How to clean up the chains, sprockets and inner tub?

[tonyk72]

While the motor and back seat are out of the Max IV, I'd like to clean up the some of the pine needles and other crud. The sprockets appear to have a tar like substance all over them too. I already removed by hand what I could and shop vac'd the rest. I'm tempted to blast some of it off with a pressure washer and then immediately lube the sprockets and chains. Good idea/bad idea? Any other advice/suggestions?

[AdrenalineJunky]

I tipped mine up on jacks (front) and then pressure washed the whole tub area.......let it drain out the back. I then used some compressed air to chase offf excess water. Then you can re-lube the chains and such. I like to clean it up before servicing the grease zerks/trans/chains.

[vanmeterj1]

The New to me Max II had about 2 inches of gunk in the lowest parts of the Tub, I did the same as above. Lifted the front up and pulled the plugs and washed the crap out of the entire thing. I did one thing different and it made a huge difference. get yourself about two gallons of Awesome brand cleaner and soak everything down for about an hour before you start washing. I'm telling the truth when I say that it made the machine look brand new all over with a minimum amount of work. I then went back over everything with lube and even touched up spots on the frame where the paint had come off.

now, she shines like a brand new penny. A good base cleaning is a great place to start with anything mechanical and it will make other maintenance tasks easier for you in the long run. the term for AATV's I belive is "drain'em and maintain'em"

[bierbower37]

I removed all my chains on mine and used a parts clearer on them. After that i used a toilet brush and ivory soap to scrub it down. That and a pressure washer do a great job, plus ivory is gentle on every seal and such.