Quote:
Originally Posted by trerc
Sealed relatively tight eh?  Do you even own one of these trucks??? They get more crap in the gear cases than anything I've got!!! Also if those gears where meant to greased I'm sure Associated would recommend you do so in the manual (they don't). Just like your spur gear that plastic is self lubricating and requires no additional lubrication so I can assure you they don't want you lubing the diff and bevel gears but you do what you want. If you like to wear your diffs out prematurely that's your prerogative. |
Sorry about the late post. As far as your question goes, yes I own 3 of these trucks, all are brushless equipped, and I have had them since 2005. But if you're using ownership as a basis for credibility, perhaps you should re-examine your logic. You seem agitated that someone would even suggest anything other than what is in Associated's manual. As you progress in this hobby, you may begin to view the manual as more of a guide, and the model as a platform for innovation. If we all were bound by the manufacturers, to follow the manual to the letter, everyone with an Exotek chassis would have to remove them because they're certainly not mentioned in the manual. In fact, people like Adam Drake would no longer be able to find sponsorship because he doesn't follow the manual.
Regarding the "crap" in your diff housings, if you're finding FOREIGN material inside the diff housings, you've probably assembled the vehicle incorrectly, or the screws may have somehow come loose. It may even be particles of deteriorating diff balls and d-rings, perhaps even bearings. You said in another post that you feel the need to tear down your diffs every two weeks or so, and re-lube your diff balls and flip the rings. If they were sufficiently lubed to begin with, that wouldn't be necessary. I have never had a diff failure, and in the four or five years I've owned the trucks, I haven't had the need to tear down the diffs anywhere near what you're experiencing, but when I have serviced them, I have never found any kind of "crap" in the housings, and have never had to replace a gear.
As far as plastic being "self lubricating", so is a bag of rocks to a degree, but as I said in a previous post ANY surface subjected to friction will generally benefit from proper lubrication. "Proper lubrication" in this case would be a very light coat, somewhat similar to what the OP has shown in his pictures. If you were to pack the housings with grease, that could conceivably cause other issues. There is a point of optimal efficiency.
As far as the properties and effects that lubrication has on friction, this is not just my opinion, or something I read on the internet somewhere, or "my friend told me so, and his car is really fast". It is considered "common knowledge" within the engineering and scientific communities.
Does a stock rc18 NEED to have it's diff gears lubed? No, but that's not to say it wouldn't be beneficial under certain circumstances, with the proper type and amount of lube (There are far too many variables to list here).
I read somewhere that lubing the diff gears would cause my rc18 to slow down. Is that true? Not if you use the proper type and amount of lube.
Could a brushless equipped rc18 benefit from having the gears lubed? Properly lubed, yes.
Can the added kinetic energy and the resulting pressures cause an increase in friction to the gears? Yup.
In that case, should I lube the main gear on my heli? Nope, as it is exposed to contaminates, the lube could encapsulate those contaminates and cause premature wear to the gear.
I'm not trying to be offensive or condescending in my posts, just trying to clear up some of the confusion that the OP and anyone reading the thread has been subjected to. In any case, I wish you the best of luck.
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