TRX-4 Lubricants

[SC Doberman]

Ok, so newbie here with a question. I'll admit I am totally confused with what I am supposed to use for Diff, Portal etc lubricant. Is it a grease. If so, what kind should I use. Thanks.

[twade984]

Yes, all of the crawlers I’m aware of use grease for all gears - transmission, differentials and portals if applicable.

Personally I bought a tube of Lucas marine grease from a local hardware store and that’s what I use on everything.

Crawlers are fairly forgiving, the most important thing is getting some kind of grease on the gears, and checking them periodically. Depending on use and environment you may need to clean and regrease more often than others. Driving submerged in water often would require frequent checking and greasing.

Lucas red and tacky is popular, vanquish grease, cow rc udder butter…


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[SC Doberman]

That’s what I was looking for. Thanks so much!


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[Charlys748]

You can use 2 types of grease if you want:
- non sticky grease for all gears in order to have a car that run smoothly (I use Super Lube grease, that has ptfe inside)
- sticky grease (like the Tamiya anti wear grease) for the diffs, it will act a bit like a limited slip diff... or go with a non sticky one and lock you diffs when needed.

[cooltone]

I'm using Quicksilver Extreme Grease

https://www.amazon.com/Quicksilver-8.../dp/B00BO8A6P6

[King Dork]

I use either Lucas Marine or Red and Tacky on metal gears and TrakPower Krytech dry wax lube on CVDs.

[fyrstormer]

I use Grim Racer Speed Grease on all my sealed drivetrain gears, except for the hypoidal diff gears in the Axial SCX10.2 and SCX10.3, which require a moly grease to prevent excessive drag between the ring and pinion gears. Tamiya Moly Grease does the trick there.

For the spider gears inside differentials, things get more complicated. If I don't want limited-slip action (as with the diffs in my Summit and TRX-4, because I can just lock them when needed) I use the same Grim Racer Speed Grease for the spider gears. If I do want limited-slip action, then it depends on whether the diffs are sealed. If the diffs are sealed, I use silicone oil of whatever viscosity gives me the resistance I want. If they aren't sealed, I usually use gelled silicone grease, which gives moderate limited-slip action, or sometimes Tamiya Anti-Wear Grease, which is suuuuuper sticky and gives very strong limited-slip action. I've only used the Tamiya Anti-Wear Grease in a couple applications -- the front diffs of a couple old touring cars with non-sealed diffs, and the 2nd-axle diff on my TRX-6, which benefits significantly from having strong limited-slip action even when the 2nd axle is unlocked. (this has not been an issue for my TRX-4.)

I suggest not using any sort of sticky or tacky grease on the ring and pinion gears, because it creates extra drag on the motor (thus also extra heat), and RC diffs simply aren't heavily-loaded enough to really need a sticky or tacky grease to maintain a lubricant film. (remember that stuff is formulated for use in real cars, where gears and bearing surfaces can be subjected to tens of thousands of pounds of force -- nothing in the RC world comes close to that.) The Grim Racer Speed Grease I mentioned is thin and not tacky, so it almost completely flings off at high speed, but even the microscopic lubricant film it leaves behind has kept my ring and pinion gears in good condition for almost a decade. I've been in this hobby for 9 years now, and I've never had to replace the diff gears in any of my RCs due to premature wear. (except pot-metal diff gears in a couple of really cheap RCs that I ended up throwing away -- those gears were so soft the teeth started bending, and no lubricant could fix that.)

[Rontalvos]

Does anybody actually make sealed portal covers and sealed diff covers? I clean and regrease my TRX-6 every time it goes swimming but it would be nice to have some extra protection if possible.

[fyrstormer]

Originally Posted by Rontalvos

Does anybody actually make sealed portal covers and sealed diff covers? I clean and regrease my TRX-6 every time it goes swimming but it would be nice to have some extra protection if possible.

No. That would require automotive-grade rubber seals, and that would jack up the price enormously. It's one thing to have a proper seal around a differential outdrive to keep oil from leaking out, because that's a simple round seal, but a seal around something like a portal axle gearbox would be very expensive due to the small production volume. However, you don't need to regrease everything every time the truck gets wet. The grease itself insulates the steel parts from the water; you just need to make sure the truck gets to dry out thoroughly, by putting it above a floor vent in your house after rinsing it off.


I have driven my Axial Wraith and Traxxas Summit completely underwater many times with no long-term damage. The hub bearings on the Axial Wraith failed pretty quickly, but the Wraith has tiny bearings compared to the size of its wheels anyway. After I rebuilt the hubs with Boca Yellow Seal ceramic bearings I had no further problems. And the circuit board inside the steering servo started glitching, but after I dried it off and coated it with clear nail polish to waterproof it, it never malfunctioned again. I haven't replaced any of the parts on my Wraith in years. You only need to worry if the truck takes a bath in saltwater.

[PacemakerMK]

My LHS recommended me Motul Nautic Grease (NLGI2 technosynthese), so far so good.

[Jbrick]

Originally Posted by PacemakerMK

My LHS recommended me Motul Nautic Grease (NLGI2 technosynthese), so far so good.

same here