Is WD40 actually harmful for a chain?
 

The unfortunate sequence of events below has occurred:

1. Buy bike with Scottoiler :thumbup1:
2. Discover Scottoiler is actually full of water logged oil/goo due to broken delivery pipe :thumbdown:
3. Fill Scottoiler with WD40 to now have a whole Scottoiler full of bluish white goo that I think is liquid enough to flow out
4. Not being able to find anyway to flush said goo out of scott oiler apart from one drop at a time, for which I just don't have the patience :helpsmilie:

Has left me wondering whether I can just let it the bluish white goo run through and oil my chain as normal. But will the WD40 actually damage the chain or not? Or do I need to face the inevitable and pay 45 quid (!) for a plastic cylinder with a vacuum valve inside it? Or maybe there's a clever way to flush the bugger out (I don't have access to an air hose unfortunately)....

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Flush out the scottoiler and delivery pipe with very warm (not boiling) water.

Use an empty scottoil refill bottle or similar to force the water through. Using the same priciple/method as when you first fill and prime a new scottoiler (instructions on their website)

Leave it on prime with the engine running and squeeze that bottle hard.

You will eventually flush it all out.


ORRRRR... Just use it all up. WD40 won't do any serious damage to your chain. There are loads on internet experts who say it eats your 0-rings, and maybe they're right , but I don't think any chain will last long enough for that to happen unless you're only using the bike once a year.

If it were me, I'd just leave it be and use it up and enjoy a life lesson learned.

Probably not a good idea to lubricate the chain with a WD40 mixture for however long one fill-up of the Scotoiler reservoir will last.
It may flow quite fast and lubricate the tyre as well!

How about fully priming the reservoir, like here?
http://www.scottoiler.com/images/sto...ming_guide.pdf

I'd turn the flow-rate dial to max (note where it is to start) and follow the prime process until the reservoir is empty. Then fill, and prime to expel the air from the pipe. Then return the flow rate dial to previous position.
You'd need a bottle of ScotOil and the primer-adapter which should come with it (you may have to ask).
If you already have a bottle of ScotOil you should be able to get the adapter from a dealer for free - just tell them your last one broke, worked for me (it really did break).

(On my very old Scotoilers, turning the dial to max makes it easy to prime. Is that still the case? It doesn't mention that on the website)

The WD40 (and water/oil/dirt solution) would not be the best solution for your chain.

Take the container off the bike and empty all that you can out (turn it upside down, shake/squeeze it etc.). Use something fairly cheap to further dilute the solution (kerosene, methylated sprits, diesel fuel etc. [NOT water!]). Mix that up and again remove the contaminated fluid. Repeat until the fluid is reasonably clean. Once most of it is out (all you can get) then put it back on the bike with the outlet tube directed into a bottle (old drink bottle for example), zip tie it on so it won't fall off.

Turn the flow rate dial to max, ride. If your chain needs lubrication now then lube it the old fashioned way - by hand. Empty the drink bottle out before it overflows. Once you have most of the solution out, put some more of that cheap stuff in (just a bit more, not filling the Scott oiler) and run again. Again repeat until the stuff coming out is fairly clean. What you want is for your cheap solution to flush away the dirty stuff before you put good oil in there and direct it to your chain.

WD40 contains petroleum distillates which will swell the "o" rings of an "o" ring chain which will then be damaged when you ride the bike. The same goes for the seals on suspension linkages and brake calipers etc. This is why rubber grease and "o" ring suitable chain lube exist. If you need to clean your chain don't ever be tempted to use petrol go with Kerosene. The same goes for cleaning brake calipers etc. even brake cleaner of the cheaper variety will swell the seals. Use a good quality brake cleaner or even mild soapy water and rinse then dry well. You can lube up afterwards with Rubber or silicone grease. Of course if you chain is non "o" ring then none of this matters.

I know nothing about this except that I've been using WD40 to clean o-ring chains on a regular basis for over a hundred thousand miles now (on road, off road, wet, dry, sandy, muddy, throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa, mainly) without trouble. No matter how many times someone says the rings will swell or degrade, I continue to get 12,000-20,000 miles (20,000-32,000 km) out of my chains with very minimal attention. That's at least as good as anyone I ride with has done by taking elaborate care with special lubes, including auto-lube devices.

I'm not the only one. However, I can certainly only state my own direct experience with any authority.

I might add that I sure wouldn't rely on water-contaminated or dirty lube of any sort as the op seems to be proposing. Rinsing the contamination (as suggested by others above) seems like the better part of valor.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

I'm on the triumphrat forum quite a bit and there are numerous threads on this and like Markharf, many of them swear by wd40 for extending chain life despite the science which seems to suggest it should damage the chain. Go figure?

Well. . . . the chain manufacturer's don't seem to keen on WD-40.

Modern 0-ring chains and their variations (X, Z, etc) are so good . . . on the road, perhaps a ScottOiler is beneficial. In the dirt - a fine producer of abrasive dirt collection.

Setting up a chain with the proper tension (slack) and avoiding silly curvature (like really small C/S sprockets) is probably the largest determinant of life.

I do chemical compatibility stuff against O-rings and hoses all the time at work. WD40 wouldn't be my first choice as in theory it has stuff in it that isn't nice, but lets face it, unless you never ride the chain will wear. WD40 will not instantly cause your chain to disolve, your bits to fall off or the world to end. The chatroom theorists may worry but I wouldn't.

The chain manufacturers exclusion always looks to me like it was written by warranty people. If you exclude something detectable but generally done you cut down how much work you have to do: "So, you WD40'd the chain/rode out of the showroom on the BMW/tried to use the pump to move liquid Sir? Sorry, if you read clause 11b/12-iv you'll see that invalidates the warranty. Hard chips, buy a new one". :innocent:

Andy

That's the point. WD40 is about 80 kerosene and as a cleaner its OK. As a lubricant, its shite.

The Scottoiler is trying to lube the chain to sprocket surfaces. Nothing else. The O-rings seal the original lube in the rollers.

Rather than pay Scottoiler prices for their stuff, use EP oils... 80 or 90, whatever you can get cheap. It works.

John

Direct experience again: I've ridden with people using automatic and manual oilers, and with people who clean and lube chains as often as every fuel stop. Me, I try to spray and wipe WD40 when I get around to it--every day, every week, every month... My chains last as long--sometimes longer--than theirs. Again, I'm only reporting my own experience, although I'm aware that others have reported the same thing.

What's more, I don't even change sprockets when I buy a new chain: I replace sprockets when they look or act worn, which is generally every other chain (or sometimes even less often). This should lead to increased wear, therefore shorter chain life, right? And the fact that I clean with WD40 but don't use a lube is supposed to mean my "the chain to sprocket surfaces" will wear out quickly.....yet they don't.

What can I say? You say all this stuff will cause my chains and sprockets to wear; I say it hasn't worked that way yet. Maybe if I stuck strictly to paved surfaces--how boring is that?--you'd be right, but I've never gone 12,000-20,000 miles strictly on pavement.

On the other hand, maybe you can report your own experience instead of predicting with misplaced certainty how things will work for me. Do your chains last longer than mine? How about those justly-famous "chain to sprocket surfaces?" Do you routinely get 25-40,000 miles from front and rear sprockets?

Nothing like a good chain lube, tire, oil, or hard luggage thread...

Mark

Gosh! Off I go for a day and look where this has led to.

I'm coming down firmly on Markharf's side here and now believe the WD40 will not damage the chain (it may not lube it, but it will not damage it). In any case, this is my "pre-trip" chain which will need replacing anyways.

As for the idea of draining the oiler while the bike is moving - unfortunately it's the oiler behind the numberplate, and there isn't really a way to dangle someting off it to collect the goo.

So, here's what I've decided. I'm going to measure the rate at which the goo comes out of the oiler when flow rate set to min. If this rate means I won't be lubing my rear tyre, then I'll observe what happens when chain gets exposed to WD40/oil/water goo and will report back. If not, I'm going to fork out 45 quid and start from scratch.

Thanks all for as ever invaluable help!

It's a chain . . . not a motorcycle. The exclusion(s) for those are suitably limited.

Yes . . . modern chains are pretty amazing.

This is hilarious. Have any photos ? What type of engine ? Do you have a particularly judicious right-hand ? Perhaps you only start on downhills ?

I missed the part where someone said you'd get shorter chain life if WD-40 were waved nearby the chain. Spraying it on and wiping it off . . . not much time for the kerosene to seep past nor into the o-rings. Try it yourself - take some buna o-rings and place them in kerosene.

I'd love to see those sprockets. 25K miles - sure. 40K miles. That would be impressive, indeed.

I get 20K miles from my KTM 950's chain and sprockets whether it's all pavement or the abrasive granitic dust in the CA Sierra. That's with a light right hand . . .

Chains are "great" primarily because they permit relatively easy ratio changes. They suck because it's clearly a "weakest link", are heavy, and expensive in the long run.

Ever seen an incident where a chain failed ? Normally, it's due to over-use. A shark-finned sprocket tooth leverages against an old roller.

Broken cases, locked rear wheels. Lots of damage to bike and rider.

Congratulations on your good luck. May that carry on.

My 690 has 15k kms on the clock and is used almost exclusively off paved roads. It's on it's third set of front and rear brake pads but still on the original chain.

My chain servicing: Every day I brush on chainsaw oil whilst rotating the chain. Occasionally I clean the chain either brushing on diesel whilst rotating the wheel or using WD40 and a clean rag. Sometimes if I'm away from home I use an spray chain lube designed for farm machinery. The rear sprocket is still OK. I changed the front sprocket from 15T to 14T at 10k.

I know nothing about Scotoilers except that most of the time they work fine but when they go wrong they're a real pain to fix.