Want smoother running diffs and gearboxes?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
monotheist

monotheist

Well-Known Member
Messages
174
Reaction score
0
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Not happy with the stock grease used in the diffs and gearbox I began looking for an alternative. I always fine grease works ok for like the first 5 secs of running but then flings off the components its supposed to protect and does bugger all. My internal diff gears had no grease left on them when I stripped them down a few weeks back. It was all stuck the the diff casings. same goes for the front and rear gearboxes.

As the diffs have no rubber seales normal silicone diff oil probably wouldnt stay inside for very long but I found a product which not only should stay inside but is designed specifically to coat and protect the gears its it used on.

Its called Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer and can be found in most auto shops for around $15 bucks. Its super thick and sticky and is designed to be used in diffs and gearboxes to extend there service life. Anyway I cleaned and re-filled both diffs with this product and they are now buttery smooth. Also did the same with the front and rear gearbox. Again I cleaned out the old grease, applied a little sealant on the bottom gearbox housing (the ones that attach to the chassis plate) and filled so the oil was a few mm above the diffs crown gear. This gear acts as an oil pickup coating both the crown and pinion in oil.

Unfortunately i haven't yet been able to test as im still waiting on my replacement Nomadio transceivers (yep 2 of them, been over 5 weeks now) Will let you know how it works out as soon as its back up and running again but the drive train feels much better when moving by hand :laugh:

IMG_1385.webp

IMG_1386.webp
 
Interesting, any way we can get a look at the good inside the can? With being sticky does it tighten up the gear rotation? (Like locking a little. Stiffer)
 
Mono,
Do you still have the baja 1000 or is that the race runner? Are they the same chassis under the cover? Also what kind of tires and wheels are you running? Those things look sweet!!
 
Good job mono! I desperately need to do a strip down. How did your nomadio die? Only reason I ask is I have popped a spektrum rx I think coz of excess voltage in the nicads after a charge. 6V reg on its way just in case.
 
Sorry Bigger the Better I was too lazy to take any pics when I did this.The oil does make it a little stiffer but only just. Real benefit is a smoother running diff with better lubrication. The oil would also help take any heat out from the diffs but honestly don't see them getting hot.

zouz10, funny you should ask cos im actually in the process of converting my Baja over to the RR. They are nearly the same under the lid but the baja's have longer travel front shocks so the giveaway between the two is the higher front shock tower. Even though I love the look of the Baja and is the reason for buying an MCD in the first place the lid is not durable enough for ongoing track use (not with my driving skills anyway) My track has far too many jumps so the potential for roof landings is much higher than those European race tracks.

Hey MONAROMAN, Not sure what caused the death of both transceivers. One wouldnt bind properly from new and the other had 2 blown outputs. I am a bit worried using it on a MCD where 2 large scale servos are ganged together which has the potential for large current draws from the steering output (esp. if there digital like mine) Im using a 2c lipo (7.2v) in mine but will be making a mod and using 3 5amp regulators (1 for each steering servo and one to power the transceiver) I bought from unitedhobbies.
 
Mono,
I see that you have a side mounted X-can on yours. What do you plan to do with the race runner body? Are you gonna switch to a pipe or are you gonna cut out holes in the body? Please post some pictures if you can as this is what I am debating at the moment.
Thanks,
Z
 
Not sure what im gonna do when the Racerunner shell rocks up. Although im happy with the X-cans performance I have been thinking about picking up a pipe just to complete the engine (ie, no more excuses/nothing more to buy from an engine perspective) If I were to get one it would be a Samba but damn are they expensive...

I remember doing the sums when I was buying the MCD and it worked out for a few dollars over the price of the pipe i could buy a brand new reed ported Zen26! I was originally going to get the Samba for my Trevor Simpson 28 but instead chose to get a new engine and X-can. Largescaleracing have a discount code I tried using last night to get the Samba but it said it was expired so am awaiting an email reply from them.

It will be interesting to see what/if any mods are required for the X-can to work with the RR shell. Will post some pics when it arrives. BTW the wheels are a generic brand (not sure which) and the tyres are SLD Killers. Got a good deal from Germany but will be buying replacements locally from Powerslide as they now stock them. Should provide better traction than the stockers.

IMG_1383.webp
 
Thanks for the info Mono,
You are right those Samba pipes are definitely expensive. I Think I will run my MCD without the body while I build the funds to purchase the Samba. LOL
I believe the killer tires are the same (tread pattern) as the ones on the FG Baja I got.
I would love to get this wheel and tire combo like this forum member has. They would look SWEET!! I have seen the wheels on an FG or a firehammer, but I can't put my hand on what tire that is (check those treads out)!

Red.webp
 
Hey zouz I think I saw the same car a little while ago, yep those rims look sweet. If I'm not mistaken they're smartech rims dyed black, I like the way they curve each spoke, looks cool. I ended up with those tyres (hormann jumbos) but got normal FG rims with extenders on all 4 for max traction.

Mono that electronics box on your mcd is gonna need a vent fan soon :D Do you get good run times from the lipo? My car is usually busted before the battery's flat :no:
 
Monaroman,
I am gonna get those wheels in white (can you picture it with the yamaha blue) that is gonna look sick!!! What do you mean by extenders? Are those Horman tires expensive? How would you rate them compared to other tires you've run?
Thanks,
Z
 
Just ordered the Samba pipe. Anyone want a near new X-Can in perfect condition for $60?

Comes with a set of standard stingers, 1 set of brand new 6" alloy threaded stingers and 1 set of customised stainless stingers. See my other posts for pics...
 
mono your rims are sld rims

and zous don't run that tyre on the race runner to grippy will time out everytime you try to drift round the corner

the fg baga tyre is a low profile tyre of the killer tyre however the actual killer tyre handles alot better than the fg baja tyres on the mcd's

the killer and fatal tyres from sld r probably the best u will get for the mcd if u want a all surfaces get down to business tyre get the killers if u want a all surface get down to business mud slinger tyre buy the fatal but buy either of them and i can guarentee u wont be disappointed with the performance of your race runner
 
Yeah they're REAL grippy, especially on grass - dirt's alright though.
Zous the jumbo's are as wide as an FG stadium rim - and look sweet fitted to them, normal buggy wheels are thinner, you can get a rim extender to put on the buggy rims to run a wider tyre like the FG stadium or the jumbos. Its essentially a ring that slots into where the tyre glues in, you just glue them in and fit tyres over and glue as normal. They are good for rear wheels on a rwd car but probably overkill for the MCD on all 4. But I'm all about overkill...:devil2:

Sorry to jack ya thread mono. I'm gonna start a diff overhaul tonight after what you found, gotta get some of that Lucas stuff. Cheers
 
Last edited:
Don't worry about the thread jack mate. Already done that myself with discussions on pipe, tyres and body's....lol

Yeah and get that Lucas oil. Awesome stuff. Great for lubing the A-arm bolts as well.

Oh, and you might find removing the drive cups from the diff a bit tricky. 2 of mine put up a real fight and did not want to be removed. Think red lock tight was used for the grub screw just like the drama's some of us have had when doing the HPI 5b's. I had to hold mine in a vise and heat with a paint stripper to soften the glue, spray with WD40 and then crank the crap out of my allan wrench. Thought it was gonna snap on me...
 
Last edited:
I also apologize for the thread jacking. And as soon as I get my hands on my MCD (Friday I hope) I won't run it until I do the diff oil trick you just showed. Thanks Mono.

So my list of things to get is pretty extensive (I mean expensive LOL)

Definitely getting the Samba Pipe, and I will run the stock wheels at first and then I'll get a set of those killers. Thanks for all the info guys,

Z
 
loosen

monotheist said:
Don't worry about the thread jack mate. Already done that myself with discussions on pipe, tyres and body's....lol

Yeah and get that Lucas oil. Awesome stuff. Great for lubing the A-arm bolts as well.

Oh, and you might find removing the drive cups from the diff a bit tricky. 2 of mine put up a real fight and did not want to be removed. Think red lock tight was used for the grub screw just like the drama's some of us have had when doing the HPI 5b's. I had to hold mine in a vise and heat with a paint stripper to soften the glue, spray with WD40 and then crank the crap out of my allan wrench. Thought it was gonna snap on me...
Click to expand...

hey mono i used a heat gun on a stubbern allen bolt and it came right off, i hope this helps next time.
 
Back
Top