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hammer10

Need help, high pitched whine on my TA-03R...

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I bought a used TA-03R last year online complete with all associated radio gear & 17t modified motor. I bought it mainly for the radio gear, but decided to give it a go last night.  The car appeared to run fine, but the noise it made was enough to wake the neighbors.  BTW, this is my 1st belt-driven car.  Is this normal for belt-drive cars? [8-)] If not, where/what do I need to look/replace?  Thanks!

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Check that the pinon is the right pitch for the car and is not meshed too tightly. If this is fine, try running the motor out of the car. It might be as simple as dry motor bushes, a little light machine oil such as 3 in 1 would do the trick if this is the case. 

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Thanks Mr. Pushrod.  I'll check when I get home.  Not having the car in front of me currently, how will I know if the pinion pitch is correct/incorrect (worn teeth, is it numbered,..etc.)?  Needless to say, the car came with a HPI Subaru shell, HPI wheels, and HPI rally-type tires [:@] I swapped those out for a newly painted Calsonic Skyline GT-R 2001 (metallic green instead of blue), set of 58304 wheels (painted silver), and a set of racing radial tires (62).  Can't wait to get it running properly [:D]

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Just a mildly modified TL-01 (oil shocks, tuned springs, ball-bearings, adjustable turnbuckles, & stabilizer set) & a NIB re-re Frog that I have yet to start on (was planning on using the radio gear from the TA-03R).  BTW, I tried loosening the mesh-point(?) of the pinion last night, but I think therein lies the problem. It didn't seem to mesh properly.  I tried the car in hand (it was raining outside) & it didn't seem quite as noisy...who knows how it would've sounded on the pavement.  If I need a new pinion, will any brand work?  Genuine Tamiya parts are hard to come by around here w/o having to order them online or from the LHS.

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The pinion will be the same pitch as the TL-01 gear but a fair bit smaller, probably around 14-16 teeth. As long as the pitch is the same, any brand will do; I use RW pinions as they are steel rather than aluminium so don't wear.

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I was lucky enough to find a pinion gear set @ the LHS. They only had a 18 & 19 set in stock.  It still doesn't appear to mesh perfectly, however the clerk did suggest that I also try a 14/15 set.  He also suggested I stick with Tamiya as they use metric pinions.  Also, I'm going to tear down both differentials/gearboxes as there is too much resistance when spinning the wheels manually. Its nowhere near as smooth as my newly built TL-01.  The car was set up for rally duty, and was plenty dirty when I received it.  I cleaned it externally as best I could without dissassembling everything (no manual). A thorough cleaning will do it some good.  When its all said & done, this may very well be my last belt-driven car [:|]

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you MUST use only METRIC 0.6m pinions on the TA03, do not use imperial 48dp!!

TA03 shouldn't be too noisy, usual culprit is bad meshing at the pinion.

The gearboxes are well sealed so dirt won't get in too easily.

Make sure the car is fully ballraced... there's quite a few gears in the trannys so its not a "real" beltdrive chassis... the bearings can also seize if not oiled periodically - especially the 730s.

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Thanks for the advice WillyChang.  I will give the car a thorough cleaning & check the bearings this weekend.  Who (manufacturers) other than Tamiya would you recommend for the METRIC 0.6m pinions? 

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