Finally took first ride- the damage done.... help please

[Bigred292]

After months of delays finally got my Bigfoot up to the cabin. Put about 3 hrs on machine but at the end it started making noise when I would turn right.
Got it home and found this. Chain tensioner on R side appears to be either bent or out of place.
Chain is tight.
Can anyone please push me in the right direction? My thought is to remove chain and try to straighten it out?
Thanks for any help

[rgoat]

I was surprised to see this style of chain tensioner in a bigfoot. Thought it was introduced with the avenger series. In any case, hopefully the carrying rod isn't bent and the ratcheting bracket has just come loose. I'd disconnect the chain, make sure the tensioner rod isn't bent, then re-seat the tensioner and reconnect the chain. The service manual has all the steps.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6d...Y2YWN5VnM/view

[liflod]

That chain looks really worn out. It needs replaced.

[Bigred292]

Machine has 154 hours on it-could they go that quick?
This is all new to me- I used my bike chain lube on chains so there's a little white residue on them
How many hours should the chains normally last?

[Rusty-Gunn]

Regarding chain life... there is no set standard for chain life. There are many factors involved that contribute to chain wear. The Hours a machine runs may not necessariy be an indicator of chain life either. Chains can last for a long time, yet can wear out sooner than anticipated.
The best thing to do is invest in top quality chain, like Tsubaki Omega, as an example. There are others as well. Low-cost, cheapo chinese chain should be avoided like the plague.
Keep them lubed as well.

[liflod]

The chain is almost touching where the tensioner is. New chains are pretty tight going on and the tensioner barely deflects the chain. The chain needs replaced. Do not remove links, it will kill your sprockets.

[Bigred292]

Ok- not really what I wanted to hear.
Is replacing the chains an emergency thing or can I get a few more hours with what I have and do it in the winter?
Do they sell sets or do you just buy it by the foot?
Ballpark on price?

[Gruffy]

You can either buy it prebroken into the chain lengths you need from some of the argo vendors online, or you can buy it by the foot. I bought some bulgarian agriculture chain for pretty cheap and broke it myself.

Price from argo for all new pre broken tsubaki chains (on my machine) ~ 650
Price for 50' of bulgarian ag chain - 250

The bulgarian chain may be done in 40 hours. I won't know until it happens. It seems like most people on this forum get anywhere from 100 to 200+ hours of use on the japanese chains like tsubaki depending on how they use their machine. Breaking chain is easily done.

[Bigred292]

Update - finally got to look at machine yesterday - I used a dead blow hammer and tapped the chain tensioner- the side that was high went right back into place. It looks perfectly straight - is this a normal thing?
I really would like to use it 2 or 3 more times at my cabin - think it's ok to do?

[Mike]

Can you run it the way it is? Sure. Should you replace the chain now? Yep.

The tensioner should be fine. It gets in that position when it is completely loose and the spring unwinds.

[glen1971]

Is the slider block in good shape or did it get chewed up? Is there a track off center? If there is, your chain will track back that way..
I have 156 hours on my machine, and have previously replaced the 3rd drive chain on my avenger. This weekend, I'm replacing both idler, and both last drive chains.. When I cleaned and put back the second drive chain, it looked pretty loose.. When I do the second side, I'm going to compare it to a new one.. If it's too stretched, I'll be replacing both the 1st and 2nd on both sides..
The idler chains took the longest to do, as one side was less than cooperative.. While the drive chains are out, I'm doing new slider blocks too... All told, probably be about 12 hours worth of chain work, but then it will be good for a long time.. I bought Tsubaki chains in a 10' box for $150 each...

[Oilfieldtrash82]

You can either buy it prebroken into the chain lengths you need from some of the argo vendors online, or you can buy it by the foot. I bought some bulgarian agriculture chain for pretty cheap and broke it myself.

Price from argo for all new pre broken tsubaki chains (on my machine) ~ 650
Price for 50' of bulgarian ag chain - 250

The bulgarian chain may be done in 40 hours. I won't know until it happens. It seems like most people on this forum get anywhere from 100 to 200+ hours of use on the japanese chains like tsubaki depending on how they use their machine. Breaking chain is easily done.

Where did you find this Bulgarian AG chain at?