I had posted a few days ago that my wife's trail boss had a link in it that was sticking to the sprocket and making a popping sound when it came off the sprocket. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the affected link is the master link. I thought about just ordering a new master link and replacing it. Do I need a chain breaker to remove the master link? If not, how do I get it off?

 

Pry off the open ended clip, it has a tendency to fly about fifty yards when this is done, so cup your hand over it. And pull the link out.

 

Make sure when you put the link back together that you put the clip on the master lind the right way. The closed end needs to be on the leading edge of chain travel direction, otherwise, if you spin while in some heavy weeds/mud/brush, you run the risk of something grabbing the ends of the clip and pulling it off, usually in the middle of a mudhole or 3/4 of the way up a hill.

To help keep the clip from flying way off, use the smallest pair of vice grips you can find with sharp jaws. After alot of use the edge gets rounded & slips easier. Grab one leg & gently pry open the clip enough to clear the pin. It won't matter if you lose the clip since you are putting a new link in, but, believe me, it is a good skill to practice.
Farmr

 

You may be able to pry it off with a hammer and large screw driver after removing the the outer snap portion. But... you run the risk of damaging a part of the chain which is not part of the link.

The $14.00 chain breaker will make your life a lot easier, because you will probably use it in the future also. You may also have to use a vice-grip to seat the new master link. This is normal for an o-ring chain.

Good luck, you are on your way to becoming an experienced chain drive veteran. Congradulations on tackling it yourself.

 

I just order a chain breaker from Shadetree and I should have it tommorow. Thanks for all of your help.

 

Hi magnum
My sons trailboss was doing the same thing I didnt realize it was clicking on the measter link though. I took the chain off and inspected everything real close. I couldnt find the problem. I removed the front sprocket and found it to be a little lorn on the load side of the teeth. Then I noticed the side of the spocket that faces the tranny was real shinny. I replace the sprocket for 20 bucks and the noise went away. What this means I have no idea? Seems like an alignment problem but everything looks strait by eye.Maybe someone else has a suggestion.As far as the masterlink gooes you should be able to take it apart with a screwdriver once you get the snapring off, I just pushed it off with a screwdriver.