Another 300 ish miles yesterday ,, i do keep the chain well lubed but is begining to look a bit boggin now , sos i want to take it off and give it a good clean , re lube and back on ,,,,, iwas just going to soak it in petrol ov nite but am a bit worried the petrol might errode the O rings , if so then plan B would be Gunk ,,, what is the thots on this ,, i know there are many dedicated products but not keen on spending loads of lolly if petrol or gunk will do ... ( I used to use Gunk on mtb chains ). I have plenty spray on lube .
If I thought my chain was so dirty that I needed to go through the palaver of taking it off by splitting the rivet link; cleaning it with some form of solvent (which will inevitably wash some of the internal grease out of the rollers; and then re-rivet the damn thing, I would fit a new chain instead. Unless of course it was nearly new, in which case I wouldn't take it off to clean it and a wipe over the side plates would deal with that........ .....and if it's a horseshoe clip link type of chain........well.........
Actually i think it is the clip type chain , i would not be considering a rivet removal and refit job ,,,,,,,,, ( bike not here just now so can only check later ). So are you saying that there is some dedicated grease type thing inside the chain which can can be effected by deep soak ?
I wouldn't take it off to clean it - unless it had a split link, but I haven't had a chain with a split link for years. I used to take them off, clean them in a tub of paraffin then, after it had been hung up to dry dunk it in a tin of Linklife on top of the stove. The Linklife invariably got tipped onto the kitchen floor and then the trouble really began Thank god for o-ring chains.
Yes if it's an o-ring chain, which it probably is. Petrol can get past the o-rings and wash out the internal grease which they retain. It can also swell the o-rings which will knacker them. A light wash with paraffin should be ok and won't affect the o-rings.
I don't know if Gunk would affect the o-rings, it's probably ok a long as you wash it off with just a hose. Any form of pressure washer could possibly get past the o-rings. The Gunk will totally de-grease the chain so you will have to give it a good lube once it is dry.
thanks for your advice boys,, thinks a brush on gunk and hose off followed by good relube will do for me..
Arggghhhhhhh, linklife bubbling away on the stove, those were the days! I use plenty of WD40 on a rag to get rid of excess lube, works well enough despite numerous internet warnings of the dangers of WD40 and 'O' ring chains!
I clean mine with paraffin and an old paint brush. Run a cloth round the chain to mop up excess, let it dry and apply lube - Rock Oil in my case. Don't use one of these chain brushes: Too harsh IMO. Can damage the O rings.
I always use paraffin and a tooth brush and wipe off with an old sock. Recently I bought some stuff on-line and had to hit £10 so bought this. Motul C1 Chain Clean - 400ml | Demon Tweeks Only used it once but seemed really good.
