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Conference vmszoo::rc

Title:Welcome To The Radio Control Conference
Notice:dir's in 11, who's who in 4, sales in 6, auctions 19
Moderator:VMSSG::FRIEDRICHS
Created:Tue Jan 13 1987
Last Modified:Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1706
Total number of notes:27193

784.0. "Popping Gearbox Noise." by KAOA11::BORDA (No one expects the Spanish Inquisition) Wed Nov 30 1988 09:15

    I seem to be getting a popping sound out of the gearbox on my
    Blackfoot.It is most evident when going in reverse when the gearbox
    has some strain on it(ie.backing up on the lawn).My neighbour boy
    has a Wildone that is exhibitng the same problem.
    I assumed that I had stripped the nylon gears at some point so I
    put in a replacement set(counter gear and diff.gear),guess what???
    It still does the same thing.The original gears looked just fine
    with no sign of wear but I replaced them anyway.I did find fillings
    and grey crap mixed in with the grease(metal bevel gear wear??)but
    they do not look chewed.
    Has any one out there had this problem with their Tamiya vehicles
    that use the dogbone diff???Should I replace my large and small
    bevel gears(thats all thats left)??As a point I have all ball bearings
    inside the gear box no nylon bushings to wear out.
    Thanx.
    Les Borda
    
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784.1Dogbones?MAGIC1::BEAUDETBeware...the Junk_Yard_Dog!Wed Nov 30 1988 10:3215
    
    
    Maybe your problem is the dogbones!  If they are stock, they're
    not suppose to last very long - especially running in grass...
    
    You may wish to try reverse without load on your wheels to see
    if the noise is torque/stress related.
    
    I'm not real familiar with the Blackfoot transmission, but my
    buddy's son has had to replace transmission gears several times
    because he also runs in the grass - he has also replaced the stock
    dogbones with "aftermarket" ones.
    
    
    
784.2You may be right!KAOA11::BORDANo one expects the Spanish InquisitionWed Nov 30 1988 11:188
    re:.1
    Yes the noise is definately torque/stress related,if you run the
    gear box with no load,the noise is not there,but if you put a load
    on the tires it starts to pop.
    I wonder if the ends of the dogbones or the cups are worn and they
    are slipping under load.
    Les Borda.
    
784.3Wild WIllyLEDS::COHENWed Nov 30 1988 12:4414
    My Wild Willy has the same sort of gearbox as the Blackfoot.  I
    had a similar problem.  I'm not sure about the Blackfoot, but
    Willy has an intermediate gear between the pinion and spur gear
    that was nylon.  Under heavy load, the pinion could slip the
    intermediate gear, making a loud "clicking" type noise as the car
    moved.  on inspection, the gear look quite normal, and it took a
    while to figure out what was wrong.  Ultimately, I discovered that
    the nylon gear was soft enough for the metal gear to deform the teeth
    and turn past it, after which the teeth would return to nearly
    their same shape.  adjusting the mesh so that it was tighter
    eliminated the noise, but also increased the rolling resistance a
    lot.  I found a compatable gear in the Handbook of Small Drive
    Components, made of glass filled nylon, that fixed the problem.
784.4re.3KAOA11::BORDANo one expects the Spanish InquisitionWed Nov 30 1988 13:243
    Thanx Randy,how are things.
    The strange part about this is it never did this before until a
    few days ago and it progressively is getting worse.
784.5OHUNDO::SENECHALMS-DOS?Wed Nov 30 1988 13:5911
    
    The front diff on my Hotshot made some ugly popping noises once,
    when I took it apart I found that a dowel was no longer holding
    its idler gear in place and letting it bounce off the housing.
    Maybe one of your gears has some extra play that lets it move around
    and bounce off of something (the case, another gear?).  It could
    be that going forward it's being pushed into the proper position
    so there is no popping then.
    
    -- Don
     
784.6Sounds like the bevel gears tro me.CTHULU::YERAZUNISI can add, test, and branch; therefore I am.Fri Dec 02 1988 11:107
    I had that problem on my old Frog; it turned out the sides of the
    diff case had flexed out enough to let the spider gears (bevel gears)
    pop occasionally.
    
    Bending or reshimming the case should take care of the problem.
    
    	-Bill
784.7re.3 and Repair steps so far.KAOA11::BORDANo one expects the Spanish InquisitionFri Dec 02 1988 11:4311
    re.6
    Thanx for the info.So far i have changed the half shaft set(dogbones
    & cups)because they looked worn on the ends,this did not work.Last
    night(LATE LAST NIGHT)I replaced the bevel gears they had several
    gouges on them and quite a bit of fillings in the grease and I only
    ran this gear box maybe 15 minutes since tearing it apart and cleaning
    it all up.I have not had a chance to test drive it yet but I'll
    keep your suggestion in mind.Wonder why the box would go out of
    tolerance because I have never taken it apart prior to this problem?
    
    
784.8What kind of box is it?CTHULU::YERAZUNISI can add, test, and branch; therefore I am.Fri Dec 02 1988 12:5719
    Is the diff box an aluminum-sided box (like a Frog) or an all-plastic
    box (like a HotShot)?
    
    The Frog-style box can get flexed out by whacking too many rocks
    or just bad luck in assembly.  The Hotshot box, being only plastic,
    is subject to heat warping (ever leave the black plastic in the
    sun?)
    
    Either way, see if you can feel much play- ten thousandths is about
    the tolerable limit.  If it's more than that, you'll have to cobble
    up some shims out of (paper, brass, aluminum, cardboard, etc) to
    take up the play.  Otherwise, those new bevels will just get ripped
    up like the old ones did.
    
    (you _can_ ball-pein an aluminum-sided box like a frog box back
    into tolerance.  I did.  It's mentally nerve-wracking, but if you
    feel lucky, try it.)
    
    	-Bill
784.9re.7KAOO01::BORDANo one expects the Spanish InquisitionFri Dec 02 1988 13:259
    Yes Bill it is an aluminum sided box.The play you are talking about
    must be on the inside of those keyed plastic bearing supports??There
    is a little movement in and out (not a lot)maybe I should correct
    this.I suppose a small round shim could be cut to fit between the
    bearing support and the aluminum to allow the support to come in
    closer contact with the bevel gears.
    Thanx
    Les Borda.
    
784.10you're in luck!CTHULU::YERAZUNISWhy are so few of us left healthy, active, and without personaliFri Dec 02 1988 17:249
    Try the ball-peining first (i.e. bending the sides of the case inward).
    
    Do this with no gears inside! 
    
    Then fit the gear assembly.  The aluminum will bend easily if you
    got it too tight, so this isn't a critical step.  Try flexing the
    case in 1/16" and see how it does.
    
    	-Bill