SCREW-MACHINE 2L4826 - Caterpillar

Introduction
Various improvements have been made to all the critical bolted joints on the new 5-Series Forest Machines. Because of the significant increase in machine performance in areas such as swing torque and drawbar pull, Caterpillar has improved the torque procedure to all critical bolted joints.Details of the Improvements
To prove the robustness of these changes, Caterpillar is asking dealers not to check bolt torques or bolted joints during Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI).To go along with higher performance, Caterpillar has also addressed issues of bolted joint loosening by implementing significant improvements and tight control of the critical bolted joints. The following joints have been addressed:
Swing drive
Swing bearing
Sprocket to final drive
Final drive to lower frameThe following improvements specifically address these joints:
Revaluating all the bolted joints to ensure that proper bolted joint is selected for application
Proper application of Anti-Seize or Loctite including moving to Coated bolts to ensure uniformity and consistency
Implementation of Torque and Turn from single torque method
Use of DC Tooling for all the critical bolted joints
Periodic inspection of Clamp load at the assembly line. Both Victoria and Akashi is inspecting the clamp load with instrumented bolts to ensure no variation in assembly process, tools, or fasteners and so on.Both Victoria and Akashi are certified to meet the new bolted joint requirements specified by engineering. Checks are performed every 6 months or during any changes made in assembly, tools, or fasteners. Caterpillar strongly believes these changes and tight control during assembly will provide robustness of the bolted joints that the customer desires in Caterpillar products.During normal service visits to a machine, do a visual check to ensure that bolts are not backing out. If any issues are observed, create a Product Health Service Request (SR) with priority of "Product Inquiry / Informational". Document the bolt location, machine hours, and pictures of the bolt or bolts for the product group. Mention the Technical Information Bulletin (TIB) media number in the description or title. This information will allow the product group to use the available warranty tools to monitor the effectiveness of the improvements made and ensure that as-shipped quality of the machines meets expectations.