Chaincase tune -up, getting things ready Options

[Snowmutt]

Season is getting near and the list is starting to grow. As your listing things out remember a vital part of your ride "The chaincase"
Your chaincase goes through alot during the season of winter bliss with a range of heat cycles ,tensional stress,thermal breakdown of fluids,friction and water.
I just serviced a chaincase with a gear swap and thought I would post a little run down for some of you that are not so familiar with them. All chaincases are basiclly the same , just have slightly different configuations, bolts,gears and shape of things. Some of those with the manual reverse are a little scary at first ,but it's ok all it is ...is some linkage and extra gear w/ a spring. You wont be messing to much with that unless you see something really wrong.
The chaincase I'll be showing is a 05 skidoo which has 1800 mi on it from last season. Everything is stock gear 22/43(top/bottom),but we will be changing the top down one tooth for a lower gear ratio(21/43) during the service.


First we need to drain the fluid. Some chaincases have a drain plug some don't , no biggy, those with out just get a bigger mess to clean up .
Ok ,locate your drain plug and drain , this one happens to be a 3/16 allen head plug. For the ones with out the plug get your rags ready now .
Breaking the case open, 4 or 5 bolts/screws to undo and your in . I removed the can for room and other maintance. One's with no plug this is where you drain your fluid.
Now before we get any further take note of the fluid, water is one of the biggest issues in a chaincase. Water get's in through your seals on your axle or jackshaft and then there's just plain condensation. Alot of water?, you might want to look into your seals , expecially if you been running in alot of powder all the time .
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Now let's get inside, carefully remove the cover not to damage the rubber seal you can re use this unless damaged. Once your inside, I like to take a minunte to just inspect things, looking for things out of the ordinary,chiped tooth, cotter pin, anything that might be an issue .
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Notice how much adjustability you have in you tensioner if your gear swapping , to small of a gear you might not have enough adjustability and need a new chain too. The norm has been 2 teeth down and 1 up on the top gear and be able to keep the same chain length.
Now remove the adjuster pin and loosen up the chain, set your parking brake and pull the cotter pin and TROW IT AWAY!.
Never re-use the pin it's very prone to breaking after bending it and for 50 cents it isn't worth the cost of a blown chaincase.
Loosen the gear nut and remove it. Now we can remove the gear and chain and lay it in the cover NOT on the cement floor (dirt!!)
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Now wash all that gunk out of there , I used carb cleaner . Make sure you get back in the cavity where the dipstick is.After its all cleaned out I'll put the plug back in.
Now we can get a close look at the chain . Lay it out and inspect the chain for chips and cracks on all sides, Since Im changing gears ,always match it up with the old just to make sure .
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Once we have everything all inspected we can start putting things back together. After you get the chain and gear back on the sled , snug up the tensioner .. not real tight just enough to keep the chain where it's suppose to be , final adjustment will come in a min. Now finish your top gear up with the nut and NEW cotter pin. Ok we can set your chain tension now , tighten up the tensioner , just before you get to finger tight I will roll the track to make sure nothing binds in the chaincase. Then finish tighening to finger tight and back it off to get the pin in place. Before you install the cover I'll take some oil and coat the seal(like a oil filter on a auto ), this will make a good seal .
Now your ready for your favorite lube of choice according to mfg specs, I run a blend of synthetic chaincase oil with some lucas oil stailbizer, just me we all have our secret sauce .
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Congrats you have now serviced your chaincase and are ready for all that white gold that awaits you
NOTE**Make sure you check your chain tension often , new componets will wear in after a ride , mainily after a new chain is installed.

Mutt

[dooman]

did you check the chain for too much play in it, not just chips and cracks?

[idooski]

Good job, Mutt!

I hope you mind if I add a couple things?

Be sure to check your tensioner. Roll it to be sure that the needle bearings are okay. If it feels sticky at all, change it. Also check to see if the bolt that goes through the tensioner is tight. That bolt was loose on the sled that I did yesterday.

[dlaine]

Good description and very nice pics! Thank you for all the work putting this together!

Have you seen what they put in front of the XP chaincase? I don't think it will be quite that easy for Dean and I...

One question - it looks like there is an awful lot of bend in that chain. Are you sure you don't want to drop a link on it already? Less stress on the chain, better efficiency and more power to the ground...

dave

[dooman]

One question - it looks like there is an awful lot of bend in that chain. Are you sure you don't want to drop a link on it already? Less stress on the chain, better efficiency and more power to the ground...

dave

if you are refering to the first set of pics I agree. however in the lower set it is not as bad. you would see a gain for sure over the first set.

[dlaine]

if you are refering to the first set of pics I agree. however in the lower set it is not as bad. you would see a gain for sure over the first set.

I am looking at the next to last picture. I think the 4th from the last picture does not have the tensioner tightened up yet. Looks like the chain wraps amost 2/3-3/4 of the way around the upper sprocket. Looks like there isn't much room left on the tensioner either.

dave

[dooman]

if you are refering to the first set of pics I agree. however in the lower set it is not as bad. you would see a gain for sure over the first set.

I am looking at the next to last picture. I think the 4th from the last picture does not have the tensioner tightened up yet. Looks like the chain wraps amost 2/3-3/4 of the way around the upper sprocket. Looks like there isn't much room left on the tensioner either.

dave

yes I see what you are saying.

[thumbdoctor]

Nice job Mutt!,

An FYI for those of you that find it necessary to replace the upper or lower chain case bearing (seals). The bearings need to have the race seals (seal integral to the bearing) facing the chain case. This may seem counter intuitive but the biggest danger causing failed bearing is just one of those hardened metal chips to find it's way between the bearing race. The evidence is on your dip stick. The track side of both upper & lower bearings should have good quality low temperature bearing lube (or Lithium grease). If you purchase after market bearings (cheaper than BRP) remove the track side bearing race seals and put 2 oz of lube in the cavity between the chain case seal and the packed new bearing.

Chain inspection specs below (see my note).

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[someone11]

Take it from a newbie...if your chaincase doesnt have a plug, or one that doesnt drain all the fluid, get LOTS of towels. Mine had a plug at the bottom but it didnt let all the fluid out. I didnt realize how much was left and when i pulled the case apart, the stuff poured everywhere and made a big mess. And of course i had no towels ready. I wish i had known then.

[dooman]

can someone open docs file and post it?

[someone11]

hope this looks good...




"In reference to chain deflection, the chain should be laid down on a piece of paper with the link pin horizontal and in a straight line. Hold one end of the chain in place and move the other end to the extreme left (make a reference mark on the paper), now move the chain the other way and make another reference mark. Measure the distance between the marks (no more than 1.5 inches or discard chain)"

This post has been edited by someone11: Aug 14 2008, 05:31 PM

[idooski]

I just ordered a new chain for this 600 Gade I'm working on. The deflection of the old chain was at 1.650". The chain had 5300 miles on it. I will check the deflection of the new one when it gets here.