For our friends with chains who haven't gotten the shaft...

Elevate the rear of your ATV with the rear wheels off the ground, take it out of 4wd, rotate the rear tire and watch the chain travel around the sprockets. If you can see kinks in the chain you need to lubricate the chain immediately.

If you lubricate the chain completely and the chain still kinks and makes popping noises when you are driving, you need a new chain. If you are driving and you feel vibration in the floorboards accompanied by an occasional popping or cruching noise from underneath your quad, you need a new chain.

Inspect the sprockets closely, if you see evidence of "hooking" or the sprockets are not completely symetrical you also need new sprockets.

The reason to lube a chain while it is warm is that the chain will draw the lube into itself if it is warmer.

If the duration between lubing and kinking/popping noises keeps getting shorter, bite the bullet and get a new chain on order.

I saw in a previous post about $70 for labor. Good grief, you can buy a chain breaker for $12 at Fleet Farm.

Buy the best chain that you can afford, Regina, DID, etc. do not cut corners here. denniskirk.com is the place to go for your sprockets and chain after you are out of warranty. Good Luck

 

Thanks for all of your help, as usual you guys are very helpful. I am taking it in next Saturday and I will let them look at it. I was a little skeptical about buying this machine at this dealer, so this will be their first test on the level of service that I receive. This is a little fustrating, I lube this chain after every ride. I don't know what more I could do. If they won't get a new chain for me, that will be the last of my business that they get as I will order a DID O Ring chain from Shadetree. Does anybody know how many pins the chain has on a 2000 trail boss?

 

I have had the same chain on my bike for 1 yr,6 mos. I have adjusted it twice in that time. As soon as I get done riding, I wash the quad, then I ride it around for about ten minutes to warm the cahin, then lube the snot out of it.

Have you guys with the popping chains looked to see if some O-rings have fallen off, allowing water to get inside the pins, and seizing them up?

 

"Hot Oil Bath"

By: George Lyle

Here it is! George's Secret Beauty Ritual for Maximum Chain Life!

This may sound odd or even outrageous, but it's the maintenance routine that I've used for years with
excellent success.

Gearing up:
What you'll need is an electric deep-fat-fryer wide enough to take the coiled-up chain. Don't use the one
from the kitchen, as the proprieter of that room will skin you alive if they find out (and they will!) The
best source for this appliance is garage sales, as many folks have decided that deep fried food isn't the best
thing for their health. Mine cost $3.00! You will also need a thermometer capable of registering 250F. A
candy thermometer will work fine, but, again, don't get it from the kitchen!


Safety:
You'll be dealing with HOT OIL, so be aware that it can (1) BURN YOU BADLY and (2) EXPLODE
INTO FLAME! Place the fryer outside in a place where it will be undisturbed while it heats and cools,
refrain from smoking and other open flames, and keep the kids and pets locked up! Keep a lid handy to
place on the fryer in case of fire.


The hot oil treatment:
Put the chain in the fryer, add just enough heavy gear lube (140 weight is fine) to cover it, and turn the
fryer on. Put the thermometer in and wait until the temperature reaches 220F, which will take some time.
This process is fairly smelly, so don't do it upwind of an eco-freak! After the temperature reaches 220F
(NO HIGHER!), unplug the fryer and allow it to cool, which will take several hours. After the oil is cool,
take the chain out, hang it up, and allow it to drain into the fryer. After a day or so the chain will be
drained and ready to reinstall.


Why this works:
The real killer of chains is corrosion caused by moisture that is trapped in the chain. When the chain is
heated, the moisture is vaporized and forced out of the chain, even past O-rings. As the chain cools, the
moisture is replaced with oil drawn back into the chain. The chain is in the oil long enough that lubricant
can even penetrate the O-rings. I usually leave the chain in the oil bath until a couple of days before a ride.


Reinstalling:
While the chain is cooking, you can maintain the rest of the ATV and check the condition of the
sprockets. When reinstalling the chain, don't forget the O-rings around the master link. Most master links
are press-fit, requiring a chain breaker to get them apart. To press them back together, I use a cheap
"C"-clamp that has a hole in the middle of the swivel foot. the hole fits nicely over the pin. Of course we
all know to put the split end of the retaining clip opposite the direction of motion of the chain, don't we?


Using the above technique with an O-ring chain, I seldom have to lube my chain in the course of a
weekend outing. If I ride a long distance or go through water I'll oil the chain to prevent external rust. If
the master link is still nice and oily when you take it apart, you can be pretty sure that the chain is
retaining its lube properly. If it isn't, you need to lube more often.


If you are a daily rider (Lucky!) you would want to do this routine every week or so. For us folks who go
on weekend outings, you can do it once per outing.


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purchase a hot seat chain tesioner i garentee its the best 50 bucks youll spend


1990 polaris 350L 4x4

 

Thor i get a hell of a vibration out on the floor board left side especially is that the chain doing that? it has done it from new Junk regina chains time to get a 520 oring chain I belive RK is the good one. Any recomendations Guys

 

I have experienced the popping chain syndrome and had my chain replaced under warranty by the dealer the very next ride I found out why the chain had broke and it was making the popping noises. My swingarm bolt had backed out causing lots of play in the rear end. I put the bolt back in and used high strength locktite the manual calls for medium stregth but I dont want to have to deal with this problem again hope I dont regret it?