Mission 3: Cleaning and adjusting the chain

[tomtom7]

Spent a few days reading old posts, and I finally got done with cleaning the chain. Here's what I did:

Supplies:
TIROX Chain Cleaner with Chain Brush (http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=50 ... X_803500_G)
2 paint catching pans from Lowes
Dupont Teflon lube
blue cloth paper towel stuff
kitchen rubber gloves

I was going to make those wooden motorcycle stands, but I didn't have any cutting tools and Lowes wouldn't cut the pieces for me. So I just put velcro on my front brake, put a book under my kick stand, and used my car scissor jack under the frame. I had read that it's scary and precarious, but I didn't think so at all. I didn't even realize that my rear wheel was off of the ground at first: that's how little it moved. I'll eventually make those wooden stands, but the jack method is totally solid for chain cleaning.

My chain was a disaster! It was rusted and covered with gunk. I put a folded piece of paper towel in my left hand, then sprayed the cleaner onto the chain. I had already wound the 360 brush onto the chain, so I wrapped it with another paper towel and ran it back and forth in the exposed area of the chain. I don't have experience using the infamous Grunge brush, but this 360 brush was beyond easy. The cleaning process wasn't even as messy as some of the old posts made it out to be. I think wrapping a towel around the whole brush helped keep the cast off contained. I would definitely wear gloves though.

Anyways, I did that about two times around the whole chain. That part was relatively easy. The hard part was cleaning the rear sprocket. The sprocket teeth were black. I don't remember reading about how to clean it, so I just sprayed some of the chain cleaner onto a towel and scrubbed the sprocket. This took forever and my back was (is) killing me!

After that was finally done, I used the towels to dry off the chain as well as I could. Then I sprayed the Dupont Teflon stuff all over the chain. This is where the paint trays came in handy, since there was a lot of runoff. The end result? My chain looks like it's brand new!

Thanks for the suggestion to clean the chain guys. It was long overdue. I didn't get around to researching the adjustment part, but that's my next mission (or part B of this one). I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions as always.

Tom

ps. Lesson learned; don't spray the kerosene too close to your face. Wind + spray + left eye = ouch. Fortunately it was only a tiny bit so it just feels a little irritated now. :poke2:

[Water Warrior 2]

A large aluminum oven pan from Walmart is a good pan and also useable for oil changes too. I just normally use an old paint brush and kerosene. Clean it, wipe it and repeat. Spray the lube and take a break. For a future project you might take a peek at the front sprocket and see how much mung from the chain has built up around that area. First time I did that I thought I had an environmental disaster on my hands. Yucky but worth the results and satisfaction.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by tomtom7

ps. Lesson learned; don't spray the kerosene too close to your face.

Good job.....except for the kero in the face, that is.

Now that you have a good handle on the smell of kero, you might want to consider mineral spirits if you ever have to do it again. Much LESS of a foul odor.

The good news is: If you pay attention to it going forward and wipe it off with a rag before each time you lube it again, you may never have to do a full cleaning again.

[tomtom7]

WW- I'll definitely check out the front sprocket when I start craving the smell of Kero. I'm over cleaning sprockets for a little while though

Easy- I read about the mineral spirits, but I thought kero would be better for this initial cleaning. This chain was pretty beat. Next time for sure, if there is a next time. I plan to try to keep it as nice as possible.

Btw, I'm a little concerned about the chain adjustment. Should I go buy a torque wrench?

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by tomtom7

Btw, I'm a little concerned about the chain adjustment. Should I go buy a torque wrench?

If you have to ask, then the prudent answer probably is YES. :cool:

The rear axle nuts are HUGE. If you use a fairly short wrench....less than 8 inches or so....you can just crank the crap out of them and they will be good. If you have any mechanical experience at all, you just get them VERY tight and call it good.

[5th_bike]

Originally Posted by tomtom7

1) I'll definitely check out the front sprocket ...
2) I thought kero ....
3) Btw, I'm a little concerned about the chain adjustment. Should I go buy a torque wrench?

re: 1) The front sprocket is quite easy to get to.
2) The book says kerosene so I use kerosene. Mineral spirits has a smaller band chromatogram but approximately the same main major composition so it's probably OK, it is definitely missing some heavier ends that makes kerosene smell so much nicer.
3) Chain adjustment is not hard, just make sure you have the chain at its tightest when you adjust. You will notice that the chain has different tensions as it and the wheel go around. I bought a torque wrench, about $25, from Sears, especially for this bike because of the "regular maintenance" bolt tightness checking.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

If you have to ask, then the prudent answer probably is YES. :cool:

The rear axle nuts are HUGE. If you use a fairly short wrench....less than 8 inches or so....you can just crank the crap out of them and they will be good. If you have any mechanical experience at all, you just get them VERY tight and call it good.

:plus1:

Make sure when you are adjusting the chain to keep rear wheel in aliment by checking notches on each side of frame. :rawk:

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by blaine

:plus1:

Make sure when you are adjusting the chain to keep rear wheel in aliment by checking notches on each side of frame. :rawk:

Yah, what Blaine said. Both sides must be adjusted to the same position. And remember to go with small adjustments, a quarter turn of the adjusters can make a really big change in chain tension. Better yet, the bolt heads and nuts etc are 6 sided. Just turn 1/6th of the way and use the flat spots as a visual indicater of the amont of turn. Do both sides and check the axle alignment marks. If they are not the same at the start then just do one side to make them even. Then do a check on chain slack with your measuring device. You will catch on soon enough and find the adjustment an easy job.

[Purpledrank]

What kind of lube is required after cleaning with kerosene?

[blaine]

Originally Posted by Purpledrank

What kind of lube is required after cleaning with kerosene?

My personal favorite Is a good quality chain wax,doesn't end up all over your rim,or collect dirt and penetrates better than oil.If you don't like chain wax,a good 30 weight oil will do the job.
:cool: