Losi Baja Rey 1/10th 4WD RTR desert truck

[CM9000]

^3s? 2s? ive haven't had that happen yet... I got the traxxas parts to do the steering but haven't done it yet. im waiting on my trinity motor order to show up.

[BobTeagle]

Originally Posted by TTDRIVER13

Seized bearings and melted case....

I'm starting to think a full bearing upgrade is in order here! Maybe Losi cheaped out in the bearings with this rig..😒

[wrightcs77]

I just ordered a fast Eddy bearings kit and ceramic bearings for the axles for my rig. Haven't had issues yet, but considering it to be preventative maintenance.

[TTDRIVER13]

Originally Posted by BobTeagle

I'm starting to think a full bearing upgrade is in order here! Maybe Losi cheaped out in the bearings with this rig..

Bearings are cheap, really cheap. Btw note how dirty the internals are. It's the cleanest I have pulled it apart from the times I have pulled it apart to do work to it. Silicone worked for me. I have tried multiple methods, this one worked the best for me.

[fyrstormer]

Which part is melted? I'm not seeing it.

I think the center gearbox gears need to be greased, potential dirt intrusion be damned. Running them dry causes too much heat buildup.

[TTDRIVER13]

Those gears are meant to run dry. I use dry lube on mine that helps a bit and doesn't attract dirt, have also tried different forms of lubricant but I don't advise anything other than a dry lubricant.

[fyrstormer]

Bare-metal gears always last longer when greased, even if they're "meant" to run dry. There's no solid-lubricant coating on them, like molybdenum di-sulfide or a similar ceramic coating, and they aren't made of Oilite, which is impregnated with oil so it self-lubricates as it wears down, so they are scraping bare metal against bare metal when they run dry. No thanks. Mine started running significantly cooler after I greased them. Dirt particles larger than dust aren't going to stick to gears that are spinning at thousands of RPMs anyway, even if they are greased.

Admittedly grease won't help with heat buildup when the bearings seize, but it helps the rest of the time.

[TTDRIVER13]

When I tried grease and opened them up afterwards all the grease was flung off on the walls of the housing resulting in dry gears... How did you get your grease to stick and how do you know they ran cooler? Interesting observations, I'm all ears... I want in on the secret grease your using..

[fyrstormer]

I checked the temperature of the universal joint coming off the back of the center diff using an IR thermometer, before and after greasing the gears. From that I could infer that the gears it was connected to were running cooler.

I use marine grease. It looks like it all flings off, but there's still a microscopic coating left on the gears, which you can see when you wipe between the gear teeth with a bit of paper towel. A microscopic coating is all that's needed.

[TTDRIVER13]

Gear in question are the center gears between pinion gear and differential just so that we are in the same page. Checking the temp of the output shaft isn't really accurate to the gears and bearings in question so theirs no real gain their. Also sounds like your grease lubes the walls as well and attracts dirt particles to stick to the gears witch creates friction and wears your gear quicker. Good hypothesis thou, sounded to good to be true.

[fyrstormer]

It is reasonable to infer that *all* the gears are running cooler if one of them is. They're all part of the same assembly, all made of the same material, and all subject to the same load.

Dirt sticking to the walls of the gearbox housing isn't going to affect how fast the gears wear-down, because the gears aren't touching the walls of the housing -- if they are, then there are more immediate problems that need to be fixed. Grease *near* moving parts doesn't magically attract dirt *onto* those moving parts.

Anyway, I sealed the trapdoor under the center gearbox and haven't had any issues with dirt ingress.

[TTDRIVER13]

Don't know how I got lucky on the silicone staying out and creating a nice seal every time I take it apart and put back on but here's a reference picture if you can see it and the dry lube I use for anyone following.

[fyrstormer]

Yep, I sealed the same spot, I just used foam tape instead of RTV sealant.

[TTDRIVER13]

I tried foam tape, gasket paper, tape over the door and a couple other things but wasn't happy with the door fitment afterwards. Anything in the inside dint let the door close flush and anything in the outside got tore up. Just my experience when I tried these mediums and most still let big particles in the compartment. Really happy with the silicone, perfect fit and seal.

[fyrstormer]

Whatever works.

[ser3100]

Maybe old news but JEC racing is supposed to be coming out with trailing arms for the rey.

[CM9000]

good to hear hop ups are coming out for this truck. but ill stick with stock ones they have held up for me so far. until I put a 4300 in it lol.

[TTDRIVER13]

Originally Posted by ser3100

Maybe old news but JEC racing is supposed to be coming out with trailing arms for the rey.

Their out already, $65 shipped. Uses smaller rod ends than the stock losi 7mm so theirs a gap that he says can be "tighten" to fit but I advise the use of washers/shims. Kit comes with ss uppers and alum lowers. Alum uppers is an option as well. They do look clean thou!

[TTDRIVER13]

Originally Posted by CM9000

good to hear hop ups are coming out for this truck. but ill stick with stock ones they have held up for me so far. until I put a 4300 in it lol.

Good to hear yours are holding up, a lot of people have bent theirs. This is not my truck, I got solid steel ones on mine.

[fyrstormer]

I can see the upper ones being weak enough to need reinforcement, but the lowers should be fine.

- - -

Pro-Line F-11 beadlock wheels with "ProTrac" offset were installed today:



Same track-width as the stock wheels, but significantly stronger:



To make the stock tires fit, I had to cut the radial ribs close to the outer bead, as shown below; Pro-Line tires already have this modification from the factory, but I like the stock tires on this truck:



So, why beadlocks? One, I hate gluing truck tires because the beads always break loose; two, beadlocks look cool; three, beadlocks make it easy to experiment with other tires in the future, such as HPI's Maxxis Trepador tires which might be made of a hard-enough compound to work well on this truck; and four, they put about 3oz of extra weight close to the ground where it should help stabilize the truck and reduce runaway diffing-out of the center diff.