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Chain wax?

The WD-40 chain debate! How does it affect o-ring, x-ring, or w-ring! Personally I like ATF to clean the chain. It also leaves a nice coating that will inhibit rust. I think that o-ring type chains only need to be kept clean, properly adjusted, and kept coated with a thin film of oil to prevent rust. WD-40 will do that and so will many other products. I don't know if it will get past to o-rings or not but I figure why take the chance. Somebody should do a test regarding WD-40 and o-ring penetration so this can be settled once and for all.
 
You're doing it all wrong. Ditch the chain altogether and get something with a shaft drive! :x
 
mtmax said:
Carry on then. I'll keep treating the penetrating oil as penetrating oil, regardless of the sealed aircraft bearings I've seen destroyed by it. By this logic, you may as well clean your chain with acetone.

Do what you choose with your bike, but it's bad form to tell others to misuse product that can and will destroy their equipment.

Call WD40 directly and ask their opinion on the matter. Guarantee they don't suggest using it as a lubricant in any situation, and suggest against using it on bearings in particular.

As I said, it's great for cleaning up, but take the time to lubricate your chain after if you want it to last. Or don't, your bike.
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:thumbup Totally agree to the max. :thumbup Drawing on my history of 60 years of riding/maintaining my own bikes.
Machinist/tool&die maker, trouble shooter/mechanic, on factory assembly lines.
 
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mike54 said:
The WD-40 chain debate! How does it affect o-ring, x-ring, or w-ring! Personally I like ATF to clean the chain. It also leaves a nice coating that will inhibit rust. I think that o-ring type chains only need to be kept clean, properly adjusted, and kept coated with a thin film of oil to prevent rust. WD-40 will do that and so will many other products. I don't know if it will get past to o-rings or not but I figure why take the chance. Somebody should do a test regarding WD-40 and o-ring penetration so this can be settled once and for all.
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It will never be settled... Different people do the deeds differently..And get different results.
 
mtmax said:
Carry on then. I'll keep treating the penetrating oil as penetrating oil, regardless of the sealed aircraft bearings I've seen destroyed by it. By this logic, you may as well clean your chain with acetone.
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I clean with kerosene and lube with Motul Chain Paste. :thumbup
 
those charts, if accurate, say it all.
 
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Don't use WD-40 if it's an o-ring chain. You'll wreck your seals.

Chains from the factory usually come slathered in excessive amounts of messy sticky white lithium grease. Which is fine, if you're a chain, and just want to not seize up... but it attracts dirt like crazy and may even fling off and stick to other stuff if it gets hot. If you like having a clean chain and wheel, just clean that shit off and put on some teflon lube right away.

I recommend DuPont o-ring chain degreaser and Chain Saver teflon lube.
 
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thedub said:
Because it never gets to the bearings. Nothing you spray out of a can is making it past the o-rings. wd-40 is a penetrating oil, but it aint that good. If wd-40, or anything really, could be sprayed out of a can, and go straight past the o-rings and start breaking down the grease, then the grease that's packed in there from the factory would just fly out the first time you used the chain.

Yes, you are correct that using wd-40 in place of a proper grease on a bearing would severely degrade it's service life. But that's not what we are talking about here.

The idea that you need to lube your chain is a carry over from traditional non o-ring chains. Our current o-ring chains are lubed from the factory, the lube is sealed in, and in that respect they are maintenance free. But what you do need to do is keep them clean. wd-40 is great for this since it's designed to clean, displace moisture, and inhibit corrosion.
Some people will claim you still need a lubricant on the outside of the chain to lubricate the outside of the chain's rollers against the teeth of the sprocket. Well, wd-40, as a light lubricant, can handle that too.
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No, WD-40 is an organic solvent and will degrade the O-rings themselves. The issue isn't it seeping past, but rather damaging the o-rings so they don't last as long and start breaking down. Don't use WD-40. You want to use a chain degreaser specifically formulated for o-ring chains.

Chain lube on modern chains is important mostly because a proper lube repels dirt and water, and keeps your chain from rusting/seizing. It's true that the bearings are packed and the o-rings protect them, but you still don't want to go too long without cleaning/lubing your chain if you want it to last.
 
EvilStig said:
No, WD-40 is an organic solvent and will degrade the O-rings themselves. The issue isn't it seeping past, but rather damaging the o-rings so they don't last as long and start breaking down. Don't use WD-40. You want to use a chain degreaser specifically formulated for o-ring chains.
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That's just not true.

The reasons I know this are a) The company that manufactures WD-40 says it's not true, and b) I have not observed it to be true in my time spraying WD-40 on my chains.
 
I don't believe spraying WD-40 to clean will do any significant damage over the life of chain. Maybe soaking a chain in wd40 will do it I dunno..

I use Diesel most of the time to clean chain since I always have some at home. But if I am lazy I grab the WD40 spray can and clean with it. I get good mileage out of my chain. Keeping it clean is the trick for me.
 
Ensuing rant:
Have had bikes for 800,000 miles and ya know what? Oring chains suck.
OMG blasphemy. Yup.

Oring chains were designed for people that don't lube a chain. What does an oring do when used in a chain? It holds the miniscule amount of lube on the pin and the sleeve when assembled at the factory. When this lube wears out then what. Ya can't get new lube in there due to the O ring. Oyeah, I'll hear responses from the 2000 mile per year riders that I got 8 years and 10,000 miles out of my Oring chain.

I'll put non O ring chains on and often get 30,000 out of them because lube can soak into the pin and sleeve. Cleaning? anything. Kero, mineral spirits, gas, diesel etc. But then soak the piss out of it with lube. Oyeah, with serious lubing, I've gotten ~80,000 miles out of a rear sprocket. Less of course on the smaller front.

Ok, flame away.
 
frozenduc said:
Ensuing rant:
Have had bikes for 800,000 miles and ya know what? Oring chains suck.
OMG blasphemy. Yup.

Oring chains were designed for people that don't lube a chain. What does an oring do when used in a chain? It holds the miniscule amount of lube on the pin and the sleeve when assembled at the factory. When this lube wears out then what. Ya can't get new lube in there due to the O ring. Oyeah, I'll hear responses from the 2000 mile per year riders that I got 8 years and 10,000 miles out of my Oring chain.

I'll put non O ring chains on and often get 30,000 out of them because lube can soak into the pin and sleeve. Cleaning? anything. Kero, mineral spirits, gas, diesel etc. But then soak the piss out of it with lube. Oyeah, with serious lubing, I've gotten ~80,000 miles out of a rear sprocket. Less of course on the smaller front.

Ok, flame away.
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yep. the seven o-rings of hell for you..
 
4 days late to party, not trying to add fuel to a dead thread, but while the pin may be sealed pretty well due to the pin sleeve being pressed into the side plates and then the o-rings to seal the 2 side plates, there is a "roller" sleeve (which contacts the sprockets) that goes around pin sleeve that needs cleaning and lube. I didn't see it mentioned, so I thought it was note worthy.

Personally, I never spray solvents, cleaners or WD directly on the chain. Spray on a rag, wipe down the chain well, lube using Bel-Ray on a warm clean chain, then wipe off the overspray lube to prevent dirt sticking. Its never failed, so I keep doing it.
 
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