Re: bearings
 

Have you run the car yet, or is this right after the "rebuild"?
When I rebuild the drivetrain, and lube it all up again, it feels about the same. Although the drivetrain should feel better, mine takes about two runs to feel better. This is because you need to let the STELTH DIFF LUBE "break in" with the gears, and even out over the gears.

Berger: You got PM
 

Berger:

You've got a private message. Sorry for the delay - I don't check very often!

Cheers

bearings
 

i haven't run the bearings yet, and they are not new. they're the origional bearings that came with my rtr. i've been racing them for almost a year now and this is the first time i've messed with them. i'll check to see if they just got dirt into them, but i found 4 flat ones and replaced them, and these were pretty smooth. are there any other things that could be wrong?

Peee MMMM back at you Horatio.:D
TC3 Rookie, i still run my original bearings from 2 years ago in my tc3 but im a carpet racer so they aint too bad. Damn expensive to replace as well!:eek:

expensive
 

they are really expensive! the 4 new ones i got to replace the flat ones set me back almost $15! that't why i'm trying to fix up the ones that work as best i can. i'm not opening up the new ones though... one in each hub should even it out fine.

tc3 rookie when you go to the shoe store do you buy just one shoe.
yes 15.00 dollars now a days is quite a bit
but if you are going to do it do all the wheel bearings. another thing youj need to do is check the bearings on the drive shaft cups those go bad aswell.
the bigger diff ones rarely go bad.

bearings
 

i did check every bearing in the car except the ones i recently put in the steering rack. the only bad ones were in the rear hubs; all 4 were shot! i read early on in the forum about this and i tried what was suggested. i'll get more bearings, only i'm on a budget and the rest'll have to wait until the weekend when i'll have enough cash to take a trip to my LHS and get the next batch of stuff for my tc3!

cool it just would be a shame not to do the other ones it would defeat the purpose. i know it gets expensive i check bearings almost after every race because one good hit and you just ruined one or two.
its cheaper to replace them as you go when they go bad one at a time.
then when they go bad all at one time,
3 to 6 or even 9.oo dollars every other month is better than 40.00 at one shot.

My best recomendation for your situation is to just run the car with it all lubed up and with the oil in it. The drivetrain should free up after about two or three runs...

Synthetics man. Use synthetic oils in your bearings! Castrol Syntec 0W30 in a small oil bottle with needle tip. Flush the bearings, put them back in the car with one inner seal removed... adding two drops of oil to each one. Repeat this every week you run the car! I know it wont get that 40 second spin that seems all the rage nowadays... but having bearings last several race seasons, and only needing to be replaced due to the bearing getting some slop in it (no grittiness) seems like a fair trade to me!

When i tried going away from the synthetics (for comparison sakes), i noticed the inner race (cage) of the bearings that hold the balls, and the balls, were no longer shiny, but a scorched dark color. This was the regular oil breaking down and attaching to the metal parts as deposits. (Think of it, full size car motors use regular oils that can break down in a 200 degree environment on parts that dont reach RPMS above 8k...our RC cars reach RPMS F A R above this... and operate in a much higher temperature range and dirtier (usually) environment! Synthetics dont break down... period!) This will slow your bearings down, even if you clean them with motor spray on a regular basis to flush other deposits. (Tire rubber, dust, dirt, etc. For carpet fiber removal, try MEK) Using a good quality metal polish on your bearings is a good way to maintain them during extended racing down time. Remove the seals, pack the bearing with metal polish using your finger, just like the grease was packed in the bearing when you first got them. Place a cone shaped stone (soft not abrasive) in your dremel, and place the cone in the middle of the bearing to spin the inner race at low RPM, as you hold the outer race between your fingers. You will see the polish turn dark... this is the polish removing those earlier mentioned deposits from the bearing. Rinse and repeat. You may need to use a soft bristle toothbrush to agitate the polish for removal. This is time consuming to some, but well worth the smooooth driveline it gives you! This combined with the synthetic oil will please you im sure. ;)

As far as the servo issue goes... number one hop up for ANY TC (before the bling factor even) is a metal gear servo. I know they too have one plastic gear in them to protect the gear train... but it removes a servo break from your list of problems by like 95%. They are costly initially... but worth it... if sitting on the sidelines watching your main isnt your idea of fun. That servo saver on the TC3 rack is a joke... but placing an ASC .22 L4O oval car front end spring between two thin washers in place of the standard servo saver spring (see attached pic, it gives you an idea of it) will give you more adjustment if you HAVE to use a standard servo, and still be strong enough to keep the car centered. Using Mike D's idea is effective, but can limit room for electronics placement, it puts your servo further back in the compartment. Depends on your needs and creativity i guess.
-Dave

I couldn't agree more. Siezed bearings aren't just going to reduce your performance - they're going to shorten the life of other expensive components. I know what it's like to race on a budget - I've raced since I was a kid on pocket money alone. However, beg, borrow, or whatever it takes to obtain decent bearings for your TC3 otherwise you'll regret it in the long run. If you're on a tight budget, DONT strip new bearings - leave them with the standard grease inside them. They'll last far longer, save you a fortune and you'll spend less time taking the bloody fiddly things apart!!:lol:

DaveW:

I'll have to try that polishing trick you mentioned - it sounds like a really neat trick:D Thanks for passing that one on;)

As for oil, the ZX1 oil I mentioned earlier was tested by the Atomic Energy Authority National Centre of Tribology. It actually fills in the tiny microscopic 'pores' of metal parts. This apparently is the most effective friction reducing synthetic formulation ever developed (alledgedly!) and I have no reason to doubt this claim - it seems to work very well in all the bearings I have, including motor bearings and bushes etc.

I've been using Prolong - works great too.

DaveW - Actually the servo is mounted in the normal position. I just dremeled away some of the useless chassis bracing directly under the servo horn. The mid-size Kimbrough servo saver fits with no problems.

Mike D.. do you have a part number for that servo saver?

I blew my servo at Snowbirds last year and got a Metal Gear Servo but I may want that extra protection since I do hit the walls every so often :)

Also what have you done differnently on your TC3 Setup to run at Mimi's this year. That Track was very very tight.