chain slaping

[steve w]

HI all i have a 03 big foot and my back chains seam to make a lot of noise if i am on a bumpy trail with rocks and hard ground on bog it seams fine. i checked my chain tensors they seam to be working fine, the chain looks to be tight enough so is this normal.

[mightymaxIV]

Steve-my HD has 43 hours on it and from time to time under certain conditions I will hear a ticking noise on the right or left side. I took my floor panels off and discovered that under certain conditions the middle chains will slap the frame just below where the chains come off the transmission. The Argo Adjusters work really well but they aren't perfect and they will allow for some slap from time to time. As long as the adjusters still have space to take up chain slack I wouldn't worry about it, if the adjusters are all the way to the top then your chain is stretched and you'll need a new chain.

[Castro]

Teeth on adjuster are prob warn and slipping. They made then new auto adjusters with bigger courser teeth to prevent this. We just upgraded my 02 Bigfoot and it eliminated this issue for me.

[Rock Doctor]

My first thought is "Yes, this is normal", but by not actually looking at it, I'm guessing.
Some thoughts:
Your back chains are the longest, and therefore have more of a tandancy to slap.
It slaps more on hard ground than in the bog becouse on hard ground, the chains are under varying shock loads, due to traction, uneven tire press/diamiter, ect. In the bog, you get a much smoother power delivery to the tires. The tires can slip much easier in a bog without shock loading the chains, causing the tensioners to jump.
Is it a slap or a click? Once the chains wear into the tensioner pad, you may find that every time the Master Link comes around, it will cause the tensioner wear pad to click. The master link does not wear into the pads as fast as the rest of the chain, causing this click at times.

RD

[steve w]

it sounds like the chain slaping to me. i nosed when i am greasing the chains when i push the argo backwards by hand the back chains will go slack, then push the argo forward and the chains will go tight again.