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Differential fluid questions

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plugged1

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  1. Bashing
Ok, just got a few questions here..

I keep hearing about people putting oil in the differentials intead of the grease that it comes with.

1.How hard is it, and is it worth the trouble?

2.Why didn`t it come with oil in it?

3. Do you have to change the oil?

4. What oil would you use?
 
1.How hard is it, and is it worth the trouble? (How hard depends on your vehicle. What kind of running do you do? For me yes it is worth it)



2.Why didn`t it come with oil in it? (Some do not have sealed diffs so you can't do on all. Many DO come with oil in the diif)



3. Do you have to change the oil? (Only when it gets low or you want to change the weight)



4. What oil would you use? (Silicone diff oil)
 
Usually more people will run Oil in their differentials compared to grease because it allows you to fine tune your vehicle to the conditions of a Track or Area that you are running. Many cars do come with oil but many don't as well. It's usually more common to see a Racer using oil because you can fine tune the Diff. But for just standard bashing, Grease works just fine. It's all a person preference.
 
Oh, OK. I have a TT EB4 S2. I just use it for bashing, and thought I was missing out on something big or something.:) Thanks all.
 
I'm just a basher and I really like running heavier oil vs grease. Grease only lubes. It doesn't limit the diff action really at all. Once the gears cut a path through the grease, there is very little resistance, so there isn't any "positraction".

I run the heavier oil because it helps me not get high centered on obstacles. Even with two wheels on one side in the air, the two that are touching the ground get plenty of power to still drag me off of whatever I climbed up on.

I run 50K OFNA oil in both my savage and my aftershock. I think many use 15K or less that are using it as a racing/tuning aid.
 
OK, a TT EB4 S2 Eh ? well, let me see now, Fill the diffs with oil. I found with my own EB4's that they "Behave" better when i use oil in the diffs.

For a start, i Used a standard 7-7-7 setup which helped me but did not give the control i wanted.

I then i changed that to 7-20-10 and it started to give what i expected, but i still wasn't happy.

In the end after much experimenting i settled on and ran 10-50-30 and got what i wanted out of my buggy. I left the front looser for better cornering and overall handling.

It all hangs on what you expect and what you want from the buggy.

Even when bashing, i would recommend oils in thunder tiger diffs. it makes one HELL of a difference to the handling. But so does the addition of sway bars and changing shock oils and spring weights and................................................
 
OK, a TT EB4 S2 Eh ? well, let me see now, Fill the diffs with oil. I found with my own EB4's that they "Behave" better when i use oil in the diffs.

For a start, i Used a standard 7-7-7 setup which helped me but did not give the control i wanted.

I then i changed that to 7-20-10 and it started to give what i expected, but i still wasn't happy.

In the end after much experimenting i settled on and ran 10-50-30 and got what i wanted out of my buggy. I left the front looser for better cornering and overall handling.

It all hangs on what you expect and what you want from the buggy.

Even when bashing, i would recommend oils in thunder tiger diffs. it makes one HELL of a difference to the handling. But so does the addition of sway bars and changing shock oils and spring weights and................................................

So that`s 10w in front 50w in center and 30w in rear?
 
Actually those are probably thousand weight. So 10k, 50k and 30k. In my truggy I do the oils backward to his. I do 50k in the center. 20k in the front and 15k in the rear. Having lighter in the rear and heavier in the front allows more power to go to the rear vs. the front.
 
Thanks for pointing out about the "K" weight Joe.

Personally i prefer more front end power than rear end power on the EB4, it gives more balance for my driving and stops the EB4 being tail happy in cornering. That perhaps, is also why i fitted sway bars. Also, the heavier weight in the rear helps give more "torsion" effect power to the rear wheels which is also how i like it. It IS a bit of a self contradiction, however, with lioghter oils in the front, there is more availability of balancing the power to each wheel through a corner. The front diff always works more that the rear as the front diff has to cope with the differing speeds of the wheels in cornering, I.E, the outside wheel turning faster than the wheel on the "Inside" of the turn.

Sorry about the long response, i just felt i needed to expand up-on why i use the weight differences between front and rear diffs.
 
Looking at the buggy, it looks like a pain to get to all those diffs. Am I over-estimating the difficulty of this modification?
 
The truggy actually seems to make better lap times by drifting the back a bit. But on buggies it is a bit different. Lighter, smaller tyres and by nature a bit more squirrely. I found that once my buggy breaks loose I have to let off and slow down quite a bit to get traction back....the Jammin is running small MT tires so I can be more aggressive with the maneuvering.
 
Plugged, If you "Stare" ast the manual long enough it wil drive you crazy.

IMO, you are best just to get on and do it. You will HAVE to tear the clips down eventually to replace the bearings, so learning how it all goes together NOW, will help you later.

If needed, i can draw up a "how-To" for you. I've torn my towers down way too many times to need a manual. I know how to do it in my sleep, ask my missus, she watched me do it in my sleep once !!!!


The center diff unit is perhaps the "Easiest" as it involves 5 bolts and 1 nut to remove it from the chassis, and just the 4 screws of the top plate of the diff mount, to release it completely. After that, you have the four bolts that retain the main gear to the actual diff casing.


Removing the front "Clip" is a case of undoing the two servo saver post screws from underside of the chassis and the four bolts holding the trans case, plus the nut and bolt at the servo saver top plate end of the front plastic torque rod. To get to the diff itself, you will need to remove the two long bolts that retain the front and rear trans plates, the two bolts that mount through the shock tower to hold the trans case together and the two bolts at the front end of the trans case just above the groove.

It sounds more complex than it actually is.

The rear "Clip" is also the same, but for the fact you have to remove the wing mount itself, plus the pin that slides through the bracket where the torque rod slips into place (it saves undoing the chassis end bolt as its a major pain in the ass to refit that end)


IF THE ABOVE has put you off, dont let it. Once you get oil into your diffs, and you "Feel" the difference under driving conditions, you WILL be glad that you did change from the crappo grease. Beleive you me, there is only enough grease in there just to keep it lubricated, it is not packed with the stuff as you would think it would be. I have done three EB4's diffs now, my main diffs at least 5 times. Every time it has been worth the work for the difference in handling.


If you need advice, or pointers on carrying out this work, LET ME KNOW !! i can put a how-to together as well as a "How-To Video".
 
Plugged, If you "Stare" ast the manual long enough it wil drive you crazy.

IMO, you are best just to get on and do it. You will HAVE to tear the clips down eventually to replace the bearings, so learning how it all goes together NOW, will help you later.

If needed, i can draw up a "how-To" for you. I've torn my towers down way too many times to need a manual. I know how to do it in my sleep, ask my missus, she watched me do it in my sleep once !!!!


The center diff unit is perhaps the "Easiest" as it involves 5 bolts and 1 nut to remove it from the chassis, and just the 4 screws of the top plate of the diff mount, to release it completely. After that, you have the four bolts that retain the main gear to the actual diff casing.


Removing the front "Clip" is a case of undoing the two servo saver post screws from underside of the chassis and the four bolts holding the trans case, plus the nut and bolt at the servo saver top plate end of the front plastic torque rod. To get to the diff itself, you will need to remove the two long bolts that retain the front and rear trans plates, the two bolts that mount through the shock tower to hold the trans case together and the two bolts at the front end of the trans case just above the groove.

It sounds more complex than it actually is.

The rear "Clip" is also the same, but for the fact you have to remove the wing mount itself, plus the pin that slides through the bracket where the torque rod slips into place (it saves undoing the chassis end bolt as its a major pain in the ass to refit that end)


IF THE ABOVE has put you off, dont let it. Once you get oil into your diffs, and you "Feel" the difference under driving conditions, you WILL be glad that you did change from the crappo grease. Beleive you me, there is only enough grease in there just to keep it lubricated, it is not packed with the stuff as you would think it would be. I have done three EB4's diffs now, my main diffs at least 5 times. Every time it has been worth the work for the difference in handling.


If you need advice, or pointers on carrying out this work, LET ME KNOW !! i can put a how-to together as well as a "How-To Video".

Thanks! You`ve been a big help to this newbie!:first_place:
 
As i said plugged, any questions, just ask. I know the Tiger EB4 S2 backwards, forwards, upside down, and even inside out. i can work this rig like i've had one all my life.

I have a document u know i'm working on, that will be finished soon, your name is on the first copy.

BTW, Call me Ron
 
Last edited:
As i said plugged, any questions, just ask. I know the Tiger EB4 S2 backwards, forwards, upside down, and even inside out. i can work this rig like i've had one all my life.

I have a document u know i'm working on, that will be finished soon, your name is on the first copy.

BTW, Call me Ron

Thanks Ron!


-Matt
 
i also have a thunder tiger eb-4 s2 and i went to a hobby shop and the guy there told me that i can use 1000 wt in all three differentials...this is the first of many nitro powered cars i am going to buy..but I'm not sure how to add the oil to the diffs...i know it was explained but I'm better with visual aids...know of any online pics i can look at?
 
Plugged, If you "Stare" ast the manual long enough it wil drive you crazy.

IMO, you are best just to get on and do it. You will HAVE to tear the clips down eventually to replace the bearings, so learning how it all goes together NOW, will help you later.

If needed, i can draw up a "how-To" for you. I've torn my towers down way too many times to need a manual. I know how to do it in my sleep, ask my missus, she watched me do it in my sleep once !!!!


The center diff unit is perhaps the "Easiest" as it involves 5 bolts and 1 nut to remove it from the chassis, and just the 4 screws of the top plate of the diff mount, to release it completely. After that, you have the four bolts that retain the main gear to the actual diff casing.


Removing the front "Clip" is a case of undoing the two servo saver post screws from underside of the chassis and the four bolts holding the trans case, plus the nut and bolt at the servo saver top plate end of the front plastic torque rod. To get to the diff itself, you will need to remove the two long bolts that retain the front and rear trans plates, the two bolts that mount through the shock tower to hold the trans case together and the two bolts at the front end of the trans case just above the groove.

It sounds more complex than it actually is.

The rear "Clip" is also the same, but for the fact you have to remove the wing mount itself, plus the pin that slides through the bracket where the torque rod slips into place (it saves undoing the chassis end bolt as its a major pain in the ass to refit that end)


IF THE ABOVE has put you off, dont let it. Once you get oil into your diffs, and you "Feel" the difference under driving conditions, you WILL be glad that you did change from the crappo grease. Beleive you me, there is only enough grease in there just to keep it lubricated, it is not packed with the stuff as you would think it would be. I have done three EB4's diffs now, my main diffs at least 5 times. Every time it has been worth the work for the difference in handling.


If you need advice, or pointers on carrying out this work, LET ME KNOW !! i can put a how-to together as well as a "How-To Video".
I really would like to see this howto video for the eb4 😇
Plugged, If you "Stare" ast the manual long enough it wil drive you crazy.

IMO, you are best just to get on and do it. You will HAVE to tear the clips down eventually to replace the bearings, so learning how it all goes together NOW, will help you later.

If needed, i can draw up a "how-To" for you. I've torn my towers down way too many times to need a manual. I know how to do it in my sleep, ask my missus, she watched me do it in my sleep once !!!!


The center diff unit is perhaps the "Easiest" as it involves 5 bolts and 1 nut to remove it from the chassis, and just the 4 screws of the top plate of the diff mount, to release it completely. After that, you have the four bolts that retain the main gear to the actual diff casing.


Removing the front "Clip" is a case of undoing the two servo saver post screws from underside of the chassis and the four bolts holding the trans case, plus the nut and bolt at the servo saver top plate end of the front plastic torque rod. To get to the diff itself, you will need to remove the two long bolts that retain the front and rear trans plates, the two bolts that mount through the shock tower to hold the trans case together and the two bolts at the front end of the trans case just above the groove.

It sounds more complex than it actually is.

The rear "Clip" is also the same, but for the fact you have to remove the wing mount itself, plus the pin that slides through the bracket where the torque rod slips into place (it saves undoing the chassis end bolt as its a major pain in the ass to refit that end)


IF THE ABOVE has put you off, dont let it. Once you get oil into your diffs, and you "Feel" the difference under driving conditions, you WILL be glad that you did change from the crappo grease. Beleive you me, there is only enough grease in there just to keep it lubricated, it is not packed with the stuff as you would think it would be. I have done three EB4's diffs now, my main diffs at least 5 times. Every time it has been worth the work for the difference in handling.


If you need advice, or pointers on carrying out this work, LET ME KNOW !! i can put a how-to together as well as a "How-To Video".
I really would like to see this howto video for the eb4 😇
 
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