clicking sound=something bad?

[Herbieace]

my 2.5 just started making a terrible clicking sound when I drive. I think it might be the differentials. How do I determine if that is the case, and whether it is the fron tor rear? I've never had to take apart the diffs, and I have no idea what I am doing.
Any helpd would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rbmaxxbasher]

clicking does indeed sound like the diffs.... does it do it when you hit the brakes?

mine did that and my ring gear was pretty worn out. Diffs are not too hard to change out. Just go to your LHS and get the rebuild kit. It comes with the ring gear and pinion gear. the ring gear is the one that the outdrive shafts are connected to. the pinion gear is the one that the tranny drive shaft is connected to. replace them both and regrease. It's a good idea to shim them so that there is as little play in them as possible.

If you want bullet-proof, go for the rrp diffs, and an aluminum case

Chances are it's the rear diff, that is the one that really takes the beating.

To check it, turn it upside down and hold three wheels at a time while trying to turn the one. do all four. Rotate them and try it again. You'll probably hear the same clicking sound.

Good Luck.

 

[olds97_lss]

I found that a heavy braker like myself has a higher tendency to fry front diffs than rear. I was always chewing up the front diff because I like to hammer on the brakes a lot. If your a heavy braker like me, it is more than likely the front diff. Especially since it's a 2.5 maxx. If it was a 21 converted maxx, then it blows rear diffs more often due to the extra power.

 

[rbmaxxbasher]

yea, heavy braking is what stripped out my front. First it only did it when I hit the brakes, but later all the time.

 

[Lessen]

I found that a heavy braker like myself has a higher tendency to fry front diffs than rear. I was always chewing up the front diff because I like to hammer on the brakes a lot. If your a heavy braker like me, it is more than likely the front diff. Especially since it's a 2.5 maxx. If it was a 21 converted maxx, then it blows rear diffs more often due to the extra power.

agreed.

cuz I just did that. I'm tired of messin with diffs. I'm gettin UE's

 

[Plaidfish]

lessen unless you're racing save yourself some serious cash and get the fastlane or atomik bulkless set for 1/8 scale diffs...it uses the same gears as the kyosho and OFnA buggies do....so your replacement parts are easy to find...I used em for a while on a T-maxx and found they kick A$$.....I never had to change or rebuild my diffs in 10 gallons running a Fantom .21 and O.S. RZ in the truck.....the UE set w/ their gears (also kyosho style I believe) will run around 350-450 and the fastlane is about 200 w/ gears........unless you are a hardcore racer I just don't see the advantage in the weight difference between the 2 sets....

 

[Herbieace]

what would you guess the total $ for this repair is going to be?

 

[rbmaxxbasher]

it totally depends on what you choose to do. If you go back with stock, then you're looking at about 10 or 15 dollars. If you upgrade, well, you know it can get high. My suggestion would be to put new stock ones back in and lighten up on the braking.

 

[Plaidfish]

if you are running the stock mill then just get stock gears RB is right......until you put a real torquer mill in you should be able to handle the stock parts w/ minimal issues.....the parts I listed were more for Lessen than you as he suggested the UE would cure his problems...they will but there are less expensive ways of doing it too.....when you do the change (any gears) make sure you get an OFNA shim kit and shim your driveline real good...that will help to stop the gear slipping.....sometimes you can shim them when they start skipping and it will save you some money for a while.....

 

[Herbieace]

If I drive it around while it is clicking, am I only hurting the diff's worse? I'd like to bash a little while I am on vacation, and I don't have time to get the new parts. I don't care if I completely strip something that is already blown, but I don't want to compound the matters.
I really appreciate all of your help on this guys.

 

[Plaidfish]

you never know till you rip it apart....and you could do more damage by running it.....it could seize up and kill your whole driveline....it could totally strip out and you'll rev the crap out of your mill....it could just let go completely and then you run 2WD w/o retuning for th eextra load and you blow your mill.....too many variables to say what "could" go wrong.....just fix it ASAP and you won't have to worry about killing more stuff....

 

[olds97_lss]

If you don't have time to get new, do you have time to take the front diff out? You would be running 2wd, but you'd be less likely to damage other things in the driveline.

 

[rbmaxxbasher]

yea, it'll be like running a sport-maxx. However I warn you that it is a completely different monster when driving 2wd .

I just built an s-maxx for my girlfriend to drive, and it's really wheelie happy. If you punch it from a dead stop it'll flip over on it's lid. It even has the stock motor.

 

[Hypedonrc]

fastlane or atomik bulkless set for 1/8 scale diffs

You have a link to these?

 

[olds97_lss]

http://www.fastlanemachine.com/

Click on products, t-maxx. The ones that use buggy diffs are the second set on the page.

 

[Hypedonrc]

Sweet! Thanks.

 

[.21Rc10GT]

www.atomrcproducts.com sells fastlane bulkless... I'm pretty sure they are cheaper in price...

 

[Plaidfish]

look up atomrc on fleabay...they usually have the 1/10 scale set for sale around 90 but if you ask nice he'll sell the 1/8 scale set for another 20 bucks....

 

[Herbieace]

ok, I took off the front diff case and found this. Those two little things are actually two of the teeth that broke off. Do you think i should only need to replace the little gear? (Out drive??).
I really don't think I want to take off the screws on the back of the other big piece.
Someone mentioned "shims earlier". Where would those go? I didn't see anything shim like while taking this thing apart.
Also, what sort of grease should I fill the case up with?
Any advice on fixing this would be greatly appreciated. I don't know the proper terminology, so go easy on me. I'd like to try to get replacement parts for as cheap as possible. I just don't have the money to upgrade right now.
Thanks guys.

 

[rbmaxxbasher]

If you can get a hold of the pinion gear (the little one) by itself, then go ahead and do it. you can get the rebuild set from tower :http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXSP75&P=ML

As you have seen, its not hard to do the diff. Technically speaking, to do the proper repair, you should replace the gears as a set, including the ring gear (the big one). If it doesn't look bad then dont worry about it.

A couple words of wisdom though, inspect the ring gear for wear toward the inside of the teeth. You can notice this with a slight lip on the outer edge of it. this is normal, but needs to be replaced.

For ten dollars, i'd replace them both.

btw: the four screws on the ring gear are not something hard to deal with. One outdrive goes through the gear. all there is to it is remove the four screws holding the spider gears. after that comes off, slide the remaining outdrive gear out of the old ring gear.

Just take a good look at the assembly of it.

best thing to do after taking it apart would be to clean it well, preferably with gasoline. (if you are old enough, your profile doesn't state it. no offense if you are an adult)

the grease to use depends on the application of the truck, and which diff it is. If it's the rear diff, i'd go with high viscosity marine grease. It's green. If it is the front and you race. use a light grease, if you bash, go with the HV marine grease also.

The way to judge it is, if you want more of a "posi-track" effect, use thicker grease. If you want better handling use thinner grease.

Happy Hunting.