Just bought my first RC in many years

[crazyjr]

Hey guys 2 more months and 0 breakage, though the link ends on the front are a little stretched, got replacements coming so not too worried. Been getting a lot of rain recently, so been a bit of a damper of the fun. The electronics are claimed to be waterproof, but the bearings are my concern, once you get water in them they rust quickly.

So i decided to tear it down and see what's what inside. have not taken the diffs apart because they seem fine, but the grease on the ring and pinion was a little gritty. also both diffs were like 0 lash and there is a very slight warp on the front (not a perfect path on the pinion) where it got a little rough. So i got some silicone plumbers grease and a thing of loctite, I chose silicone plumbing grease because it's designed for rubber o-rings, so shouldn't degrade the plastic gears

Once I took the diffs apart from the carrier, I noticed, the u shaped carrier was extremely tight, so i took them apart cleaned everything well and reassembled tightening just enough to hold things together while not wrenching down hard. The front diff still has a little catch, but the rear is perfect and still 0 lash. A little trick i used to ensure proper seating of the bearings (Ring gear) was before putting the screws in the carrier assemble everything and roll the ring, if it doesn't feel right, Tap the side of the carrier opposite the way you want it to go. If for instance the gears are too tightly meshed tap the opposite to help seat the bearings properly. I used a rubber handled screwdriver for my hammer, worked just fine.

I'm posting this for everyone that has the experience to look over your truck, double check especially the diffs, they might be too tight and potentially causing issues. I did this to free up the drivetrain and take some load off the motor and esc, but also for the longevity of the parts in question. Being jammed together, is never a good place to be for gears. Hope this helps someone that suspects issues