18Likes"How To Properly Build And Break In a Ball Differential and Slipper Clutch"
12-30-2012, 05:36 PM
#287
Should I be running a ball diff or a gear diff in my sc10 2wd? I do club races in the stock class and I don't mind Maintenance and am pretty meticulous about my stuff, but I don't want to be rebuilding a ball diff every week. Opinions?
01-15-2013, 12:40 AM
#288
Can I use the same technique for a 4WD buggy?
01-15-2013, 12:43 AM
#289
Tech Initiate
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: South Coast RC Ministry of Propaganda, Dorset, England
Posts: 33
01-15-2013, 04:31 AM
#290
01-15-2013, 05:09 AM
#291
Tech Initiate
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: South Coast RC Ministry of Propaganda, Dorset, England
Posts: 33
I've copied and pasted the method from Racer53's original post below but being 4WD I decided to rebuild both diffs at the same time, you can then run in both diffs at once by supporting the car so that both wheels on one side are off the ground, then doing the same on the other side while following Racer53's break-in method:
Breaking-In the Diff
Breaking in the diff is important and you will have a much smoother diff after this is done. To break in the diff hold one tire and give the car a small amount of throttle for about 10-15 seconds, then change sides and hold the opposite tire. Do this three or four times,increasing the throttle a little each time[Do not go higher than 1/4th throttle] then tighten the slipper and check the diff, making sure it hasn’t loosened or tightened any. You may have to tighten the diff about 1/16th of a turn as things settle in. Now loosen your slipper and do this process of 1/4th throttle, then check the diff, two to three times.
Once done put the gear cover back on the buggy and grab the left and right wheels. Slowly turn them in opposite directions, the diff should feel smooth without any binding or gritty feeling. You now have a smooth diff that is properly set up. [If any are interested I recommend running carbide diff balls and ceramic thrust balls. The reason to not use ceramic diff balls is that they are so hard and smooth; it's hard to get the diff to stop slipping.]
Also when you've done this and are happy with it you can check the tightness of the 2 diffs relative to each other by clamping both wheels of one axle between your knees and, holding the car by the other 2 wheels, try and turn one of them and watch the centre shafts/belts to see which diff slips first. A good starting point is to get them about as tight as each other.
Some more experienced 1/10th 4WD guys run one diff looser than the other to change the way the car handles but I must be honest, i'm not quite at that level and am happy if my ball diffs have a smooth action, don't slip and last a reasonable amount of time. Hope this helps
Breaking-In the Diff
Breaking in the diff is important and you will have a much smoother diff after this is done. To break in the diff hold one tire and give the car a small amount of throttle for about 10-15 seconds, then change sides and hold the opposite tire. Do this three or four times,increasing the throttle a little each time[Do not go higher than 1/4th throttle] then tighten the slipper and check the diff, making sure it hasn’t loosened or tightened any. You may have to tighten the diff about 1/16th of a turn as things settle in. Now loosen your slipper and do this process of 1/4th throttle, then check the diff, two to three times.
Once done put the gear cover back on the buggy and grab the left and right wheels. Slowly turn them in opposite directions, the diff should feel smooth without any binding or gritty feeling. You now have a smooth diff that is properly set up. [If any are interested I recommend running carbide diff balls and ceramic thrust balls. The reason to not use ceramic diff balls is that they are so hard and smooth; it's hard to get the diff to stop slipping.]
Also when you've done this and are happy with it you can check the tightness of the 2 diffs relative to each other by clamping both wheels of one axle between your knees and, holding the car by the other 2 wheels, try and turn one of them and watch the centre shafts/belts to see which diff slips first. A good starting point is to get them about as tight as each other.
Some more experienced 1/10th 4WD guys run one diff looser than the other to change the way the car handles but I must be honest, i'm not quite at that level and am happy if my ball diffs have a smooth action, don't slip and last a reasonable amount of time. Hope this helps
01-15-2013, 05:38 AM
#292
I've copied and pasted the method from Racer53's original post below but being 4WD I decided to rebuild both diffs at the same time, you can then run in both diffs at once by supporting the car so that both wheels on one side are off the ground, then doing the same on the other side while following Racer53's break-in method:
Breaking-In the Diff
Breaking in the diff is important and you will have a much smoother diff after this is done. To break in the diff hold one tire and give the car a small amount of throttle for about 10-15 seconds, then change sides and hold the opposite tire. Do this three or four times,increasing the throttle a little each time[Do not go higher than 1/4th throttle] then tighten the slipper and check the diff, making sure it hasn’t loosened or tightened any. You may have to tighten the diff about 1/16th of a turn as things settle in. Now loosen your slipper and do this process of 1/4th throttle, then check the diff, two to three times.
Once done put the gear cover back on the buggy and grab the left and right wheels. Slowly turn them in opposite directions, the diff should feel smooth without any binding or gritty feeling. You now have a smooth diff that is properly set up. [If any are interested I recommend running carbide diff balls and ceramic thrust balls. The reason to not use ceramic diff balls is that they are so hard and smooth; it's hard to get the diff to stop slipping.]
Also when you've done this and are happy with it you can check the tightness of the 2 diffs relative to each other by clamping both wheels of one axle between your knees and, holding the car by the other 2 wheels, try and turn one of them and watch the centre shafts/belts to see which diff slips first. A good starting point is to get them about as tight as each other.
Some more experienced 1/10th 4WD guys run one diff looser than the other to change the way the car handles but I must be honest, i'm not quite at that level and am happy if my ball diffs have a smooth action, don't slip and last a reasonable amount of time. Hope this helps
Breaking-In the Diff
Breaking in the diff is important and you will have a much smoother diff after this is done. To break in the diff hold one tire and give the car a small amount of throttle for about 10-15 seconds, then change sides and hold the opposite tire. Do this three or four times,increasing the throttle a little each time[Do not go higher than 1/4th throttle] then tighten the slipper and check the diff, making sure it hasn’t loosened or tightened any. You may have to tighten the diff about 1/16th of a turn as things settle in. Now loosen your slipper and do this process of 1/4th throttle, then check the diff, two to three times.
Once done put the gear cover back on the buggy and grab the left and right wheels. Slowly turn them in opposite directions, the diff should feel smooth without any binding or gritty feeling. You now have a smooth diff that is properly set up. [If any are interested I recommend running carbide diff balls and ceramic thrust balls. The reason to not use ceramic diff balls is that they are so hard and smooth; it's hard to get the diff to stop slipping.]
Also when you've done this and are happy with it you can check the tightness of the 2 diffs relative to each other by clamping both wheels of one axle between your knees and, holding the car by the other 2 wheels, try and turn one of them and watch the centre shafts/belts to see which diff slips first. A good starting point is to get them about as tight as each other.
Some more experienced 1/10th 4WD guys run one diff looser than the other to change the way the car handles but I must be honest, i'm not quite at that level and am happy if my ball diffs have a smooth action, don't slip and last a reasonable amount of time. Hope this helps
02-25-2013, 10:37 PM
#293
awesome information thanks.
03-05-2013, 12:49 AM
#294
Tech Adept
Hi, first post here and asking for help 
My b4.1 rtr (almost an ft by now) gave up as the gear diff broke. Bad factory shimming I guess.
Ordered a ball diff kit "AE9853" instead as I want to try that ball diff. (cant post the url for it)
But problem and the question is, I can not find any information as to what kind of balls are included in this kit? Ceramic, steel, carbide?
I realize steel balls are not very long lasting so trying to decide if I should order some carbide ones.
My b4.1 rtr (almost an ft by now) gave up as the gear diff broke. Bad factory shimming I guess.
Ordered a ball diff kit "AE9853" instead as I want to try that ball diff. (cant post the url for it)
But problem and the question is, I can not find any information as to what kind of balls are included in this kit? Ceramic, steel, carbide?
I realize steel balls are not very long lasting so trying to decide if I should order some carbide ones.
03-21-2013, 07:10 AM
#295
Tech Adept
Hi, first post here and asking for help
My b4.1 rtr (almost an ft by now) gave up as the gear diff broke. Bad factory shimming I guess.
Ordered a ball diff kit "AE9853" instead as I want to try that ball diff. (cant post the url for it)
But problem and the question is, I can not find any information as to what kind of balls are included in this kit? Ceramic, steel, carbide?
I realize steel balls are not very long lasting so trying to decide if I should order some carbide ones.
My b4.1 rtr (almost an ft by now) gave up as the gear diff broke. Bad factory shimming I guess.
Ordered a ball diff kit "AE9853" instead as I want to try that ball diff. (cant post the url for it)
But problem and the question is, I can not find any information as to what kind of balls are included in this kit? Ceramic, steel, carbide?
I realize steel balls are not very long lasting so trying to decide if I should order some carbide ones.
03-24-2013, 09:02 AM
#296
Noob breaking thrust bolts
Hi guys,
I am hoping someone will be able to help me with a problem I have.
Firstly, thank you to Racer 53 for your diff rebuild videos. They are excellent. I've subscribed to your channel.
I've just gotten back into RC after a 25 year break. To get back in I bought a T4 second hand. The owner told me he had just re-built the diff.
When it arrived I fitted the electronics and went for a drive. It turns out the diff had never been set.
So I set about stripping out the gearbox as the diff was built with the cover over the head of the thrust bolt, which I removed then re-assembled. I then followed the videos to set the diff. I just could not get it right. It would be fine a few minutes, then loosen right up. After a few re-tightens I realised I had the diff the wrong way round (head of the bolt was on the left, looking. From the rear).
I then stripped the entire thing and re-built it as per the videos.
I struggled quite a bit with getting it right in terms of how tight and I think I was virtually at the bottom of the spring. If I look at the plastic T nut holder for the thrust bolt it seemed like it was really being pulled concave a bit. But if I put screwdriver shafts to hold the diff outdrives (outdrives?), if I really twisted hard I could move the diff, but only just and I really had to twist hard. I backed off the bolt a little bit, then re-assembled everything (the right way round this time).
I then set about doing the run-in. As I was getting to the end of this I heard a pop and saw the T nut holder had shot out and hit the dogbone (this was the pop sound). I opened up the opposite side where I saw the head of the thrust bolt had snapped off.
So, I started again from the beginning, went through everything as above. I ended up getting the same result only this time a little further into run-in.
There was another symptom I noticed. When the gearbox was assembled but out the car, when I twirled the shaft that the slipper and spur attach to it wasn't completely smooth. It felt like every 1-2 turns there was some imperfection that the gears had to roll over. I can't see this affecting the diff, although I don't know enough to tell.
I'm a bit at my wits end. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. My sense of it is I'm over-tightening the thrust bolt and the pressure is simply ripping the head off.
I'm now out of thrust bolts so will have to get more.
Are there any pointers anyone could suggest. I really want to get this right.
Maybe I should start with a really loose diff then tighten up? I think I'm starting too tight.
Thanks for the help.
I am hoping someone will be able to help me with a problem I have.
Firstly, thank you to Racer 53 for your diff rebuild videos. They are excellent. I've subscribed to your channel.
I've just gotten back into RC after a 25 year break. To get back in I bought a T4 second hand. The owner told me he had just re-built the diff.
When it arrived I fitted the electronics and went for a drive. It turns out the diff had never been set.
So I set about stripping out the gearbox as the diff was built with the cover over the head of the thrust bolt, which I removed then re-assembled. I then followed the videos to set the diff. I just could not get it right. It would be fine a few minutes, then loosen right up. After a few re-tightens I realised I had the diff the wrong way round (head of the bolt was on the left, looking. From the rear).
I then stripped the entire thing and re-built it as per the videos.
I struggled quite a bit with getting it right in terms of how tight and I think I was virtually at the bottom of the spring. If I look at the plastic T nut holder for the thrust bolt it seemed like it was really being pulled concave a bit. But if I put screwdriver shafts to hold the diff outdrives (outdrives?), if I really twisted hard I could move the diff, but only just and I really had to twist hard. I backed off the bolt a little bit, then re-assembled everything (the right way round this time).
I then set about doing the run-in. As I was getting to the end of this I heard a pop and saw the T nut holder had shot out and hit the dogbone (this was the pop sound). I opened up the opposite side where I saw the head of the thrust bolt had snapped off.
So, I started again from the beginning, went through everything as above. I ended up getting the same result only this time a little further into run-in.
There was another symptom I noticed. When the gearbox was assembled but out the car, when I twirled the shaft that the slipper and spur attach to it wasn't completely smooth. It felt like every 1-2 turns there was some imperfection that the gears had to roll over. I can't see this affecting the diff, although I don't know enough to tell.
I'm a bit at my wits end. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. My sense of it is I'm over-tightening the thrust bolt and the pressure is simply ripping the head off.
I'm now out of thrust bolts so will have to get more.
Are there any pointers anyone could suggest. I really want to get this right.
Maybe I should start with a really loose diff then tighten up? I think I'm starting too tight.
Thanks for the help.
03-25-2013, 09:44 AM
#297
Stealth tranny idler
Does anyone know if the stealth idler with shaft for the RC10GT (part ASC6570) will work as an idler in the B4 tranny.
I just cant find any reference to dimensions or teeth.
The reason I ask is because our local importer has no idler gears in stock.
Thanks
I just cant find any reference to dimensions or teeth.
The reason I ask is because our local importer has no idler gears in stock.
Thanks
03-25-2013, 01:06 PM
#298
I found the answer. The GT idler has 27T, the B4/T4 has 26T.
03-27-2013, 06:58 AM
#299
Hi guys,
I am hoping someone will be able to help me with a problem I have.
Firstly, thank you to Racer 53 for your diff rebuild videos. They are excellent. I've subscribed to your channel.
I've just gotten back into RC after a 25 year break. To get back in I bought a T4 second hand. The owner told me he had just re-built the diff.
When it arrived I fitted the electronics and went for a drive. It turns out the diff had never been set.
So I set about stripping out the gearbox as the diff was built with the cover over the head of the thrust bolt, which I removed then re-assembled. I then followed the videos to set the diff. I just could not get it right. It would be fine a few minutes, then loosen right up. After a few re-tightens I realised I had the diff the wrong way round (head of the bolt was on the left, looking. From the rear).
I then stripped the entire thing and re-built it as per the videos.
I struggled quite a bit with getting it right in terms of how tight and I think I was virtually at the bottom of the spring. If I look at the plastic T nut holder for the thrust bolt it seemed like it was really being pulled concave a bit. But if I put screwdriver shafts to hold the diff outdrives (outdrives?), if I really twisted hard I could move the diff, but only just and I really had to twist hard. I backed off the bolt a little bit, then re-assembled everything (the right way round this time).
I then set about doing the run-in. As I was getting to the end of this I heard a pop and saw the T nut holder had shot out and hit the dogbone (this was the pop sound). I opened up the opposite side where I saw the head of the thrust bolt had snapped off.
So, I started again from the beginning, went through everything as above. I ended up getting the same result only this time a little further into run-in.
There was another symptom I noticed. When the gearbox was assembled but out the car, when I twirled the shaft that the slipper and spur attach to it wasn't completely smooth. It felt like every 1-2 turns there was some imperfection that the gears had to roll over. I can't see this affecting the diff, although I don't know enough to tell.
I'm a bit at my wits end. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. My sense of it is I'm over-tightening the thrust bolt and the pressure is simply ripping the head off.
I'm now out of thrust bolts so will have to get more.
Are there any pointers anyone could suggest. I really want to get this right.
Maybe I should start with a really loose diff then tighten up? I think I'm starting too tight.
Thanks for the help.
I am hoping someone will be able to help me with a problem I have.
Firstly, thank you to Racer 53 for your diff rebuild videos. They are excellent. I've subscribed to your channel.
I've just gotten back into RC after a 25 year break. To get back in I bought a T4 second hand. The owner told me he had just re-built the diff.
When it arrived I fitted the electronics and went for a drive. It turns out the diff had never been set.
So I set about stripping out the gearbox as the diff was built with the cover over the head of the thrust bolt, which I removed then re-assembled. I then followed the videos to set the diff. I just could not get it right. It would be fine a few minutes, then loosen right up. After a few re-tightens I realised I had the diff the wrong way round (head of the bolt was on the left, looking. From the rear).
I then stripped the entire thing and re-built it as per the videos.
I struggled quite a bit with getting it right in terms of how tight and I think I was virtually at the bottom of the spring. If I look at the plastic T nut holder for the thrust bolt it seemed like it was really being pulled concave a bit. But if I put screwdriver shafts to hold the diff outdrives (outdrives?), if I really twisted hard I could move the diff, but only just and I really had to twist hard. I backed off the bolt a little bit, then re-assembled everything (the right way round this time).
I then set about doing the run-in. As I was getting to the end of this I heard a pop and saw the T nut holder had shot out and hit the dogbone (this was the pop sound). I opened up the opposite side where I saw the head of the thrust bolt had snapped off.
So, I started again from the beginning, went through everything as above. I ended up getting the same result only this time a little further into run-in.
There was another symptom I noticed. When the gearbox was assembled but out the car, when I twirled the shaft that the slipper and spur attach to it wasn't completely smooth. It felt like every 1-2 turns there was some imperfection that the gears had to roll over. I can't see this affecting the diff, although I don't know enough to tell.
I'm a bit at my wits end. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. My sense of it is I'm over-tightening the thrust bolt and the pressure is simply ripping the head off.
I'm now out of thrust bolts so will have to get more.
Are there any pointers anyone could suggest. I really want to get this right.
Maybe I should start with a really loose diff then tighten up? I think I'm starting too tight.
Thanks for the help.
Does anyone have any pointers for me?
I've got new thrust bolts, but I don't want to do the exact same as I did before and likely get the same result.
I was advised that I should use minimal diff lube and black grease and simply just coat everything where appropriate, instead of putting on a lot as advised by Racer 53.
Any experience on that?
Thanks
04-08-2013, 11:46 AM
#300
Great Video !!