod to the undercarriage because the front idler held the track an inch off the ground when it was delivered to me and I sent it back to Volvo as unacceptable.. unbelievable stuff really ? If the rollers are ok the only thing that will improve it is fitting it with short pitch tracks I'm afraid, and travel with the boom retracted so it doesn't make the machine nod too much, and not on high speed travel either .. getting from A to B on a digger was never meant to be rapid ! and just does the machine in

[wfpben]

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I've gone from the best to the worst. Agree regarding balance and weight. I seem to spend a lot of time dragging my self along as the machine has sunk where as the cat floated along. Any more info on which short pitch tracks would be best to fit when I change them?

[Muz]

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I've gone from the best to the worst. Agree regarding balance and weight. I seem to spend a lot of time dragging my self along as the machine has sunk where as the cat floated along. Any more info on which short pitch tracks would be best to fit when I change them?

Well .. I hate to say it but it might already have them fitted, or, there may not be a track available any shorter than what you are running , you'd need to get a size off them so we can check, basically it means double the number of links in the track, so instead of 450x76x36 the last number would read 72. The numbers will be stamped onto the track on the inside surface near an edge. They relate to width, pitch, and number of links.

Is the cat on steels or rubbers ? the one I tried was on steels and I was really impressed how smooth it was compared to anything else I was running at the time. My 88 just 'ate' rubber tracks it was very hard on them, they later modified them with extra counterweights on them, as it couldn't lift a bucket of type one at full reach across the tracks without couping over I think it was the fact that it bent and stressed the rubbers so much with the poor weight distrubution that caused the problems

[wfpben]

Thanks for all the info. I'll look at the tracks tommorow. CAT is on rubber and is a 2001 machine but is rock solid. Been a brilliant machine. Overall a bit disappointed with the volvo. 90% of the work I do is ditching so its ok for that. I guess I should have done a bit more research before buying.