Experimental chain tensioners

[boncrshr]

Well, finally got the chain adjusters finished and ready to bolt in place. I had to completely disassemble the Hustler, which was good, because there were some factory welds that had come loose and I could feel the frame flexing. This was a good opportunity to fix those issues.

The goal with these tensioners was first to have tensioners that did not have to be re-adjusted every time I rode the Hustler, and to eliminate a lot of driveline shock created by a static chain tensioner.

In the picture where the tensioner is already installed, we welded additional cross bracing due to the factory welds coming loose, and attached the tensioner to the square tubing that we welded in. This tensioner will push up on the chain by simply loosening the bolts from the top. We welded nuts on the bottom of the tubing so that a backup will not be needed.

The tensioner that is just sitting on the trailer, will be bolted to the frame in back and will pull up on the chain by tightening the bolts, again, no back-up will be necessary.

I am pretty excited about all the changes I have made this time around....red clutch spring, correct belt tension, chain tensioners, and re-sealed T-20. A little cleaning up and painting on the frame, and I am ready to re-assemble.

BTW, I HATE the keyed axles on the center drive axle where there are three sprockets. They tend to get stuck, and I broke my hand two weeks ago by accidentally hitting it with a hammer when beating on them (It's ok to make fun of me, everybody else has!). I did find that on the axles with only one sprocket it is very easy to remove the outer flange bolts, all set-screws, pull out the axle until the sprocket is close to the frame, and use an air hammer through the outer bearing hole to remove sprocket!

Here's the pics..

Chain tensioners pictures from friends & fun photos on webshots

[micmac]

I guess you were just trying to live up to your screen name!!


Don't feel bad I think everyone of us on here has damaged ourselves working on these machines. I've got a long list of stuff I've done.

BTW the tensioners look great I hope the work for you. Maybe you can make a set of fully splined axles and sprockets for the middle axels. Might work better than just the keyed system.

Mike

[hdble]

Hi Boncrshr,
First, I like the chain adjusters, they look good.
Sorry about your hand, But like Mike said, we've all done it(several times)
That's a good looking crew in some of your pictures,looks like they're having a good time.
Let us know how the adjusters work.

[ygmir]

Boncrshr:
beautiful fab. good ideas.
I have a question:
referring to the tensioner sitting on the trailer, that will pull by tightening the bolts, wouldn't the springs go on the other side? Do you use the spring tension against the chain?

Just wondering if I'm confused..........again......

[boncrshr]

Hey MicMac,

Yes, I did unfortunately live up to my screen name..but in reverse! I am a chiropractor, so my official nickname among my buddies is bonecrusher...little did I know that poor hand/eye coordination and a hammer would do me in!

Hey HDBLE,

Thanks for the compliment, we have a pretty big crew both here and in the Philippines...we usually go once a year to abuse our livers with San Mig beer...it is a blast, unless you end up somewhere with no plumbing and then it is just camping in the jungle.

Hey ygmir,

Sorry, I probably did not explain enough on the adjuster sitting on the trailer. Basically the bolts will insert through the top of the frame in the rear of the Hustler, the chain will sit on top of the roller, but underneath the frame. The springs below the roller will sit on a flat stock keeper that has nuts welded to the bottom. So when you tighten the bolts from the top, it will raise the keeper, thereby increasing the spring tension upwards on the roller. Hopefully this will work as good as I hope that it will!

[ygmir]

I'd say you have a winner there.
Good design, easy to fabricate, looks quite durable, as well......

nice job!!

[boncrshr]

Oh yeah, forgot to add, if this works well, it is a very cheap upgrade over the stock Hustler chain adjusters, which don't seem to work too well. All parts were available at a local hardware store.

If these work well, my next project will be a cost effective, self-adjusting idler sprocket on the drive chains. I have seen some stuff online that looks like it might bolt right in, but they are 30-40 bucks each. I was thinking about looking in a junkyard to see if a serpentine belt tensioner could be modified to do this. But they are expensive to buy new....

[boncrshr]

I uploaded a few pics of the tensioners actually in place. The rear tensioners (the ones pulling upwards on the chain from the bottom) look like they are going to work really well. The other ones I'm not too sure about, I'm going to play with it a little more. Here's the link...

Chain tensioners pictures from friends & fun photos on webshots

[boncrshr]

Ok, the verdict is that they seem to work really good. I rode for about 20 minutes yesterday. No chain slap at all, and they stayed tight.

The other good thing I have realized it that this modification can be done with the frame in the vehicle. We had welded in some crossbracing that we attached the tensioners to in the front of the vehicle. This did not work out very well and now I am using the stock cross braces as a mounting point in the front.

That being said, IMO, if you have the Hustler frame out for any reason, you should add square tubing cross bracing in the front of the frame. The stock cross braces are c-channel in the front and square tubing in the back. I have had a problem with the c-channel pulling away from the frame 2x now, so hopefully the additional square tubing up front will eliminate this.

[Meinfield]

Ok, the verdict is that they seem to work really good. I rode for about 20 minutes yesterday. No chain slap at all, and they stayed tight.

The other good thing I have realized it that this modification can be done with the frame in the vehicle. We had welded in some crossbracing that we attached the tensioners to in the front of the vehicle. This did not work out very well and now I am using the stock cross braces as a mounting point in the front.

That being said, IMO, if you have the Hustler frame out for any reason, you should add square tubing cross bracing in the front of the frame. The stock cross braces are c-channel in the front and square tubing in the back. I have had a problem with the c-channel pulling away from the frame 2x now, so hopefully the additional square tubing up front will eliminate this.

Mine too, scott. When I pulled the frame out it was cracked at the points that the cross bracing butts up to the frame on the front and back. I have seen others cracked at the same place. Glad to see the tensioners worked well, I might adapt them on my machine.
Chris