How Specialised Tooling Can Improve Haul Truck Maintenance Challenges

Routine maintenance is relentless in mining, particularly in remote and abrasive conditions where Caterpillar haul trucks operate. Steering arm maintenance is one of the most demanding tasks, complicated by seized ball studs, worn bearings, and damaged taper bores. Each challenge can lead to hours of machine downtime and potential safety hazards.

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

Meet your new maintenance mates

Traditional steering arm maintenance often relied on high-risk methods like thermal lancing, grinding, and hammering.

These exposed crews to heat, impact hazards, and unpredictable failures.

Geographe’s award-winning BSRT transformed the process. Developed with FMG and Rio Tinto maintenance teams, the BSRT uses a hydraulic extraction system to remove seized ball studs from Caterpillar 777, 785, 789 and 793 haul trucks. What once took a full team and 12 hours of downtime now takes a single technician just one hour, eliminating hot works and hammering and dramatically reducing the risk of injury.

Image Caption:  The BSRT reduces ball stud removal time on Caterpillar haul trucks from 12 hours to just 1 hour per truck.

Extending the toolset: from ball studs to bearings

Ball stud extraction is only part of the process. Bearings must also be safely removed and installed, and taper bores inspected to ensure correct fitment.

The BSBIRT allows technicians to remove and install steering arm bearings without jacking, hammering, or excessive manual handling. Its guided hydraulic system ensures accurate alignment, reducing bearing fractures and misplacement. By replacing manual techniques with precision tooling, the BSBIRT reduces rework, fatigue, and damage to expensive components.

The upcoming STRIK, available in 2026, completes the system. Designed for 785, 789, and 793 haul trucks, it enables technicians to ream and refurbish taper bores and fit oversized studs, extending component life and avoiding costly housing replacements.

Image Caption: The BSBIRT replaces brute force with precision, using controlled hydraulic power to safely remove, set, and install the bearing assembly.

Built for real mining conditions

Every piece of Geographe Specialised Tooling™ is designed and tested in Western Australia using high-tensile alloys and Finite Element Analysis to ensure performance under tough mining conditions. Lightweight and portable, each tool is suitable for both workshop rebuilds and field breakdowns, providing consistent maintenance wherever it is needed.

Safety and uptime as standard

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 safety standards.

With Geographe Specialised Tooling™, maintenance is safer, more predictable, and more effective. Mine sites can extend asset life, lower total maintenance costs, and protect the teams performing these critical tasks.

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