Body lean after greasing axles

[lostinperiphery]

Hi all! I recently acquired a second hand TRX4 Sport, my first RC in a few decades. As a precaution against water, last night I packed the portals with grease, and added a finger full to each differential. Used Maxima waterproof grease.

Today, I noticed that as throttle is increased, the body leans. To the right when going forward, and a bit left when going backward.

Is this typical from increased resistance in the driveline, and torque from the motor?


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[Ninomaniac]

Torque twist is normal (there's not much of it in the TRX4), but looks like you managed to add enough resistance to make it very noticeable. I submarine my TRX and still use very little grease, just to cover the gears.

[89redranger]

Grease creates drag. Drag requires torque to turn. Drag at the axles and input torque from the trans/drive shafts create torque twist. Lesson #1 is now complete...don't fill your axles and trans with grease unless you plan to enter submersible mode.

Welcome to the site!

[lostinperiphery]

Originally Posted by 89redranger

Grease creates drag. Drag requires torque to turn. Drag at the axles and input torque from the trans/drive shafts create torque twist. Lesson #1 is now complete...don't fill your axles and trans with grease unless you plan to enter submersible mode.

Welcome to the site!

Is there a balance that would be an appropriate amount of grease to allow for some occasional puddle splashing or running around in the snow?


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[89redranger]

I'm not the guy to ask there. I avoid water and crappy weather like the plague. I got tired of rusty parts and seized bearings long ago. But I only just use a bit on gear teeth on my own rigs. The points of contact. No sense in using much more when all the excess gets flung off and sticks to the inside of your gearboxes. For water, routine maintenance really seems to be the real answer.

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[HumboldtEF]

I agree with 89redranger, prevention aint a thing only maintenance will really help.

This extra drag could be effecting the motor and electronics too with the potential for burning them out.

[nightcrawler48]

The grease you have used should work fine. The specifications by the manufacturer are consistent with all modern quality greases. This grease has rust and oxidation additives so should work well for the occasional run through puddles and snow. Generally you wouldn't see a lot of moisture inside the housings unless you are submarining the housings. I usually coat the joint areas of trans housings, axle housings, pinion inputs, lockouts, etc., with a little grease when I'm assembling transmissions and axles. Don't know if it really helps but I generally don't see water or corrosion when I tear things down for maintenance.
Grease should actually be used sparingly. As you have found, completely filling a housing is not necessary, it doesn't make the grease "stick" to the gears better. My procedure is to put grease on both mating gears, just enough to fill to the bottom of the gear tooth. Once assembled and initially run, the gears will purge the excess. Eventually the amount of grease on the gear teeth will be reduced to a point where re-greasing is required. 89redranger and HumboldtEF are right on about regular maintenance. You just need to figure out what the interval is for your particular use.