fyrstormer
RCC Addict
What I use for lube:
Gearboxes: AquaCraft "Grim Racer Speed Grease". It's waterproof and won't damage plastic gearboxes, but I always use steel gears whenever possible. I have yet to see any meaningful wear on my hardened-steel gears, even on my Wraith which I do not treat kindly.
Open CVDs and sliding splines: 85wt synthetic gun-slide oil. It's thick enough that it stays put, and it reflows as the parts move, unlike grease. It holds onto dirt, but I don't care; the dirt gets worked-out of the moving parts as the oil slowly dissipates, whereas grease would trap dirt indefinitely, and running the parts dry would make them squeaky.
Sealed CVDs and sliding splines: If they come with special grease, I use that; otherwise, I use 85wt synthetic gun-slide oil.
Pinion/spur gears: If the spur is nylon, I use nothing; if the spur is steel, I use the same grease I use inside the gearbox. I only have one vehicle with a steel spur gear -- my HPI Savage XS -- but the slipper clutch isn't attached to the spur gear in that vehicle, so I don't have to worry about grease contaminating the slipper pads. All my other vehicles use nylon spurs, to reduce wear on the pinion gears, and they all have slipper pads attached to the spur gears, so I don't want grease getting anywhere near them.
Ball Diffs: Team Associated white and black ball-diff greases, applied as appropriate. I only have one vehicle that uses ball diffs anymore, though; fortunately the rest all use gear diffs, so the silicone oil I put in the diffs to control diffing-out also provides lubrication.
Shocks: Just the same silicone oil they're filled with. I haven't yet been convinced that "green slime" actually does anything useful, but I won't argue with anyone who thinks it does.
I don't use "dry lubes" on anything. I have enough experience with dry lubes to know they don't work as well as regular oil, and they're a pain to clean out too -- I can spray grease and oil away using CRC Electronics Cleaner spray, but to remove dry lube I have to disassemble the part and wash each component by hand.
- - -
On another note, if anyone has any devices that involve titanium parts threading together, and they're sick of the awful grinding sensation, I sell my own lube on CandlePowerForums.com that fixes this problem. (lots of fancy flashlights are made from titanium, and the screw-threads grind something awful without highly-specialized lube.)
Gearboxes: AquaCraft "Grim Racer Speed Grease". It's waterproof and won't damage plastic gearboxes, but I always use steel gears whenever possible. I have yet to see any meaningful wear on my hardened-steel gears, even on my Wraith which I do not treat kindly.
Open CVDs and sliding splines: 85wt synthetic gun-slide oil. It's thick enough that it stays put, and it reflows as the parts move, unlike grease. It holds onto dirt, but I don't care; the dirt gets worked-out of the moving parts as the oil slowly dissipates, whereas grease would trap dirt indefinitely, and running the parts dry would make them squeaky.
Sealed CVDs and sliding splines: If they come with special grease, I use that; otherwise, I use 85wt synthetic gun-slide oil.
Pinion/spur gears: If the spur is nylon, I use nothing; if the spur is steel, I use the same grease I use inside the gearbox. I only have one vehicle with a steel spur gear -- my HPI Savage XS -- but the slipper clutch isn't attached to the spur gear in that vehicle, so I don't have to worry about grease contaminating the slipper pads. All my other vehicles use nylon spurs, to reduce wear on the pinion gears, and they all have slipper pads attached to the spur gears, so I don't want grease getting anywhere near them.
Ball Diffs: Team Associated white and black ball-diff greases, applied as appropriate. I only have one vehicle that uses ball diffs anymore, though; fortunately the rest all use gear diffs, so the silicone oil I put in the diffs to control diffing-out also provides lubrication.
Shocks: Just the same silicone oil they're filled with. I haven't yet been convinced that "green slime" actually does anything useful, but I won't argue with anyone who thinks it does.
I don't use "dry lubes" on anything. I have enough experience with dry lubes to know they don't work as well as regular oil, and they're a pain to clean out too -- I can spray grease and oil away using CRC Electronics Cleaner spray, but to remove dry lube I have to disassemble the part and wash each component by hand.
- - -
On another note, if anyone has any devices that involve titanium parts threading together, and they're sick of the awful grinding sensation, I sell my own lube on CandlePowerForums.com that fixes this problem. (lots of fancy flashlights are made from titanium, and the screw-threads grind something awful without highly-specialized lube.)
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