Chain issues

[Wannaviper]

My 2016 XTX has @4,000 miles on it, and on the last ride, I started to notice a vibration coming up through the floorboard. It was pretty subtle, but it was there, and I was afraid that a bearing might be going somewhere in the skid, so I took it in to my dealer. Their solution was to replace the chain; apparently the original chain had stretched beyond the limits of adjustment, and I had to have a new chain. I have picked the sled up, but with limited snow, I have not had a chance to test it out yet to see if that fixed the problem.

I read the forums pretty regularly, but I don't remember seeing any postings about the chains stretching out, or needing to be replaced. Has anyone else had to replace their chains, and if so, at how many miles?

 

[savageman69]

Your dealer is lying....i highly doubt that chain was stretched to far...there are guys with over 10k miles...with no issues...i know i have 9k and i have tons of adjustment left.

 

[RTX]

I would not go so far as to say the dealer is lying.
Sure you can keep tightening the chain, but dealers usually do things by the book.
Dealers measure chains to a spec. If it is stretched to, or beyond the spec than it should be replaced. Thats quite possibly why they replaced it and they might not have found the actual issue.

Did the dealer test drive it after the repair? Or did hey just toss a new chain in it and tell you its good to go

 

[savageman69]

I would not go so far as to say the dealer is lying.
Sure you can keep tightening the chain, but dealers usually do things by the book.
Dealers measure chains to a spec. If it is stretched to, or beyond the spec than it should be replaced. Thats quite possibly why they replaced it and they might not have found the actual issue.

Did the dealer test drive it after the repair? Or did hey just toss a new chain in it and tell you its good to go

No im going to stick to lying...there is almost no chance that chain was stretched....There are hundreds of guys on here with double that mileage and i have seen anyone yet need a chain due to stretch....this chain is not garbage at 4k miles.

 

[THKSNOW]

I had 23,000 miles on my Attak with the original chain when I sold it...

 

[cannondale27]

Maybe someone at factory put the cheap cat chain and gears in there accidentally or maybe the dealer found top gear bushing shot and did the right thing and replaced gear and chain as a set. Really that’s how it should be done every year. Nobody does but is really the right way.

 

[savageman69]

Maybe someone at factory put the cheap cat chain and gears in there accidentally or maybe the dealer found top gear bushing shot and did the right thing and replaced gear and chain as a set. Really that’s how it should be done every year. Nobody does but is really the right way.

what effect does the top gear bushing wear cause?...just curious, What would leaving it cause? im still on the original gear with 9000 miles

 

[Wannaviper]

It seemed strange to have the chain go so soon, but based upon past experience, I generally trust this dealer to be fair with me, so it is kind of an "enigma"!

I wondered if there was anything unusual in my use of the sled that might contribute to a premature stretching of the chain? The only thing I could think of was that I ended up towing a friend twice over some long distances, first when his Viper had an issue with the reverse gear, and then the second time when his starter blew up. Both times resulted in 50+ mile tows over some pretty difficult terrain. I suspect both instances were hard on my sled; I know the last time I had just replaced the belt, and the belt dust was unbelievably thick. Could that kind of strain contribute to the chain stretching?

 

[cannondale27]

what effect does the top gear bushing wear cause?...just curious, What would leaving it cause? im still on the original gear with 9000 miles

If it wears the gear will be sloppy on the shaft and may not fully engage when put into gear. Also if wore far enough the bushing will eat up the shaft.

 

[cannondale27]

It seemed strange to have the chain go so soon, but based upon past experience, I generally trust this dealer to be fair with me, so it is kind of an "enigma"!

I wondered if there was anything unusual in my use of the sled that might contribute to a premature stretching of the chain? The only thing I could think of was that I ended up towing a friend twice over some long distances, first when his Viper had an issue with the reverse gear, and then the second time when his starter blew up. Both times resulted in 50+ mile tows over some pretty difficult terrain. I suspect both instances were hard on my sled; I know the last time I had just replaced the belt, and the belt dust was unbelievably thick. Could that kind of strain contribute to the chain stretching?

I think he saw other things wrong and didn't take a chance on chain. Really doesn't matter since he did it right.