Pedal Maintainance - Rusty Chain ?

drstrangefunk

Senior Member
Pearl P-120: i noticed a small area (3 inches) of my chain is redish (rust colored). a finger wipe of said area did not produce residue on my fingers. none of the chain is oily, but the rest is black.

a look at the batter head (Powerstroke 3) indicates a really fine red dust. it is not chunky grainy dust that i would normally associate with rust, but nevertheless it seems a logical conclusion that it is indeed rust.

if it is rust, what is the usual care and maintainance of the foot pedal chain ?
 
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Water displacement, 40th attempt.

AKA WD 40.

Or 3 in 1 oil. Don't get WD 40 on your drumheads, it can't be good for them.

I'd spray it with WD for the pressure of the spray to knock any loose particles away and then lube with a bit of 3 in 1.
 
If the chain isn't noticeably stiff in the rusted area, and the rust is just superficial, you can probably get away with just wiping away all the surface rust you can with a shop towel. Then relubricate the chain with a light oil, like 3-in-1 or sewing machine oil. You don't need much at all: just enough to wick into all the plain bearing surfaces where the inner link barrel rides on the outer link pins, the drive roller runs on the inner link barrel, and where the side plates run together. A couple drops will do it for the whole chain, and then wipe away the excess several times to carry away the rest of the surface rust and keep things from attracting dust.

If the chain *has* gotten stiff, indicating that the rust has penetrated into those internal bearing surfaces, it's a bigger problem. You certainly can wipe it down and relubricate it just as above. But if there is pitting in the bearing surfaces, it will probably never run as smoothly again. It may always have subtle drags and stiffnesses, which you might or might not feel. If it were my pedal and there has been significant rust penetration into the chain's bearing surfaces, I'd simply replace it. It is really hard to rehabilitate a roller chain once corrosion has set in, if the idea is to achieve maximum smoothness and minimum drag. And the replacements aren't that expensive...

It sounds to me as if the corrosion in this case is superficial, so you are probably in luck. The key to keeping roller chains alive is to prevent corrosion at all costs- so preventive maintenance and the occasional (perhaps yearly) drop of oil, and a careful wipedown to remove all the excess, can go a long way.
 
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If the chain isn't noticeably stiff in the rusted area, and the rust is just superficial, you can probably get away with just wiping away all the surface rust you can with a shop towel. Then relubricate the chain with a light oil, like 3-in-1 or sewing machine oil. You don't need much at all: just enough to wick into all the plain bearing surfaces where the inner link barrel rides on the outer link pins, the drive roller runs on the inner link barrel, and where the side plates run together. A couple drops will do it for the whole chain, and then wipe away the excess several times to carry away the rest of the surface rust and keep things from attracting dust.

If the chain *has* gotten stiff, indicating that the rust has penetrated into those internal bearing surfaces, it's a bigger problem. You certainly can wipe it down and relubricate it just as above. But if there is pitting in the bearing surfaces, it will probably never run as smoothly again. It may always have subtle drags and stiffnesses, which you might or might not feel. If it were my pedal and there has been significant rust penetration into the chain's bearing surfaces, I'd simply replace it. It is really hard to rehabilitate a roller chain one corrosion has set in, if the idea is to achieve maximum smoothness and minimum drag. And the replacements aren't that expensive...

It sounds to me as if the corrosion in this case is superficial, so you are probably in luck. The key to keeping roller chains alive is to prevent corrosion at all costs- so preventive maintenance and the occasional (perhaps yearly) drop of oil, and a careful wipedown to remove all the excess, can go a long way.

thank you much. yes, i believe it to be the superficial early stages. thank you much for the overview. all knowledge and experience will be adhered to.

much appreciated.
 
OK then. We'll be sending someone by to make sure you comply, day after tomorrow.
 
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