Safer steering arm bearing changeouts on CAT haul trucks

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Routine maintenance is relentless in mining, particularly across the remote and abrasive conditions where many Caterpillar haul trucks operate. Among the most demanding tasks for site crews is steering arm maintenance. A job often complicated by seized ball studs, worn bearings, and damaged taper bores, each challenge encountered can lead to hours of machine downtime and potential safety hazards.

Geographe, working together with Australian Tier 1 miners, has adopted a different strategy by treating the entire steering arm system as a single, integrated maintenance process. Through its Specialised Tooling range, including the Ball Stud Removal Tool (BSRT), Ball Stud Bearing Installation and Removal Tool (BSBIRT), and Steering Taper Inspection and Repair Kit (STRIK), Geographe enables mining crews to perform steering arm maintenance with greater safety, consistency, and control.

Traditional steering arm maintenance has long relied on high-risk, hazardous methods such as thermal lancing, grinding, and heavy hammering to remove seized components. These techniques expose crews to heat, impact hazards, and unpredictable failures. Geographe’s award winning Ball Stud Removal Tool (BSRT) changed that dynamic.

Developed in collaboration with maintenance teams at FMG and Rio Tinto, the BSRT uses a hydraulic extraction system that removes seized ball studs from Caterpillar 777, 785, 789, and 793 haul trucks with precision and repeatability. By eliminating hot works and hammering, it reduces the risk of injury while cutting downtime and labour hours. What once required a team effort now takes a single technician minutes to complete, turning a high-risk task into a controlled process.

While the BSRT streamlines ball stud extraction, steering arm maintenance doesn’t end there. Bearings must also be safely removed and installed without damaging the housing, and taper bores require inspection to ensure correct fitment. Recognising this, Geographe extended its specialised tooling family to cover the entire workflow.

The Ball Stud Bearing Installation and Removal Tool (BSBIRT) allows technicians to remove and install steering arm bearings on 785, 789, and 793 haul trucks without the need for jacking, hammering, or excessive manual handling. Its guided hydraulic system ensures accurate alignment, reducing the risk of bearing fracture or misplacement. By replacing unpredictable manual techniques with precision tooling, the BSBIRT helps reduce rework, fatigue, and damage to expensive steering arm components.

The Steering Taper Inspection and Repair Kit (STRIK) (coming soon in 2026) completes the process. Designed for 785, 789 and 793 haul trucks, it enables technicians to ream and refurbish the taper bores within the steering arm housing, an essential step before reinstalling a ball stud. The STRIK also allows for the fitting of oversized studs, extending component life and avoiding costly housing replacements.

Together, the BSRT, BSBIRT, and STRIK all form a maintenance system for Caterpillar steering arms, allowing crews to safely extract, replace, and reassemble components optimising that area of the asset. 

Every piece of Geographe specialised tooling™ is designed and tested in Western Australia, using high-tensile alloys and advanced Finite Element Analysis to ensure high performance under the toughest mining conditions. Lightweight and portable, each tool is equally suited for workshop rebuilds or field breakdowns, allowing technicians to maintain consistency no matter where a haul truck is serviced.

By engineering solutions around safety and repeatability, Geographe helps sites move from reactive repairs to planned, predictable maintenance. The result is measurable improvements in equipment reliability, reduced downtime, and enhanced compliance with site safety standards.

With Geographe specialised tooling™, it’s more than just maintenance solutions, it’s raising the safety standard and lower the risk of all team members involved in these tasks. From removing the ball stud to reinstalling the bearing and checking the taper, every component works together. Mine sites can extend asset life, reduce total maintenance costs, all whilst keeping maintenance teams safe.

The BSBIRT and STRIK will be available from early 2026. Learn more or register your interest at: geographe.com.au/mining-specialised-tooling.