• 17 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Bulldozer

A bulldozer from the side, then one track and its wheels close up.

Parts of a Bulldozer

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Blade
  2. Cutting edge
  3. Push arm
  4. Hydraulic cylinder
  5. Engine
  6. Cab
  7. Tracks
  8. Ripper
  9. Ripper shank
  10. Sprocket
  11. Final drive
  12. Idler
  13. Track rollers
  14. Carrier rollers
  15. Track shoes
  16. Grousers
  17. Track roller frame

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

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All 17 parts on the diagram

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Whole machine 9

  1. Blade The wide steel plate at the front. It pushes soil, sand, snow or rock ahead of the machine.
  2. Cutting edge A hardened steel strip bolted along the bottom of the blade. It takes the wear and can be replaced.
  3. Push arm One of two arms that join the blade to the tractor. One is outside each track.
  4. Hydraulic cylinder Hydraulic cylinders raise and lower the blade and press it down.
  5. Engine A diesel engine under the hood powers the machine.
  6. Cab The operator sits here. Its strong frame is the ROPS, a roll bar built into the cab.
  7. Tracks An endless belt of steel plates on each side. Tracks spread the weight and grip rough or soft ground.
  8. Ripper The tool on the back that loosens hard ground. Hydraulic cylinders raise and lower it.
  9. Ripper shank The long claw-like tooth of the ripper. It is dragged through hard ground to break it up.

Track close up 8

  1. Sprocket The engine turns the sprocket, and its teeth pull the track round.
  2. Final drive The last step of the power train before the track. Its case sits at the middle of the sprocket.
  3. Idler The plain wheel the track turns round at the front. The sprocket at the other end is the wheel that drives.
  4. Track rollers The weight of the machine rests on them. They roll along the bottom of the track.
  5. Carrier rollers They hold up the track's top between the sprocket and the idler.
  6. Track shoes Flat steel plates bolted to the chain of the track. They are the part that meets the ground.
  7. Grousers A raised bar across each track shoe, also called a cleat. Grousers bite into the ground for grip.
  8. Track roller frame The long beam inside the track. The track rollers sit under it and the idler is held at its front end.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30; a name is kept only when two independent sources use it. (1) US Army technical manual TM 5-2410-229-12, Tractor, Full Tracked, operator's and organizational maintenance manual, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152635_0423 (bulldozer blade, cutting edge, push arm, diesel engine, tracks, sprocket, front idler, track rollers, track carrier rollers, track roller frame, track shoes, final drive). (2) US Army field manual FM 5-434, Earthmoving Operations, 2000, https://archive.org/details/FM_5_434_E_O_2000 (blade, cutting edges, push arms, hydraulic cylinders, cab (ROPS), ripper, ripper shank, tracks, track grousers, sprocket, idler, the engine as the power plant). (3) Track Dozer Operator, a job training text for open pit mining, https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED246292 (blade, cutting edges, cab, ROPS, ripper, shank, hydraulic cylinders, track roller frames, sprockets, idlers, carrier rollers, track rollers, track shoes, final drive case). (4) Wikipedia, Bulldozer and Continuous track, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulldozer and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_track (blade, ripper and its shank, hydraulic cylinders, cab, tracks, drive sprocket, idler, track shoes, grousers, the rollers that carry the weight and the rollers that hold up the top of the track). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; own work, no maker's model copied. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a bulldozer of the crawler kind, the tractor on tracks with a wide blade at the front. The first view is the whole machine from the side. The second is one track, close up, with the wheels it runs round.

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The machine, front to back

The blade pushes material, and the cutting edge along its bottom takes the wear. A push arm on each side joins the blade to the tractor, and hydraulic cylinders raise and lower it. Behind the engine sits the cab. At the back, the ripper drags its shank through hard ground.

The parts of a dozer track

The sprocket, turned through the final drive, pulls the track round; the idler at the front only guides it. Track rollers under the track roller frame carry the weight, and carrier rollers hold up the top run. Each track shoe has a grouser for grip.

  • Teeth mean sprocket; a smooth rim means idler.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a bulldozer?

A blade at the front with its cutting edge, push arms and hydraulic cylinders; the engine and the cab; a ripper at the back; and two tracks, each running round a sprocket, an idler and rows of rollers.

What is the ripper on a bulldozer?

The tool on the back of the machine. Its long claw-like tooth, the shank, is lowered by hydraulic cylinders and dragged through hard ground or shaly rock to loosen it. A ripper may carry one shank or several.

What is the difference between the sprocket and the idler?

Both are large wheels the track turns round. The sprocket has teeth and is the wheel that drives the track. The idler has a plain rim and sits at the other end, at the front.

What are grousers?

The raised bars on the outside of the track shoes, also called cleats. They bite into the ground and give the tracks their grip.

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