Gantry chain on a D&S 5000

[Strava]

Hey guys,
I was hoping someone could give me some advice on how to do this. I thought the old owner was going to help me out and show me how to change it out, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. I can't find any info online & d&s hasn't responded to my email. I'm thinking the best way would be to take the lower wheels off of each side and have a tractor bucket slightly lift the unit up. I could then install the new chains, is there another easier way to do this? Any advice, tips, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MEP001]

I've done it many times. I prefer to set the gantry on a couple of 55 gallon plastic barrels, prop the lower arms up on buckets, then take the idler wheels off. You'll have plenty of room to slide the new chain in and the gantry can't go anywhere. Do yourself a favor and pay a little extra for stainless master links. Don't use heavy-duty chain, just #60 roller chain, the machine will move much smoother especially if your drive sprockets are already worn. I make new chain tensioners with 7" long 3/4 stainless carriage bolts and SS nuts, cut or grind the carriage head flat until it's just a square and drill a hole to take a HD stainless master link. Now would be a good time to replace the tension springs. The only downside to using regular #60 chain is the gantry can slip more easily down the rails if the springs are weak.

 

[Strava]

Thank you very much for the advice. The unit came with two new chains that the old owner had as backups. I'm not sure which ones they are, but I'll find out. I'll also order new tension springs now before I do the change over per your advice. If I have any more questions I'll shoot you a msg if you don't mind.

 

[MEP001]

It takes a lot of chain to replace it all at once, and I recommend doing that to avoid problems. I don't remember if it takes a little more or a little less than 50 feet to do it all, but you can always measure. You might even consider replacing the drive wheel assemblies with the chains, but that's pretty expensive.