885 Bulldozer tracks

Maybe already dealt with, but I cannot find any information on the forum: How to replace rubber tracks on the bulldozer without having to cause 'heavy' damage or cut the new tracks? Is there an 'easy' way? Many thanks in advance! Jackh

Many thanks Jan! I am conducting some simulations to find out which pin or rivet must be removed to succeed! Cordially, Jacckh

It was merely three months ago that a fellow Dinky enthusiast asked me the same question. Knowing that the answer was to be found on the talkmodeltoys forum (which I checked), I referred to that website. Unfortunately he did not visit the site immediately, to discover a few weeks later that the site had disappeared, which is a big shame. Visiting the thread in question I remember that it must be possible to cleverly loosening only one of the connecting pins to be able to get the spare tracks in place. But which one? Kind regards, Jan

I finally found the way to replace the tracks with a minimum of 'damage' to the bulldozer. 1.- I realized that the blade's pivot pin on the rear is headless and you can pry the arm very carefully outwards to free it from the pin. 2.- Squeeze/grind the front upper link pinched end to be able to slide the link out of the black lever. 3.- Pass the tracks one after the other through these openings: (Note: work on one side is enough). 4.- Refit and squeeze again the upper front link .

Nice that you managed! At the risk of labouring the obvious, here is a link to the Planetdiecast forum, on which a fellow collector posted an extensive instruction of how to change the tracks with a minimum of damage:

Thanks Jan! This is exactly what I have done...But my tutorial is much shorter... Wondering, though, if spare tracks available on the market are all 'guiding ridge missing'? Did the originals had it?(I do not remember...)

I can see this 'guiding ridge' inside the (original) tracks of all examples of both the Bulldozers (British and French) and Tractors that I am able to inspect.