Cleaning Chains

[wheeler]

I'm in the middle of re-greasing bearings, cleaning everything, oil change, transmission fluid change, chain adjustments and a myriad of other things. I want to clean the chains up as they have a mix of mud, sand and grease on them. I wonder if taking two sponges and soaking them with something, while the chains are slowly moving, would clean them up nice. I thought about spraying them with brake cleaner but not sure I should be doing that on the chains and that spray is harsh. Also it's snowing and cold here so I cannot take it out and do any pressure washing. OR do you guys have another way or idea of how to do it?

[msafi65]

Motorcycle shops usually sell a Grunge Brush. Has three brushes on one end that fit over the chain. I usually have them out and in the solvent tank when cleaning. I would hesitate to use brake clean on o- ring chain. I seldom see a chain I would clean and reuse. I know people that scrub chains with diesel or motor oil to flush off dirt.

[wheeler]

msa, I'm might try the motor oil thing. Thanks for the idea.

[Buzz]

I remove chains and submerge them in a few gallons of diesel in a 5-gallon bucket (one at a time). Stir them around (a long screwdriver works well) and use a brush if necessary to scrub. Wear gloves. Maybe even something covering your eyes. If I'm really ambitious I'll then soak them in chaincase oil using the same method, but using any chain lube after they are re-installed works good too. At least when the chains are out, you can really clean the floor of the machine between the frame rails no problem. I've used gasoline too, but always felt obligated to soak them in oil afterwards because gas is much drier than diesel.

[wheeler]

Buzz that's a great idea if I decide to remove them. But at this point I'm gonna clean them while in the 6. Thanks for the great idea though.

[Norbert77]

Set the argo on stands, fill the bottom of the argo with diesel and have somebody work the throttle while you hold a wire brush to the chain. Or turn the tires a few revolutions while brushing. Diesel gets chains nice and clean. Then drain, dry and re-lube