Quote:
Originally Posted by AfricanBootyScratcher
generally, wd-40 is NOT recommended for o-ring chains. According to almost every owner's manual, the recommended chemical for cleaning a chain is Kerosene.
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I have never been able to find a single document that exposed the potential damage to o-rings. I decided to take it upon myself to do a little searching to see if there is any type of evidence to support these claims. Here is what I found.
I contacted RK Chain using their "Live Chat" function on their web page:
Jon: Can you tell me the type of rubber used in the o-ring seals of your chains? Is it Buna, Nitrile, Butyl? Thanks, JonFZ1
You are next in queue.We will be with you in just a moment.
Technician Travis: Good morning
Technician Travis: Yes you are correct. Its called Nitrile Butadiene
Technician Travis: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Jon: Thanks for the fast response. You've answered my question perfectly.
Technician Travis: Excellent. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact us.
OK so Nitrile Butadiene is also called Buna-N and is a extremely common rubber used in various applications. Let's look at the compatability of this material with various materials. Luckily there is a excellent resource called eFunda that is a engineering fundamentals site that has an o-ring material comparison for compatabilty with various materials on a scale of 4.
(4) Good, both for static and dynamic seals
(3) Fair, usually OK for static seals
(2) Sometimes OK for static seals; not OK for dynamic seals
(1) Poor
(0) No Data
Now they don't specifically state WD-40, but they do have a classificaiton for a Stoddard Solvent which WD-40 is classified as.
The link shows full compatibility of Buna-N with this Stoddard Solvent - RATING 4
http://www.efunda.com/designstandar...d%20Solvent#mat
Let's break the WD-40 down: (Source Wikipedia since WD-40 MSDS site down)
* 50%: Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits, somewhat similar to, but not the same as, kerosene)
* 25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant, carbon dioxide is used now to reduce considerable flammability)
* 15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
* 10-%: Inert ingredients
The link shows full compatibility of Buna-N with this Kerosene - RATING 4
http://www.efunda.com/designstandar...SC=Kerosene#mat
The link shows full compatibility of Buna-N with this Liquefied Petroleum Gas - RATING 4
http://www.efunda.com/designstandar...20%28LPG%29#mat
The link shows full compatibility of Buna-N with this Mineral Oil - RATING 4
http://www.efunda.com/designstandar...eral%20Oils#mat
Since there is poor evidence that I can find to show lack of compatibility of with WD-40, I have to believe that there is no negative effect of using WD-40 on a motorcycle chain equipped with o-rings.
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