its for sure poor metal i bought mine off ebay. this will be the next one i order
https://www.steadygarage.com/store/p...lloy-428-chain
my chain is also toast i don't have a good enough picture to post of this but i order a new chain to go along with this.
But it would probably be a good idea to check this and i don't think you will have to take your chain off to just look at the sprocket.