I finally got the gear for my 96 Xplorer and I am going to tackle this job tomorrow. I noticed my front chain has a bit of slack in it again and I even just adjusted it recently. The gears are good so I'm wondering if it is just wore to the point that it can't be adjusted completely. I brought my 93 350L 4x4 home tonight and the guy who had it also had an 95 Xplorer that he sold just before the 350. He said he replaced the center chain on the Xplorer and had the front and rear chain brand new in the box so he gave them to me when I picked up the 350 tonight. My front chain looks good, but I noticed I have a few stiff links that dont straighten out. If a chain doesn't stay adjusted, should I just replace it, since I have one available? It's a good heavy duty o-ring chain like the factory one. Doesn't look like a huge process but I dont know if these stiff links are causing some of the noise I hear coming from the front at certain speeds. The rear sprocket on the trans is pretty noticeable, but I do have "popping" sound coming from the chain area when I am going around 15 or 20 mph.

Mike

 

Stiff chain links will cause the popping noise and hard to keep adjusted. You can usually tell when a chain is worn by jacking up the atv,all tires off the ground and turn the rear wheels. Worn/stiff chains will have a loose and tight spot as it turns.The manual is fairly good on chain adjustment and replacement. Just pull the chain cover,loosen the front eccentric housing to where you have enough slack to remove the master link.Just hook the new chain to the old one and pull it around.Hook it up and adjust it.

 

Thanks OPT,

The front chain is a 64 and the rear is an 84 I assume. The chain on the front of my Xplorer gets enough slack on it that it slaps the plastic chain guard. I have been noticing this for awhile and I would adjust it as the manual says and it would seem to loosen back up. The center chain has no problem and stays right. Between the rear gear on the trans output shaft and the front chain, my old Xplorer was making all kinds of funny sounds, lol.

Mike

 

84 rear,70,center,64 front. Have to figure 3 chains,6 bearings,6 seals in the eccentrics,grease fittings every where is a lot to keep up with,but when everything's right these old 2 strokes can keep up with a lot of larger atvs. I remember the time I uncrated the first 90 model 350 2x4 we got in and took it for a spin.No utility type machines quite like it at the time.

 

Thanks OPT,

I got the chains and the gear on tonight after work. There is no play in the shaft coming out of the trans and the seals looked good. The rear chain was pretty straight forward but that front one was a pain in the rear due to the lack room. Adjusted and tightened all the eccentrics, greased every fitting and lubed the chains good and took it for a spin. No chain slap or popping noises. Feels a lot smoother now too. That was a good point about hooking the new and old chain together and pull it through to install it. I remember my dad telling me that when we worked on farm equipment that had mile long chains when I grew up on the farm. Hopefully now that I have the motor rebuilt and the drivetrain all taken care of along with new tires, I should be able to sit back and enjoy it for awhile, lol.

Mike