[Samir Shah]

So, I think I answered some of my own questions.

Chain stretch – 3 ways of measuring or at least identifying;

– I used a straight metal ruler. Put a new chain against it. End to end, the new 219 chain fits exactly in the center of 2 pins. Next put the suspect chain against the ruler. If the chain pins overhang the ruler, it is stretched.

– I also put the new ‘benchmark’ chain directly against the suspect chain to verify that it was stretched.

– I then wrapped the chains, one at a time, around an entire new rear sprocket. and held the excess chain tight against the sprocket with with one hand. A new chain could not be lifted off the new sprocket and fit tightly, the used chain could be lifted off the teeth of the sprocket and had play.

Now to figure out how to tell if a sprocket is still good.

Samir

[Jim White]

Are you sure your aren’t running it too tight? Guys can run a 30 minute roadrace and not have issues.

[Samir Shah]

No, I had it misaligned (I sighted by eye and spun it – a no-no for a newbie) and also did not have the right lube. I was used to 4 cycle guys using Triflow, and that’s what I used.

Had the alignment been OK, it would have probably survived. But, the clutch gear got chewed up and stripped due to the alignment (and presumably the chain was toast at that point too). Then I put in a new 10T gear, made sure it was aligned, but used the same chain, since it was ‘new’ and only had 1 session on it, and the 2nd 10T also got stripped, this time presumably by the stretched chain.

Then someone experienced (thanks John Ferris) took a look, identified the dryness of the chain, and educated me on what was happening. New chain, new gear, new sprocket, new can of proper lube, and not only did the kart run well the rest of the day (4 more sessions), but my son also won the feature race in his first race in a Leopard (yeah, yeah, I’m a proud dad and can’t believe it or get over it).

I understand the problem now. My learning curve in the past 2 weeks has been steep! And I’m glad there are such nice helpful people at the track, else it could easily have been very frustrating.

Samir.

[tony zambos]

Link to a chain test tool:
http://www.performancekartsport.com/Panther%20Kart%20Chain/page86/index.html

Link to a reply posted by Tom Grisham on May 28, 2013
http://eknclassic.com/viewtopic.php?t=123466&highlight=

[Samir Shah]

Thanks Tony. Great links.

Yes, that was the only chain test tool I found, but there was no link to purchase it, so I sent them an email. Waiting to hear back. In the meantime, it gave me ideas, thus the 3 methods I listed. I think measuring with calipers might be the way to go as it can be done on the kart.

Samir.

[Samir Shah]

Lube: I found and tried out the Lucas Oils Chain oil 10014 product.

It’s amazing, worked fastastically all weekend. I was lubing after every race, and I suspect I did not need to do so every time- chain was always still lubed well even when coming off a 15 lapper.

Much cheaper than all the spray cans, very easy to apply, no wastage, and no mess from spraying.

[Anonymous]

RK O-ring chains + Xeramic chain lube = best combination we’ve found. Chains last forever.

[Author]

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