I recently ordered a chain roller online and it cost me $15 plus shipping and handling($7.00) I had my chain too tight and it ate it off in a week.
Sicivicdude left me some feedback on a homemade one that was much cheaper. I made one and it has held up good thus far. I had to use
some different parts than he did due to my hardware store's options. If you dont know what a chain roller/tensioner is dont feel dumb I had
know idea when I bought my Blaster, it didnt have one and I didnt know I needed one till I wore out a chain. There out two studs sticking out
of the left side of the frame, one above the chain, one below. They are meant to hold a roller to that the chain rolls across. Sometimes you will
find the rollers in tact sometimes you will have nothing but a bare stud. Im being extremely informative because I remember how clueless
I was(and still am) when I started usin this forum. And I am sure they are others out there like me. But here is how to do it if anyone
wants to build their own. I only replace the bottom becuase the top one on my quad gets no action.
This is a 7/8" Dishwasher Hose(Black) & a 3/4" Clear Braided Reinforced Hose. You may have to adjust this if your hardware
store dosen't stock these.
This is a 5/8" x 1 1/8" Bronze Bushing Sleeve. I removed the remains of my old roller/tensioner from the stud and put this sleeve on and
tightened the the bolt & washer back down to make sure it would spin freely. It did. If it binds at all you will have to shave it on a grinder.
I took it back off and stuck it in the freezer. I got this size because that is all the harware store had. Sicivicdude reccomended a 1/2".
That will probably work better because mine was a little big, but still works well. If you go with the smaller bushing sleeve you will have to
adjust your hose sizes accordingly.
I cut the hoses as close as I could to the sleeve length. Make sure not to be any longer than the sleeve with your hose length.
This could cause the roller to bind. These two hoses will not fit inside of each other without some work.
But after the extra effort you get a tight bond that will not seperate. Put the smaller hose (3/4") in the freezer at least 30min
and the bigger one (7/8") into boiling water(the diswasher hose is good to use here because it is built to hold high temps).
After one is cold and the other hot stretch the hot one over the froze one and force the smaller one in.
Be careful the bigger hose is really hot when it comes out of the water. But just suck it up and put it on because it goes on easier
the hotter it is. After that pull the bronze sleeve out of the freezer and hammer it into the two hoses.
Now you have a chain tensioner. The hardware store usually charges by the foot for hose so go ahead and get the whole foot
so you will have plenty left over for next the next few times you have to do this. Just take the bushing sleeve off and put new hose on it.
I think I got about $5.00 bucks in this and will probably get about 7-8 rollers out of it. It is definently the way to go.
Do not get your chain too tight or you will eat through these roller in a few days.
Here is the link to where I got the idea for this. It is the forth post down.
http://www.blasterforum.com/general-support-17/chain-tensioner-38610/
Sicivicdude left me some feedback on a homemade one that was much cheaper. I made one and it has held up good thus far. I had to use
some different parts than he did due to my hardware store's options. If you dont know what a chain roller/tensioner is dont feel dumb I had
know idea when I bought my Blaster, it didnt have one and I didnt know I needed one till I wore out a chain. There out two studs sticking out
of the left side of the frame, one above the chain, one below. They are meant to hold a roller to that the chain rolls across. Sometimes you will
find the rollers in tact sometimes you will have nothing but a bare stud. Im being extremely informative because I remember how clueless
I was(and still am) when I started usin this forum. And I am sure they are others out there like me. But here is how to do it if anyone
wants to build their own. I only replace the bottom becuase the top one on my quad gets no action.
This is a 7/8" Dishwasher Hose(Black) & a 3/4" Clear Braided Reinforced Hose. You may have to adjust this if your hardware
store dosen't stock these.
This is a 5/8" x 1 1/8" Bronze Bushing Sleeve. I removed the remains of my old roller/tensioner from the stud and put this sleeve on and
tightened the the bolt & washer back down to make sure it would spin freely. It did. If it binds at all you will have to shave it on a grinder.
I took it back off and stuck it in the freezer. I got this size because that is all the harware store had. Sicivicdude reccomended a 1/2".
That will probably work better because mine was a little big, but still works well. If you go with the smaller bushing sleeve you will have to
adjust your hose sizes accordingly.
I cut the hoses as close as I could to the sleeve length. Make sure not to be any longer than the sleeve with your hose length.
This could cause the roller to bind. These two hoses will not fit inside of each other without some work.
But after the extra effort you get a tight bond that will not seperate. Put the smaller hose (3/4") in the freezer at least 30min
and the bigger one (7/8") into boiling water(the diswasher hose is good to use here because it is built to hold high temps).
After one is cold and the other hot stretch the hot one over the froze one and force the smaller one in.
Be careful the bigger hose is really hot when it comes out of the water. But just suck it up and put it on because it goes on easier
the hotter it is. After that pull the bronze sleeve out of the freezer and hammer it into the two hoses.
Now you have a chain tensioner. The hardware store usually charges by the foot for hose so go ahead and get the whole foot
so you will have plenty left over for next the next few times you have to do this. Just take the bushing sleeve off and put new hose on it.
I think I got about $5.00 bucks in this and will probably get about 7-8 rollers out of it. It is definently the way to go.
Do not get your chain too tight or you will eat through these roller in a few days.
Here is the link to where I got the idea for this. It is the forth post down.
http://www.blasterforum.com/general-support-17/chain-tensioner-38610/
