Max II chains correct?

[Russell King]

The chains on my 1992 Max II were very loose. I bought new Tsubaki (SP?) chains and installed them this weekend. I had talked to Jay at RI and had that 102 links were required for each of the 4 drive trains. Got that all counted out and broke the chains down to 101 links and added in the master link for 102 total.

When installing them I anticipated that they would be "tight as banjo strings" from reading other posts on chain installations. I had even purchased enough half links to install until the chain stretched a bit.

Well the new chains are not that much tighter than the chains that were removed. I had looked at the sprockets and they did not appear to be too worn, no shark fins, no missing teeth. A few teeth were slightly damaged on the sides from chewing something up while running. The sprocket tubes are slightly loose on the axles since the bolts holes are slightly elongated but I don't think that would affect how tight the chains are.

The ends of the chain were easy to get the master link into, no great effort was required to get them close enough.

After installing the new chains the chain adjusters were required to be approximately 1/3 of their travel to get the chains to have about 1/2 inch slack. All six wheels off the ground during all of this adjustment.

The bearings are somewhat worn but none are grinding or too loose (axles won't move too far - less than 1/8 at wheel)

Does this sound correct or not? Any suggestions on what to check or change?

[thebuggyman1]

Did you check your axles inner bushings?

[Russell King]

No I have not really checked the bearings/bushings that much. I was hoping that just putting new chains on would tighten it up enough to run for some time - at least until it is not 100F in the shade at 8PM!

How would one go about checking the inner bushings? Take the axle out and look/measure or is there a more elegant method? (and by elegant I really mean less work)

I just got this Max II a few months ago and have no idea if anything has ever been replaced or not. The chains were just really loose and one was starting to come off the sprockets. The tensioners would not hold the tension so I will need to be adopting some method to fix them if they still lossen with the new chain. I think I will try to just clamp the existing slide tensioner to the stationary part of the mechanisim - I have a feeble plan, now just need to get the parts cobbled together and see if it works.

[Russell King]

Another question -
I put a new drive belt on and adjusted it. Now there is a gap (.38 to .5 inch) between the horizontal bumper and the engine plate. There does not appear to be any threaded lengh to allow staking washers between the frame and the bumper (opposite side to engine). Is the bumper supposed to be against the engine mount with everything static? Is there a method to adjust the bumper when the engine is moved back?

[racerone3]

I have always had the banjo tight condition on Attex machines with new chain, but when I replaced everything in my wife's Max II, it was about like you described.
I just check Bearings and Bushings by feel. with the machine off the ground, lift up on each wheel. if you feel any "clunk" you have an issue with one or the other...
here is a short term solution for your loose adjusters. it is a pain to get them set, but works
for the "horizontal bumper". The bracket that it is mounted on it attached to the frame through slotted holes (at least on machines i've dealt with) loosen up the mounting bolts and slide it back

[Russell King]

Thanks that seems like a good solution. The fix I tried failed miserably due to the rounded edge on the front of the sliding part. The clamping mechanism would just slide off the top. I think it could work with a little welding but I am not willing to weld on them yet.

Your adjusters look to be in worse condition than the ones I have pulled out of my Max. It should solve the problem.

I will jack it back up and check all of the wheels, I imagine that they all need to be replaced but the bearings and bushings will have to wait til a bit cooler weather and some more $$ are available.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

[m38inmaine]

If the notches on the adjuster are ok the slider and spring are available from RI and is an inexpensive fix. There is a video here showing how to do it. I did all 4 of mine.

[Russell King]

The two front ones almost seem new compared to the ones I have seen pictures of. There was not much crud on them, and less now that I cleaned them. The ratchets are just a little worn and the springs are there and seem sufficiently strong.

The two rear ones are in worse shape but again seem in good enough condition to work. These will be replaced with brand new or modified to the unistrut/bolt style or perhaps trying my clamping idea if any are replaced/modified. I have never seen a brand new one to know what the perfect condition is.

I am going to try them out as is and see if they will hold on now with the new chains. If they don't I will probably try the hose clamp idea first to see how it works, then progrss to more serious modification or replacements.

I have now checked the bearings and they all seem somewhat loose but nothing really clunking. I will replace the bearings and bushings this fall/winter just to know they are OK. May go to the 72mm if enough people suggest it and it is "easy enough".

I asked on another post if the 72mm bearings bolted in place of the 62 but did not get any response. From what I understand the 4 bolt holes are on a larger diameter so they have to be located in a different angular location than the existing and drilled through the tub and frame. I am not positive that the flangette fits the same (large) hole in the frame. Does not seem that it would but have not heard anyone say they had to modify that hole. Seems like that would be a show stopper for me.

Are the 72 mm bearings that much better than the 62mm bearings? I have not seen any full description of how to go to the larger bearings, but I will search again.

Again, thank you all for your help.

[Russell King]

Finally got it all back together. Had to loosen the drive belt some, it would pull forward or stall the engine when putting it into gear. Got that adjusted and then put it up on jackstands to see how the chains acted. Adjusted all of the chain adjusters and they were holding on through operation on the jackstands. Ran it around a bit on the streets in my neighborhood and the adjusters seem to be holding. It will be next weekend before I can get it onto some dirt and see how it works.