Finishing the Track Adjusters on Large Marge. Case 170B Excavator.

[@FarmCraft101]

I knew the track adjusters would be a tough job because of having to deal with those tracks and track pins, but in typical fashion Large Marge made it even more of a challenge. The sledge wouldn't work on the track pins, requiring me to make a pin press, and then both spring pre-tension rods had to be repaired. Fixing those springs was easily just as much work as splitting the tracks to fixing the adjusters. But she's finally back together!! Cheers everybody, and have an awesome weekend!

[@RectalRooter]

This is 1 LAZY guy.. He could upload more videos.. It only took him 1 hour to complete the repair and only releases 1 video every 2 weeks. hahaha

[@Colin-rg7gt]

Now you know why was at a scrap yard.

[@joeflynn1649]

Nice work and you make it look easier than it was .

[@m1ste2tea]

And you did it through hail and snow!

[@DieselRamcharger]

to assemble the seal through the wiper we use a lip wizard. transgo makes them. you can cut up a soda bottle to make an ad hoc version

[@jt9498]

You have no one to blame but yourself for the popularity of your channel, Jon. This is the one channel I look forward to every Saturday. Your perseverance in what you do is nothing short of inspiring and fascinating! Looking forward to future videos. 🙂

[@phrozenwun]

I'm a simple man - I see a Farmcraft101 video I click like, it is just that simple.

[@Flynnsmachineryvideos]

we are very similar my friend haha

[@AugustMcKenna]

This is the way

[@rickhammett2855]

Watch the pins every couple hours for the next 50 hours or so, they can back out. Reminds me of old times, changing tracks by myself made retirement a great option, that was 2020. Congrats!

[@Mtlmshr]

Ever since I found your channel I look forward to each video and this one in particular. As a Race Car fabricator and certified welder I enjoy watching you figure out all the different issues that arise on your farm and equipment! Keep up the great job!

[@davidrogers5902]

Your camera work is fantastic! We really appreciate being able to see clearly what you are doing. Not always easy to do, i’m sure. Thanks.

[@SimpleTek]

I’m starting to look at buying a 70-80,000 lbs excavator for the future. Something 8-12 years old, not cat (worth more) with 2-3000 hours is about $80-120,000 US in good shape from what I’ve found. Honestly with the repairs you’ve done I’d judge your machine now, even though it’s 2-3x the hours, as that condition and value. Sadly, with an older machine it’ll be hard to get over $50k US, so the sale would have to be to someone who would use it and not resell… just my thoughts. Absolutely LOVE your videos, it ruins my Friday when you don’t post. Thank you for your hard work on an amazing channel!!!

[@FarmCraft101]

I’d be happy if it’s worth $30k or more. Thanks for the kind words!

[@pchris6662]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="3065">51:05</a> You had me laughing so hard I almost cried! Love your self deprecation, my friend. I have been there so many times. 😂🤣😂🤣 May I also commend you for all the extra time and patience you have to put in to get the camera angles and footage and then post production editing, on top of all the extra work you do to fix every small detail the best you can. I lost count of all the ways you could have just bodged it back together and you never seem to take the shortcut. Top notch!

[@1soupasaurus]

I look forward to your Friday uploads. I watch while eating lunch. Thank you for your dedication Jon. You are one of the best channels on KZbin. In a world where everything has been commercialized, you are still a "Broadcast Yourself" channel.

[@Omsip123]

Who votes for giving Large Marge a paint job ?

[@brotofobia]

Definitely Extra Large Marge needs some makeup

OH YEAH...PAINT PAINT PAINT !!!

[@mjk8710]

I think large marge will appreciate new paint and never cause you any more problems

[@Frank-Thoresen]

Absolutely 👍

[@JaakkoIsWatching]

Paint it green and yellow, "Jon Deere" decal on the sides. Just for giggles.

[@JonDingle]

Well done young man! Your determination make you a KZbin legend in my book. Others convert, destroy or build to gain a following. Farmcraft 101 relies on great camerwork, repairing, rebuilding, great presenting and commentary.

[@imprezaaudi]

Congratulations, you did the right thing repairing the track adjusters properly

[@JeffButera]

You have some of the best content and production on KZbin. Many creators can do one or the other, but you really master the balance of the two.

[@ThePhil2801]

That hour went by very quickly, as challenging as ol Marge makes it its both educational and entertaining. Also interessting to see the excursions into the tools necessary or making them to get the job done. keep it up and stay safe.

[@LostDaemon]

Hi Jon, You should post in the Community section when the series isn't airing. I always worry that you might get hurt by that excavator or something. Take care.

[@PsychoticusRex]

Those springs were the scariest bit of kit I'd ever seen him work with. In terms of mechanical temper tantrums, they're right up their with wheels on mining equipment.

[@woodworker3122]

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE LARGE MARGE PROJECT!! It’s been a lot of fun watching it progress from bad to good along with you. Thanks for the great videos. Looking forward to your next projects.

[@denniswray470]

John, you have done a remarkable job on large Marge I admire you, from an old retired plant engineer.

[@heighRick]

Awesome video, so good to see her back together again. What a journey, thanks for sharing it with us, helps a lot!

[@vitoialungo]

Great Job Jon! We missed you last Saturday.. As an aside ; as long as you have equipment you'll always have some maintenance and repair!! BUT that is always part of the joy of life and I'd like to thank you for filling part of mine almost every Saturday ... Grazie...Ciao! ... Vito from Vancouver BC.

Jon, we would really like to see Large Marge get a nice paint job. It would not only run great but will look good too. That would also increase its value.

[@Nickelplate1]

At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1380">23:00</a> when you use the pick to get the seals to go past each other, another helpful tool is a set of feeler gauges. They can slide right into some of those spaces and get the seals past one another.

[@edhansen8531]

What makes your videos most outstanding is, even temper, no crazy out bursts and no foul. language

[@RobertFay]

*- I was very impressed by your deft fix of the "Idler-Wheel Grease-Evacuation Nut" at **<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2013">33:33</a>* *- It made me happy to watch the process and was a very much needed fix.* *- I well appreciate all the other hard work you do to deal with all the other issues...but this was a very satisfying process if only because it only took skill and not a lot of physical effort.*

[@paullewis6612]

Congratulations Jon! One thing: Please, Please 🙏🏼 Replace the bucket pins to get the swing out of the bucket. Great series, We love Margie!! Paul 🇬🇧

[@dansullivan2954]

What a project. The good, the bad, and the ugly of it all. Well done Jon, really enjoyed it.

[@westesu]

Huge job! Enjoyed all your talents and getting a huge machine back up and moving

[@sandiego7625]

Priceless, Jon. Only thing you need to paint is a stenciled in picture of Large Marge. 👍🚜

[@TerryLawrence001]

The true value is way more than the average due to the fact that this machine has a provenance that other machines do not. Seeing the work that you did and how well the job was done adds quite a lot of value to Large Marge.

[@joopterwijn]

One suggestion, spray the extended grease cilinders (cover the bare plunger) with some kind of protecting coating. It mite keep them clean(er).

[@Alsintheshop]

That’s terrific John, you do nice work. You have more perseverance than I do. I would’ve turned Marge into yard-art by now. You deserve a break.

[@ArmchairDeity]

Oh man, Jon… your Patreon and KZbin revenue are the only things that made this worthwhile. Large Marge, the dozer, the Yanmar, and the man-lift were all content generators! I absolutely can’t wait to see video of you putting the big old girl to work! ❤

[@daleolson3506]

Pond?

[@ArmchairDeity]

@ maybe! We can hope. 😉 He should be able to dredge most of his own pond with it, and/or use it to dig ponds for friends and neighbors!

[@fsj197811]

I can't believe you left the poor ol' girl lopsided with one correct spring and one loose one. TSK TSK! In all seriousness, well done and glad to see her back together. Thanks for sharing!

[@atlancon]

watching you slam the compressed springs with the 6x6, my instinctive reaction really wanted to call the hospital and see if their menu today had anything you'd like.

[@djmips]

Or how about when he works at head height next to a straining under tension cable to pull the tracks together.

[@FishyBoi1337]

Getting that same pin in again after forgetting those bushing things was a beautiful demonstration of the insanity of humans swinging big rocks on the ends of sticks 😂 The instantaneous pressure of swinging a sledge at something is so much higher than you might think possible!

[@tonnaboy1]

Congratulations John , a wonderful series, take care of youself, very heavy work leaves a scar.Thank you.

[@joedowling5452]

Grease is the word. As you were setting the pin on the second track I was yelling at the screen about the bushings. Glad you caught yourself.

[@bonzai2380]

I hope Large Marge appreciates all the TLC you’re giving her and returns it with being loyal and trouble free.

[@dockerjade]

In situations with parts that have to be installed before another part, I will usually attach those parts to the second part beforehand. For example, those bushing would have been zip tied or taped to the pin. Too many times, I've installed timing belt covers and realized I had forgotten the belt guide or something similar and had to tear it all back down.

[@FarmCraft101]

That’s a great idea.

[@John-qc8yy]

Kurt at Cutting Edge Engineering uses a long O ring to put seals together. For auto windshields they use a string or rope.

[@heikkipinomaa5720]

Congratulations on completing the repairs on your machine. It seemed excited to get on the field.

[@deelirious_one3893]

Always love when you drop a new video! Large Marge def putting up a fight! “Pretty boring” 🤣, I’m sure pun was intended lol! Great vid! Blessings!!

[@being7720]

"If I saw that layin' in the yard I would not be doing this", yet you persevered and fixed Large Marge again. Nice one.

[@additudeobx]

Wow - That was awesome. Thanks for putting the Track Pin Bushings in.... I was almost thinking you were gonna be lazy and skosh the job. What a machine!! Wait till she gets paint!!

[@billyhaddock5540]

Congrats FC101 on finally getting the track adjuster's repaired and the track's back-on and running good. have a case of beer on me Mate..

[@frankkirby5763]

Running cool and straight. Pretty sound right now. Value around 20 to 25k. Best wishes.

[@opendstudio7141]

It’s been an epic “Man vs Machine” series; really challenging farmer fix that was a Herculean effort for one little man to tackle. I think Clint and Kevin of C&C Equipment would be proud of your progress. 👍

[@David-James]

No leaky leaky! Awesome!✌️

[@koldsteele]

A little tip tack weld your master pins because when they decide to work loose it aint gonna be next the shop

[@kbaisley4947]

Job accomplished! Thanks for taking us along. Really enjoying the content and the farm.

[@MrFHLH]

Yes as we say in the UK, sun and rain together, rain again tomorrow. Wow you have put some work into this digger, you're a clever man for sure.

[@tracybowling1156]

Jon, you're doing a great job. Just in case no one's told you yet. I don't ever have any advice, so I'm still the cheerleader! Picture me jumping up and down like a ninny.

[@FarmCraft101]

Haha! Ninny!

[@edwardmoriarty1507]

Everything you learn on screen teaches us the viewers, thank you for that !

[@pdoherty]

Hell of a job Jon, hell of a job!

[@daviddamico4288]

John ,you have done a fantastic job on that one big piece of machinery love seeing it all done..

[@Andrew-k1m]

That was really cool to watch you fix large Marge thanks for that,hope your next project is a little easier see ya on the next one

[@mcorrade]

John, I've been a creator and watcher of KZbin since 2007 and, this is the only channel I actively look forward to each week. Great job as always man

[@williambikash6645]

Watched you hitting a pin punch with a brass hammer, the brass absorbs a lot of the shock that would be transmitted with a steel hammer. Impressed with this repair but not as much fun as playing with your Johnson! EVERYTHING you repair is amazing except the work on your relatives boat. This comment is coming from a lifetime boat mechanic 😮.

[@DenHvideHund]

That was a job well done Jon. Was it worth the wait, absolutely.

[@jamesalbrecht395]

CONGRATS!! What an adventure, to get Large Marge back in shape. You have the best content on KZbin!

[@AceRph]

Holy smokes, Jon! What a project! I really enjoyed the series.

[@dazer123]

Absolutely amazing work you have done there Jon and it's been a pleasure to watch you struggle whilst I just relax and enjoy all your very hard work

[@darrelllitherland8880]

man its time you got back on KZbin lol its amazing how much i miss my regulars i watch when they miss a video lol happy to see you again

[@johnliebermann4643]

I love this show! Having said that I cant keep my mouth shut. I would have put that wiper seal over the piston before installing the seal on the end. Then using that seal installation tool place the wiper in place after the piston is in the bore.

[@zachtaylor737]

Love to see you get everything “seal”ed up😉

[@jamessimon7367]

John, you are truly a Renaissance man! I dub you sir perseverance😂. Great video and you are truly of a different mindset!👏👏

[@roar40s]

You need a big sound system on Large Marge playing Platoon tunes! Because you fought a BATTLE 😂

[@johnobiro5202]

You’ve done a fantastic job on Large Marge Jon. I’d say you’ve doubled her value. It’s turned into a great machine. 🔧👍🇬🇧

[@Tomshuski350]

Its 3am on Saturday morning but I couldn’t be happier to watch a farmcraft video ❤ from Aus

[@russrawley6712]

I look always look forward to your posts, you are a very competent and hardworking young man I love your channel ...see you in the next one Russ ( long retired, 17yrs now, Maintenance fitter) from England, Cheers fella 🍻😉👍

[@brembodream]

Love your videos🤩🤩 What about mounting a blade on Large Marge? That would stabilize the machine so it doesn`t shake and move around when using it etc. but most important: It would look awsome!! 😎😎😎

[@bryancunningham1095]

Good job Jon, about forgetting to put those track washers in, its like when you are framing a room and you keep forgetting to not put the hammer on top of the wooden step ladder while you work under it and after awhile BAM on the head 😅

[@aldoner3]

Another great video I really enjoy the longer format, now i'm wondering how's the pond doing ?

[@joshuaharlow4241]

Very satisfying to see it come together! Excited to see what you get into on the next installment of: "The Seals of Our Lives". 💪

[@robertsimmons3556]

Excellent series Jon! Glad LM is back in service! Until your next post!

[@russfranck3491]

I really enjoy watching you work on your equipment

[@nineteenandfortyone]

This has by far been the most interesting video series I have seen on KZbin. I am bookmarking a link the opening video of this saga and if someone tells me again that all these videos are fake, I will direct them to it You work harder in these than all the rest of the contributors and not aimlessly, but with reason. Great video!

[@oxfletch]

Marge: Well, that's another fine mess you got me out of.

[@pauldenver5410]

Hey mate, I just wanted to say I love watching your videos. Haven’t had much work on lately and really enjoy going back in all you videos. Good on ya man.

[@marksweetman8765]

I was screaming at you to put the track spacers in on the second track 😂

[@311Bob]

in the last 20 minutes over 1k ups! thank you this was a very interesting series!

[@pkzanc]

John, Little Marge is doing well in helping with the heavy lifting!!

[@danwheeler5130]

hey Jon to bad you didn't live closer to us , between you and my son jesse Muller you could build an excavator from scratch lol

[@klay590]

Hey Farmcraft101 (John) you're awesome. You're my favorite KZbinr on the platform. Long videos that are engaging and easy to follow. Plus I get to learn something along the way.

[@kd2eat]

Sweet! you bought her for scrap prices, just added some labor and parts, ended up with a very valuable piece of equipment, and $1M in youtube revenue! ;-) Can't wait to see you put Marge to work!

[@bigdaddy741098]

Wouldn't it be nice if that was anywhere near close to being true.

[@markclifton14]

Well done on such a tough job. If that would have been me. I think I would have given up. Keep up the great work . Kind regards from the UK . 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@jacksat2252]

John, I am sorry, but for a strange reason, I saw you flying in the direction of your pond with that block of wood in hand like Wile E. Coyote when you pounded that sting in place.🤣🤣🤣

[@publicclammer]

Even I feel relieved! Good job!

[@findleybarber]

Well sir you are a master at rigging lifts!!!

[@johnsmith-xr6qy]

Did you just ginks large marge? Earlier, I wanted to say this is a two man job. But this is Jon doing the work & he is more than capable, Jon of all trades. Buck Owens had a country hit a few years ago, "Together again".

[@paulmorrow5905]

it so easy for me drinking coffee and munching on corn bread. to see a better way... LOL perhaps a strap tie down to keep pressure on the cylinder as you poke the spring... lol your channel

[@n-steam]

You say it doesn't make any funny noises, but I definitely hear it baa'ing like a sheep @ <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="3589">59:49</a>

[@swallowinn4410]

Hello Jon: well done. I am looking forward to see your copulation video and finding out the job Large Marge was commissioned for. I am guessing a pond or multiple pond projects. Cows need a lot of water???

[@tomparker7140]

I really enjoy your channel. You are a jack of all trades and master of none. You would have made a really good roughneck . Large Marge doesn't stand a chance.😅

[@m1ste2tea]

Huge job for one man. Large Marge sure makes you work for it. Looking forward to your compilation video.👍👍

[@jimnaz5267]

well done. i watched start to finish of large marge project. NOW WHAT WILL YOU USE IT FOR?

[@tjackson8780]

Great Job You are a real great mechanic

[@gregorythomas333]

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="216">3:36</a> You will 'probably' not have to mess with this spring again...I can hear Marge start giggling though...so maybe about 80% certain? @<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="467">7:47</a> One colonoscopy later... Marge is now worth way over the $7,700 purchase price...I would think she is at least $60,000 at the barest minimum even before a paint job.

[@frankdahlin]

So now it's too expensive to keep? ;-)

[@AyFrame]

Congratulations John , a brilliant job and a great series of videos about large Marge. You’ve added many $ to its value….?

[@azlandpilotcar4450]

That left side spring retaining rod looks like a real bar sinister to handle.

[@kubaczek20]

Marge finally will be operational 🥰 Hope she will be good in working. <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="602">10:02</a> O hail no 😃