• Please be sure to read the rules and adhere to them. Some banned members have complained that they are not spammers. But they spammed us. Some even tried to redirect our members to other forums. Duh. Be smart. Read the rules and adhere to them and we will all get along just fine. Cheers. :beer: Link to the rules: https://www.forumsforums.com/threads/forum-rules-info.2974/

442 Refurbishment Project

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
It’s tough to figure out where to start. My buddy Dave had wanted a steel track Tucker since I’ve known him. There was one for sale in Colton, NY by our camp several years ago, but I just thought he was nuts. So many parts = so many problems. (And still may be!!) I told him he was out of his mind and I wasn’t jumping on his loony wagon!

Five years pass and my kids are now at an age (7 & 9) where they can enjoy the winter outside on their own. Another buddy of ours sends me a link for a 5 man 252 Ski-dozer that is being sold by a religious camp up in Maine. Now this gets my wheels turning thinking that it would be great to utilize our camp all thru the winter, not just one special weekend trip in February to X-C ski and snowshoe. All of a sudden I’m the one that is looking around for snow cats. I try to find info on the Ski-dozer (which is out of my price range anyway) and cross paths with this forum. I proceed to lurk for a year just reading and taking it all in.

Dave must have planted the Tucker seed in my head all of those years ago because I’m being drawn back to them over & over. And with Cook’s only a state over, help’s not too far away. Then it happens. Stu (Mtn-Track) decides to show details of his Tucker: ‘An Old Cat’s Tail’. :w00t2: Well that was the kick in the ass I needed to really start looking. In December 2010 I buy from Stu the last two brand new 400 series pontoons made. Since he switched to the 1500 series tracks, he didn’t need them. Now realize I don’t even own a sno-cat of any type at this point. I’m just going on the assumption that whatever I find will probably need help on at least two of the pontoons.

Forward to August 2011. I’ve been looking pretty hard for something in my price range that’s close. There is even a Tucker 442 in an old museum near me that I was working on acquiring, but the eccentric old coot will probably let the building collapse (literally) around it instead of selling it to be used again :hammer:(we’ll see what happens with that in the future). I just happened to check Craig’s List for Tuckers one hot sunny day. Now I’m already thinking that I’m going to have to retrieve something from several states away if something is listed. A 1967 442 pops up in Groveland, MA only about 30 miles from where I work for $3500. I call and set up a time to go look at it. It’s dirty and has some issues, but for the money it’s ok. The previous owner bought a group of 4 as a package deal from Pat’s Peak in NH; three 442’s and one 443. He has a camp in Maine twenty miles off the main trail corridor. His family and the other 10 families that have camps in the area wanted the local snowmobile club (of which they were all members) to groom just once a month out to their location. The club wouldn’t do it. They bought an Alpine, but kept having troubles with it. So the Tuckers were purchased. One was immediately designated the primary groomer (the one I bought) and all of the best parts from the others were put on this machine so they could groom with limited issues. The 443 also received a total restore and was run for a few years, before someone stole it off the trail after they had left for the weekend. It still hasn’t been found. The 442 worked for a couple more years then in 2009 was brought back to Mass to be replaced with a Tucker 1000. So, when I bought it, it hadn’t run in a couple of years. But it did drive onto the trailer under its own power. So I wasn’t too worried about the old flathead.
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0049.jpg
    DSC_0049.jpg
    130.8 KB · Views: 1,520

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Now, a 442 is nice, but you sure are limited for passengers. So this mild restoration (compared to Mtn-Track, Weatherby, dlmorindds, etc) will involve modifying the platform to a 443 while going thru everything top to bottom so I can hopefully get another 30 years out of it. But it’s going to take a while. The tough thing is having kids that are now 9 & 11 and all of the extracurricular activities they bring to the table that take precious time. And my ‘garage’ is full of wood, dirt bikes, etc., so there is no room to work on it after work at the house. Luckily, where I work has several maintenance bays that I can use. It’s just going to be a matter of finding free weekends to work on it and having everything in place to utilize the time!
The interior needing some TLC:
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0047.jpg
    DSC_0047.jpg
    79.9 KB · Views: 1,501

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
A LOT of trips up and down the mountain:
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0053.jpg
    DSC_0053.jpg
    63.2 KB · Views: 1,495

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Other stuff:
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0045.jpg
    DSC_0045.jpg
    78.2 KB · Views: 1,526
  • DSC_0048.jpg
    DSC_0048.jpg
    127.3 KB · Views: 1,520
  • DSC_0056.jpg
    DSC_0056.jpg
    101.5 KB · Views: 1,516

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I didn't even want to start it since it had been sitting for 2-3 years. So we hooked the pindal to a tree with a chain and just pulled it off of the trailer. I put in a new battery, pulled the plugs and added a touch of Marvel Mystery. I let that sit for a day, then came back and spun it over with the fuel line disconnected before the fuel pump. The fuel stunk to high heavens, so glad I didn't try to start it. It was free spinning and with no odd noises.:biggrin: Once the bad gas was out, I dumped in 2 gallons of acetone and sloshed it around a couple of times a day for 2 days. I drained that out, dumped in 5 fresh gallons w/ some Sea Foam added, and primed the fuel pump and carb. Hit the key and after about three seconds it fires up and goes into a rough idle (because of the mystery oil). She smokes for a few minutes, clears out, and then purrs like a kitten. I was psyched!:w00t2:
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just before Halloween we got 20 inches of heavy, wet snow. The only problem was that power was knocked out everywhere. By the time I got my yard cleared of trees and other stuff I had to take care of, it was three days later. But that wasn't going to deter me. I had never riden in a sno-cat, let alone driven one. And since this would be the only chance I got before tearing it down, two inches was going to have to do! I had to have some baseline at least to compare how it is now to what it ends up being. So around the parking lot I went.:yum:
 

Attachments

  • 1101111111.jpg
    1101111111.jpg
    76.7 KB · Views: 1,480

Mtn-Track

Member
Who? What? Blame ME will ya'!:hammer:

Oh well, at least the blame doesn't cost me any cash,,, at least not yet.....:ermm:

Go Tucker!!!:w00t2:
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
The only problem with tinkering on it at work is that I need to park it out back. And that is roughly 150 yards across a paved parking lot to get to the garage. So the Pontoons had to come off and wheels had to go on. I finally got a free Sunday where I could get the job done. Of course, because of Murphy and his Law, the first one I attempt to take off gives me the most trouble. Never having removed a pontoon before, I thought I had missed something. After cussing for half an hour and prying like crazy, I move to the next one to see if it's cleaner so I can find the issue. I remove all of the nuts, give a good yank and it slides right off.:glare: I go back to the first one and proceed to give it another good round of beatings and it finally gives up.:hammer: The last two slid just as easy as the second.
 

Attachments

  • 1112111510.jpg
    1112111510.jpg
    94.6 KB · Views: 1,463
  • 1112111510a.jpg
    1112111510a.jpg
    83.4 KB · Views: 1,437
  • 1112111325.jpg
    1112111325.jpg
    100.5 KB · Views: 1,470
  • 1112111111.jpg
    1112111111.jpg
    97 KB · Views: 1,465

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Apparently the right front inside grease nipple was too difficult to reach . . .
 

Attachments

  • 1112111334.jpg
    1112111334.jpg
    39.3 KB · Views: 1,424
  • 1112111335.jpg
    1112111335.jpg
    33.9 KB · Views: 1,414

Blackfoot Tucker

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Dave,

I'm looking forward to your build!

You "broke the code" on the wheels and tires thing. Much easier to move around and another (big) benefit is it allows much better under cat access.
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Anyone have any idea as to where he updates I made Friday went? Or the question on best one time grease when reassembling my steel tracks??
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
To reload Thursdays upload-

I started the disassembly of the first track. I'm already sick of cotterpins. Crap there's a lot of them. And some of the rollers are in dire need of attention (thank goodness I got some of Muley180's).

I'm sure the tracks originally came with some sort of lube from the factory, but that was probably gone after a thousand miles. And that was nine thousand ago! So, I wanted to get everything apart to clean and lube prior to putting them back on the cat. Also with all of that metal on metal action squeeking like crazy, being amplified by big steel drums, this should quiet down the machine quite a bit. So, after a trip thru the sandblaster, a coating of POR-15, and some grease I'll start putting it all back together.
 

Attachments

  • 1229110857.jpg
    1229110857.jpg
    56.9 KB · Views: 1,268
  • 1229110900.jpg
    1229110900.jpg
    34.6 KB · Views: 1,264
  • 1229110900a.jpg
    1229110900a.jpg
    40.8 KB · Views: 1,264

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Sorry for crappy cell phone pictures. All I had with me that day. What's the friction coeffecient of rust dust?
 

Attachments

  • 1229111141.jpg
    1229111141.jpg
    50.8 KB · Views: 1,250
  • 1229111142.jpg
    1229111142.jpg
    46.2 KB · Views: 1,227
  • 1229111141a.jpg
    1229111141a.jpg
    52.6 KB · Views: 1,241

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
A trip thru the blaster . . .
 

Attachments

  • 1229111530a.jpg
    1229111530a.jpg
    34 KB · Views: 1,223

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
A question I asked on Thursday that got deleted was inquiring about the best lube when putting this back together. Dirt won't be a factor (other than windblown sand & dust). I am looking for a lube that will last a long time because this is damn sure the last time it will be fully apart like this (at least by me).

So, if you posted up recommendations before, could you please do so again?

Thanks, David
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
champion road machinery made a circle lube for their graders went on like paint wore good also wont colect dirt volvo bought them out check with a local equipment dealer see what they have
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Since the database has been repaired . . .

. . . I guess I'll give an update.

Tracks.
I have worked myself into quite a conundrum. As you can see in the prior posts, I completely disassembled the tracks to check for issues and to reapply grease that has been missing for the past 40 years (I’m assuming the lube held for the first three years). There is no doubt that it needed to be done and should knock the noise WAY down.
Now that everything (from the first track) is sandblasted, cleaned, coated with POR-15 (more on this later) and rollers checked and completely greased, I’m to the step of reassembly. Now at first glance this may not seem like such a problem, right? ‘Just look at the other three tracks that are together and rebuild them the same way’. There’s only one teeny tiny problem. Every track cross bar and every connector link have worn together to work with the one it’s hooked to. Just like your feet and your favorite pair of slippers. Well the problem I’ve created is now I have no way of knowing where the matching ‘feet & slippers’ are. :smileywac One third of my connectors are worn, but the bar is flat, which means the outside to outside distance on the pins is 3 1/2 inches. One third have had the bars arched slightly to make the distance roughly 3 7/16th inches to compensate for wear and the last third are arched slightly more to measure around 3 3/8th inches. :hammer:
Now those 16ths may not sound like much, but depending on which way you mix them it could be like your kid wearing your shoes, or you trying to cram into ballerina slippers . And having it the wrong way will create excessive wear on parts that may as well be made out of unobtainium. All of the rollers need to be ‘wear corrected’ to 3.5” to hit the sprocket valleys perfectly each time.
 

Attachments

  • 0217122118.jpg
    0217122118.jpg
    47.6 KB · Views: 1,149
  • DSC_0307.JPG
    DSC_0307.JPG
    123.1 KB · Views: 1,142
  • DSC_0309.JPG
    DSC_0309.JPG
    140.6 KB · Views: 1,149
  • DSC_0311.JPG
    DSC_0311.JPG
    132.5 KB · Views: 1,146
  • DSC_0315.JPG
    DSC_0315.JPG
    136.8 KB · Views: 1,143

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
This is the root of the problem. On the left is one of my more worn connecting links, on the right is Muley180's I bought. The high spot just over half way down is where the roller goes that makes contact with the drive sprocket. I expected this area to have the most wear prior to disassembly, but just the opposite is the case. The roller only has heavy pressure when it is in contact with the sprocket each time around the pontoon. The rest of time it is just 'floating' on the pin. Not the case for the other areas of the pin. As this area wears, and the corresponding surface on the cross links, the metal at the top has to be arched up to compensate. This is luckily one of the worst ones to show as an example, but still shows the problem getting them back into close to the right location.
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0318.JPG
    DSC_0318.JPG
    113.3 KB · Views: 859

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I cleaned & greased all of the rollers while they were off. I bought 40 used ones from Muley180 and now I’m just hoping they will be enough. I burned thru 10 of them on this first track replacing four that were blown apart and 6 that had the bearings, but the dirt shield was worn /ripped off exposing them to the elements. They still roll, but can only realistically be used in an emergency. The third pic shows one just prior to failure with multiple cracks in the shell. I’m really amazed at how much grease I had to put into each of the others before it started showing.
 

Attachments

  • 0220120951.jpg
    0220120951.jpg
    71.2 KB · Views: 861
  • 0220120952.jpg
    0220120952.jpg
    58.4 KB · Views: 859
  • 0220121234.jpg
    0220121234.jpg
    36.4 KB · Views: 864
  • 0220121235.jpg
    0220121235.jpg
    59.5 KB · Views: 862

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
POR-15

Don’t know what to say about this stuff. I have to say I was very skeptical of the hype and worried about it being so expensive. No need to have worried. I won’t know for a while how it will hold up over the long term, but that stuff may as well be called metal dye, not paint. It goes on thin, covers in one coat, leaves almost no ‘thickness’ to speak of when it dries and is hard as the steel itself. I tried to scratch it (after only 12 hours dry time- supposedly it gets harder with time) off of a cleat with a screwdriver. Nothing but metal residue from the screwdriver left behind. Crazy, crazy stuff and worth the money. Just don’t get it on you!
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0307.JPG
    DSC_0307.JPG
    123.1 KB · Views: 856

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
No luck at all. Hoping that once the dirtbag feels everything has calmed down he will go looking for parts during the winter.
 

Mtn-Track

Member
Sorry your rig is still missing.
Maybe have someone place a Craigslist ad that's a hundred miles or so away that says they're parting out an old Tucker Sno-Cat and have pontoons and tracks to get rid of... cheap. Wait and see who comes calling(?). The asshat that took yours has to be local since he knew where it was and when to take it. Just a thought.
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'm going to do that once the weather changes and it doesn't seem quite so obvious. The guy I bought mine from is selling another (rougher shap) one on Craigs list and hasn't even had anyone call for any info yet. So I'm hoping cooler weather will draw them out.

I can say, the closer it edges to winter, the more pissed off I get about it.
 

Laurentian

New member
Sorry to hear that Dave..
I assume the one on Craig's list is from the
guy you bought yours from. Was tempted to call
but those tracks scared me right off :doh:
I'll keep hunting for one, ideally a 1400 series with
the small rubber tracks, If I get any whiff of yours at
all I'll let you know. It's really too bad, your rig was
a diamond in the rough.
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Work stopage ends. The first track was finished early spring.
 

Attachments

  • clip_image001.jpg
    clip_image001.jpg
    79.6 KB · Views: 700

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Work on track two started last week. Doing this track (and the next two) in smaller, bite sized segments so I can pull it apart, clean it, paint it, grease it and reassemble all pieces to the same spot they came from.
 

Attachments

  • 1216121835.jpg
    1216121835.jpg
    49.5 KB · Views: 703
Top