Diff slip vs. clutch slip
 

Hey guys,

There's a big jump at my local track, where when I land it wrong (wheels spinning at a different rate than they should for the landing), I get a sharp sound as something slips.

Does a clutch slip (good) make any sound or does only a ball diff slip only make a sound? I've had a loose clutch before and it didn't seem to make much noise, but the car obviously had less power and I could smell a burnt clutch smell (like a 1:1 car would make).

Trying to diagnose if my clutch is too tight or if diff is too loose. Or if what I'm hearing is the clutch. I don't think the clutch is too tight, because much looser and it will slip under normal power/acceleration.

Also, I crashed the car and now at neutral my tires go full left at neutral steering. It's almost as if I had removed the horn and stuck it back on 45 deg. to the left. Just to get it centered, I have to move the radio full right. Is it possible for the teeth/gears to just jump like 10 teeth? Or is this more likely an electrical issue? I have no servo saver...

Ray

You may have stripped something with the shift left in steering. Check all your steering, remove servo horn, check servo saver. Set Transmitter to center and set your servo horn back to dead centre. If it slips again, something has stripped, either in your servo, or in the horn and perhaps servo saver.

As far as your clutch slipping compared to a diff slip small adjustments to the diff To make the diff tighter should make to noticeable difference in the symptom you are describing. Also if you feel like the slipper is set correctly that it would slip under normal acceleration if it was any looser most likely your diff is the part that is not correctly adjusted. As far as the servo of course check the transmitter to ensure all steering setting are correctly adjusted then I would remove the servo with servo horn installed manually move the servo left to right if it is not a smooth transition then i would say you have stripped teeth. Are you using a plastic servo horn or a aluminum one? Have to keep in mind the quality of servo you have plastic gear, metal gear or titanium geared. Forums are good for direction and advice from more people then you would be able to encounter in the rc world but symptoms like this have many possibilities. What vehicle 2wd/4wd what kind of surface are you running on?

If it's a ball diff, they typically make a "barking" sound if they slip. A common method to check, pull the gear cover and motor pinion gear off, either hold both wheels or put wrenches in the outdrive slots to stop them from turning, and turn the spur gear by hand. The slipper should slip, not the diff. The top shaft & nut should not be turning. This is something that should be checked regularly, as the diff wears a little and the spring takes a set over time.

If it has slipped, check for smoothness by turning wheels in opposite directions. It's likely a rebuild in needed, new balls and new or flipped rings.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help!

For the servo, it looks like the servo horn screw backed out and the plastic horn is semi-stripped. I have a metal gear Hitec servo, thinking of getting an alum horn, but come to think of it, since I don't have a servo saver, might actually be a good idea to have a plastic horn to take the brunt of the damage when I crash? Better that stripping than something breaking?

I'll check out the diff, I think it's the barking sound. Good tip on how to check it Dave! The car (B5) has maybe 10 batteries through it since I last set/checked it.