Just picked up a sort of LNC

[Menace Kustoms]

Welp, figured it out.


They were greased, but nasty. Cleaned it all out really well an re-greased with Snap On air ratchet grease. One bearing was toast on the diff, but some Traxxas bearings I had fit perfect. We'll see how it runs later.

[jgrim]

When I took mine apart for the first time, I thought there was plenty of grease inside. Wrong! Losi worms like lots of grease. Jerry

[Menace Kustoms]

Well, I hope I put enough in! Cause that was a pain in the neck! Lol.

[Pennington Research]

I wiped out a bunch of extra but LUBE THOSE PUPPIES! You will be surprised what difference it makes. This isn't a piston. So building up any kind of compression wouldn't be possible. And NASA didn't build these axles so extra is going to find its way out. Agree with the above comment - Grease em, go have fun. That chassis looks neat by the way. [IMG][/IMG]

[Pennington Research]

Oh and those freakin set screws! Just kidding. Same thing happened to me first time I took them apart. Manual is free. Google Losi nightcrawler manual and it should be the first thing that comes up. Good reference for taking anything apart. A good tech doesn't have parts leftover. Its not like your in the car and too manly to ask for directions.

[Menace Kustoms]

Well, looks like I need to put more grease in. I didn't do nearly that much. The chassis is cool, but it was abused. I'm trying to get it all sorted out properly. I think it has potential. I have some aluminum lower links to put on it and some different shocks. I took off the stupid steering horn floppy flex extenders.

[Menace Kustoms]

What size drill bit is needed for the grub screw? And are you guys picking up the grub screws at a LHS or hardware store?

[WAM]

I assume you're still talking about the grease ports. While you can self-cut the threads, I prefer to use a tap to start the thread. Drill the smallest hole that will allow the tap to start and just put a couple threads in and try it. The intent is to keep the setscrew tight so it stays put. Avoid this major error -- if you drive the screw beyond the inside plastic wall you can make contact with the spool and nothing good comes from that. Best time to do this mod is with the housing apart so you can see everything. But having done it once, I now feel comfortable modding an assembled axle.

[EeePee]

Littlle overboard on the grease there!

No point at all for all that. It's not like it's a fluid bath. Might be counterproductive actually.

And MK, if you thought tearing the axles apart was a pain, you're in the wrong hobby. Key word, hobby.

[Hardline]

Yeah I don't think so EP. While you probably only need 1% of that grease, it gets expelled by the wiping action of a worm gear. So "bonus" grease gives the effect of that grease bath you spoke of and extends the useful life of the grease job.

If I believed in putting in just enough grease, I'd be inside that axle every other day. Double-port every few weeks works for me. And has for many years of near daily use. I'm still on my first HD gearset front, and original rear.

[EeePee]

I've done it the minimalist way since I got mine years ago and they're good. Been a while since I drove it but I used to run the thing constantly. From torn down all the time to single entry/no exit grease port fills. I believe the term is, to each his own. So, I do think so.

[Menace Kustoms]

So, I did the grease ports on the rear axle when I took it apart and serviced it. I used metric grub screws, cause that's what everybody stocks. They look good (they're black, they blend in) and seem to work well. I used my Snap On me ratchet greaser and it fills them up quickly.

EP, I'm still really new to all of this, so tearing all that down was a pain. But, it is as a great learning experience. I also got to clean off all of the overspray and grime that previous owners left on there. It's looking much better.

[Pennington Research]

Like I said. I wiped most of that out. But I put it in there and work the gears. Wipe out extra.

[Olle P]

While the central part is completely filled with grease, as it doesn't stay for long, the grease does add some friction by itself.

Having lots of grease in there is good for several reasons:
* Weight. A fluid beef tube can't be wrong.
* Cooling. The plastic casing doesn't lead off heat very well, so having grease to absorb some/most of the heat generated by the worm drive is good.
* Water proofing. No oxidation on the metal parts when they're covered by grease.
* Lubrication. The main reason for putting grease there in the first place.

[Pennington Research]

I have to agree with Ollie P. But I wonder once the gears have turned so much with out "overpacking" the grease will get moved away from the worm gears. There is going to be some serious mechanical resistance if over packed. Loosing torque to pushing lube around in the axle. Anyone ever just installed a Zert fitting?

[Menace Kustoms]

That's why I used air ratchet grease. It's made to hold up to extreme temps and pressures and it's still relatively thin for what it is. It is designed to keep the years in the ratchet head cool, so I figured it would be a good fit. Pennington, the grub screw mod that we've discussed in here would serve the purpose of a Zerk fittng. It's a port to add grease.

[GiJoe]

John Deere Moly Lube is great too. Its designed for a sliding type friction. Which is what your getting at the worms.

[Pennington Research]

I was going to make an ASS. lube joke but..