Installing OFA - EKO 8 & 9 Studded Chains

[LouNY]

Is stainless steel necessary? I would think that galvanized would work fine.

Probably not but the threads don't rust up while in use or in storage over the summer,
and I like stainless :cool2:

 

[nyone]

Stainless is usually a softer metal and the threads can gaul easier. Unless your pushing salt in a shed or storing the chains in a puddle normal steel will be just fine.

 

[kco]

Something else that might work is a pin coupler as shown here:

Tire Chains Equipment Pin Repair Coupler

I got mine at a local industrial equipment shop at a much cheaper price than tirechains.com. I believe they are 10mm for my rear chains and 7mm for the fronts.

Attached are photos of them on my rear chains.

Although I have spares, I have used the same couplers for 4 winters with no problems.

My tires have worn since then so I replaced a side chain link on each side with shorter pin couplers. They make a compact, secure connection.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Something else that might work is a pin coupler as shown here:

Tire Chains Equipment Pin Repair Coupler

I got mine at a local industrial equipment shop at a much cheaper price than tirechains.com. I believe they are 10mm for my rear chains and 7mm for the fronts.

Attached are photos of them on my rear chains.

Although I have spares, I have used the same couplers for 4 winters with no problems.

My tires have worn since then so I replaced a side chain link on each side with shorter pin couplers. They make a compact, secure connection.

That is what I would use too for circumferential chains if I had to cut off the special Chinese Puzzle connection hooks to make them fit or move where a cross chain connects to the circumferential chain.

gg

 

[John_Mc]

Stainless is usually a softer metal and the threads can gaul easier. Unless your pushing salt in a shed or storing the chains in a puddle normal steel will be just fine.

The 304 and 316 alloys of stainless steel used in bolts (including the 316 stainless that LouNY linked) are stronger than unhardened (grade 2) bolts. Since 304 or 316 stainless are low carbon steel alloys, they cannot be heat treated to harden them. However, even without heat treating, they typically have the same tensile strength as grade 5 heat treated steel bolts (125,000 PSI in the size ranges we are talking about here). A grade 8 steel bolt is stronger than a 304 or 316 stainless bolt.

In this application, the screw pin straight d shackles in 5/16" diameter have a working load limit of 1500 for galvanized steel, or 1300# for 316 stainless steel. Both are far more than needed for a side chain link. Yes, the threads on stainless are subject to galling. However, that happens during installation, as you are screwing them together (not from just sitting around after they've been installed). Galling is easy to avoid: work slowly and don't overtighten (use a thread locker or safety wire to keep them from coming apart, rather than attempting to "muscle them together" so tight they won't come apart.