o ring chain + steam cleaner = ????????

[corey77]

I know there are a lot of chain cleaners avaliable but could a steam cleaner be used to clean an o ring chain without doing any damage

[ofblong]

what kind of steam cleaner? It all depends. We use a steam cleaner on our chains at work as they get nasty/sticky/gooey product all over them. steam cleaner cleans it up just fine then we relubricate them. How hot does the steam cleaner you plan on using get?

[corey77]

The steam cleaner is just your normal household type nothing special I was wondering if there were precautions when cleaning around the o rings if the steam could some how penetrate and do more harm than good

[ArcticHarleyMan]

As posted above, be sure to relube the cahin very well. Are you using a steam cleaner or just a regular pressure cleaner? Steam could damage the "o"-rings if it gets too hot. Hot water will be OK, but steam may damage them.

[hot_shoe_cv]

I would err on the side of caution and forget the steam cleaning idea and just use some 409 or similar cleaner and a brush which isn't too stiff to prevent damage to the O rings.
As for lubing an O ring chain, the purpose of the O rings is to retain the lubricant inside the rollers. Lubing is just redundant and the cause of your original problem. The only benefit of lubing the O ring chain would be to prevent rust on the side plates if that is a problem where you are. If you must use a chain lube use Chain Wax by Maxima which won't sling off and leaves no greasy residue to attract dirt. I used it for years on dirt bikes after trying many other brands.

[WyoSemRider]

I would err on the side of caution and forget the steam cleaning idea and just use some 409 or similar cleaner and a brush which isn't too stiff to prevent damage to the O rings.
As for lubing an O ring chain, the purpose of the O rings is to retain the lubricant inside the rollers. Lubing is just redundant and the cause of your original problem. The only benefit of lubing the O ring chain would be to prevent rust on the side plates if that is a problem where you are. If you must use a chain lube use Chain Wax by Maxima which won't sling off and leaves no greasy residue to attract dirt. I used it for years on dirt bikes after trying many other brands.

I've been using DuPont Teflon Multi-Use Dry Wax Lubricant on my bike chain (in Australia this same DuPont product is labeled as "Motorcycle Chain Lubricant"). Easy to put on. No slinging off. Dries quickly.

[Sev]

I would err on the side of caution and forget the steam cleaning idea and just use some 409 or similar cleaner and a brush which isn't too stiff to prevent damage to the O rings.
As for lubing an O ring chain, the purpose of the O rings is to retain the lubricant inside the rollers. Lubing is just redundant and the cause of your original problem. The only benefit of lubing the O ring chain would be to prevent rust on the side plates if that is a problem where you are. If you must use a chain lube use Chain Wax by Maxima which won't sling off and leaves no greasy residue to attract dirt. I used it for years on dirt bikes after trying many other brands.

Lubing the outside helps keep dirt from working its way into the o-rings.