Problems With Ta01 Gear Box Off Road

[nckmat 0]

I keep stripping gears in my Blazing Star rear transmission and want to work out why before I build my Evo Top Force gearbox.

It started early on in this car's life, just after I installed the RS Sports Tuned motor somehow a rock got jammed / crushed between the spur gear and the pinion gear. The grit from that got into the aluminium transmission and turned that into an angry mess of razor sharp teeth, chewed up the ball diff spur gear teeth a bit and filled the gearbox with shiney silver grease.

I also discovered that the repositories for the two locking shafts of the, originally plastic but then GPM aluminium, mount had burred out a bit because of left over glue; from when I had tried to extend the life of the plastic before the aluminium motor mount arrived. Therefore the mounting was slightly off centre and would not have matched the pinion gear with the spur gear perfectly squarely.

OK, so I rebuilt the whole thing from scratch, taking extra care to make sure everything was greased well, fitted carbon shafts, cleaned out all the ball bearings, rebuilt the rear diff with a new spur gear and fitted it to the car. I then replaced the motor mount with a new plastic motor mount. Now the only common denominator was the actual motor, to which I obviously had attched a new 21T pinion gear. This has now stripped again, well not exactly "stripped" but turned into shiney, pointy teeth.

My theory, I reckon the motor has been damaged so that it is slightly off centre and is therefore stripping the pinion gear.

Any suggestions? I have heard this gearbox is indestructible (virtually) and you can even run low turn brushless motors on them.

I am waiting for an 18 turn esc to arrive from Tower Hobbies which should be hear next week to enable me to run my only motor apart from the original silver can, an HPI Saturn 20T motor.

I also have my first race meeting with this car on Saturday and wanted it in top shape for the day, God knows it's going to need all the help it can get until I can get a proper stock motor on it.

Is it worth the risk of running the Saturn motor on the kit supplied TEU101 esc? Should I just bite the bullet and buy a new RS Sports Tuned?

[Gruntfuggly 574]

The major flaw with the gearbox is the top cover. It is used to hold the shafts in place, so if there is any movement, or it's not fitted properly, the shafts can move. Some people put an extra screw in to try and stop it moving....

[DI Joe 0]

I keep stripping gears in my Blazing Star rear transmission and want to work out why before I build my Evo Top Force gearbox.

It started early on in this car's life, just after I installed the RS Sports Tuned motor somehow a rock got jammed / crushed between the spur gear and the pinion gear. The grit from that got into the aluminium transmission and turned that into an angry mess of razor sharp teeth, chewed up the ball diff spur gear teeth a bit and filled the gearbox with shiney silver grease.

I also discovered that the repositories for the two locking shafts of the, originally plastic but then GPM aluminium, mount had burred out a bit because of left over glue; from when I had tried to extend the life of the plastic before the aluminium motor mount arrived. Therefore the mounting was slightly off centre and would not have matched the pinion gear with the spur gear perfectly squarely.

OK, so I rebuilt the whole thing from scratch, taking extra care to make sure everything was greased well, fitted carbon shafts, cleaned out all the ball bearings, rebuilt the rear diff with a new spur gear and fitted it to the car. I then replaced the motor mount with a new plastic motor mount. Now the only common denominator was the actual motor, to which I obviously had attched a new 21T pinion gear. This has now stripped again, well not exactly "stripped" but turned into shiney, pointy teeth.

My theory, I reckon the motor has been damaged so that it is slightly off centre and is therefore stripping the pinion gear.

Any suggestions? I have heard this gearbox is indestructible (virtually) and you can even run low turn brushless motors on them.

I am waiting for an 18 turn esc to arrive from Tower Hobbies which should be hear next week to enable me to run my only motor apart from the original silver can, an HPI Saturn 20T motor.

I also have my first race meeting with this car on Saturday and wanted it in top shape for the day, God knows it's going to need all the help it can get until I can get a proper stock motor on it.

Is it worth the risk of running the Saturn motor on the kit supplied TEU101 esc? Should I just bite the bullet and buy a new RS Sports Tuned?

You dont say weather you changed the lower gear casing or not?? Its possible the motor mount (the casing as opposed to the seperate mount) itself has been shunted and is out of alignment. If its not that then the motor output shaft may have been bent.

Rgds

Richard

[nckmat 0]

The major flaw with the gearbox is the top cover. It is used to hold the shafts in place, so if there is any movement, or it's not fitted properly, the shafts can move. Some people put an extra screw in to try and stop it moving....

I had thought about that, but how does that the pinion gear? Is it possible to drill through the holes for the top cover screws and replace them with machine thread screws and nuts?

[DI Joe 0]

I had thought about that, but how does that the pinion gear? Is it possible to drill through the holes for the top cover screws and replace them with machine thread screws and nuts?

Most people tend to put a piece of metal across the top of the two mouldings on the side with the single screw.. i'll take a pic and show you where.. There's not enough room to drill through.. :-(

[terry.sc 16]

I keep stripping gears in my Blazing Star rear transmission and want to work out why before I build my Evo Top Force gearbox.

...

Now the only common denominator was the actual motor, to which I obviously had attched a new 21T pinion gear. This has now stripped again, well not exactly "stripped" but turned into shiney, pointy teeth.

The pinion hasn't stripped at all, it's just worn out. The standard Tamiya pinions are soft aluminium and always wear to a point after a relatively short length of time as the plastic gear it runs against is harder than the pinion. Replace the pinion with a decentone, you need to find a 21 tooth 0.6 module steel pinion which is just about every pinion except Tamiya. Make sure it's 0.6 module, 48dp is the wrong size.

[nckmat 0]

The pinion hasn't stripped at all, it's just worn out. The standard Tamiya pinions are soft aluminium and always wear to a point after a relatively short length of time as the plastic gear it runs against is harder than the pinion. Replace the pinion with a decentone, you need to find a 21 tooth 0.6 module steel pinion which is just about every pinion except Tamiya. Make sure it's 0.6 module, 48dp is the wrong size.

But how short a period of time? Mine are only lasting 2-3 hours!

[nckmat 0]

You dont say weather you changed the lower gear casing or not?? Its possible the motor mount (the casing as opposed to the seperate mount) itself has been shunted and is out of alignment. If its not that then the motor output shaft may have been bent.

Rgds

Richard

Yep replaced everything!

[nckmat 0]

You dont say weather you changed the lower gear casing or not?? Its possible the motor mount (the casing as opposed to the seperate mount) itself has been shunted and is out of alignment. If its not that then the motor output shaft may have been bent.

Rgds

Richard

Ahh I just realised, you're actually the person I bought the GPM motor from. I do have a question about that actually, I am getting a much higher pitched sound from the gearbox when I use a 22T pinion gear; is this normal? Also, how can you be sure you have the right hole for the right pinion gear size?

Rgds

Nick

[DI Joe 0]

Ahh I just realised, you're actually the person I bought the GPM motor from. I do have a question about that actually, I am getting a much higher pitched sound from the gearbox when I use a 22T pinion gear; is this normal? Also, how can you be sure you have the right hole for the right pinion gear size?

Rgds

Nick

Nick, Just had a thought, it may be that you havent quite got the right hole, that would cause it be miss-aligned!! Or its too tight against the gear and wearing quickly. Err, well the simple answer is trial and error with the GPM mounts. I still cant believe they dont put numbers next to the holes!!

Cheers

Richard

[nckmat 0]

Nick, Just had a thought, it may be that you havent quite got the right hole, that would cause it be miss-aligned!! Or its too tight against the gear and wearing quickly. Err, well the simple answer is trial and error with the GPM mounts. I still cant believe they dont put numbers next to the holes!!

Cheers

Richard

You mean the hole through the gear box case? I don't see how that could happen. It does sort of feel tight when I rotate the wheels. I also asumed that there was a top end and a bottom, so I have marked one side as the top. That may have casued some earlier problems.

How do I ensure that I do have the hole centred?

Nick

[DI Joe 0]

You mean the hole through the gear box case? I don't see how that could happen. It does sort of feel tight when I rotate the wheels. I also asumed that there was a top end and a bottom, so I have marked one side as the top. That may have casued some earlier problems.

How do I ensure that I do have the hole centred?

Nick

No, I mean the correct hole in the motor mount.. ;-)

[nckmat 0]

No, I mean the correct hole in the motor mount.. ;-)

The GPM mount is 18-22T, so it stands to reason that it follows the same pattern as the original part, where 18T is at say 11 o'clock and 5 o'clock and 22T is at about 7 o'clock and 1 o'clock. However if you put the GPM part on top of the original plastic none of the holes actually marry up. I realise that the original is 17-21T, but I would have though that at least 3 of the 5 holes would line up when you lined the posts up. Hence, part of my concern about using this part is that I can't be sure that I am setting the right gap.

Nick

[terry.sc 16]

The holes don't line up because the different set of holes are arranged differently on the mount. The motor moves from side to side the same amount but the motor is rotated around in the mount to fit the extra holes for the bigger pinion.

But how short a period of time? Mine are only lasting 2-3 hours!

Yes, the aluminium pinion can last for all of 2-3 hours running, especially if the gear mesh is wrong which sounds very likely. Take the top off the gearbox and mount the motor in the car. Check you can turn over the spur gear that meshes with the pinion and make sure you can rock the gear back and forwards slightly to make sure the gear mesh is not too tight.

[kontemax 1783]

Ok,

I mounted a 12x1 on my Top Force and no problems.

I suggest what I did.

- 1st: Alluminium motor mount is a must. I use Tamiya but I think GPM is equally good. Take care to mount the motor in the right holes according to pinion gear number of teeth.

- 2nd: Decent steel pinion gear is a must. You can find them to www.towerhobby.com They are produced by Robinson Racing Products RRP and called by Tower Hobby 48 metric. At the end the pinions are 0,6 metric, are made of durable steel and are perfect. Buy all teeth number, they are for a life and you can mount them on every Tamiya's.

- 3th: Trown away the alluminium iddle gear and mount TA01/TA02 plastic gear. You will read "not for buggy" on the package. Don't mind. Alluminium is softer and more rough. With plastic gears no more grey paste in your gearbox.

- 4th: New plastic gearbox and cover are a must. Drill with a 3mm tool the hole in the gearbox near the propeller shaft. You will use a longer 3 mm treaded screw with a 3mm nylon nut on bottom.

- 5th: Drill again one of the rear shock tower holes. Viewing the car from the back is the left hole. Use a longer 3mm treaded screw with another 3mm nylon nut. The nut will be on the gear cover side, the screwhead will be on the shocktower side. In this way the nylon nut will keep down the gear cover. The remaining tapping screw of the gearcover will be substituded with a equally long 3mm treaded screw.

- 6th: seal the gearbox from sand and debris. I cut very very thin sponge string and glue them where the two parts touch. A string on the gearcover border, another one on the diffcover border and the last one around the motor mount.

- 7th: use ball bearings all around, keep the gears always cleaned, change often the grease because it burns with the use and the motor heat. Ude a heat dissipator on the motor.

- 8Th: NEVER use the rear gear diff. Always use the ball diff.

Follow these rules as I wrote them and you will not have problems.

I used my Delta Ta02 with a 13x3 on off road making jumps without problems for two years. Only a little bit of gear consuption but it's normal. Then I moved the gears to my Top Force and used again them with a 12x1 on off road. Both cars with jumps and jumps. Note that the gears are still working and weren't new when I used the first time on my Delta.

Check my showroom for the Top Force gear cover and so on.

Hope I helped

Kontemax

[nckmat 0]

OK! I put in a new RS Sports Tuned motor today and that certainly seems to have improved things. Although you couldn't actually see that the motor was turning off centre, it was making a really bad screaming everytime I took it out which disappeared once I put some machine oil on the motor shaft. So it probably wasn't drying out, more likely the oil was masking the root problem which was a damaged motor.

Yay, now when my new esc arrives I can put in the 20T motor without any fears. However, I will be applying a lot of the ideas people have put hear including the steel pinions, when I can find them, and bracing the gear box off the rear stay.

Please feel free to add any more tips and tricks about this gearbox here, especially if you have any ideas for gaskets; I'm starting to think silicone could do the trick.

[pikachoo75 0]

hi all,dont know if this could be another avenue to explore.i have noticed that the original plastic motor mount has two "poles" that locate into the gear box.these poles then allow a self tapping screw to hold the mount against the gearbox.take two motor mounts and place them face to face(poles pointing towards each other).you will see that one pole is longer than the other.now my point is this....i have two gpm alloy mounts,both have equal lenght poles.when i slot it into the gearbox(completely loose from the car) i find that it can be hit or miss wether the mount sits flush with the gearbox.what i done was add a washer to one pole,between the pole and mount ring,and it seems to allow the mount to sit perfectly flush.previously it would allow the motor to sit at a tiny bit off center and thus make the pinion sit squint to the spur.to get the washer on the right pole,simply use the orig plastic mount for reference...hope this makes sense!??

[nckmat 0]

hi all,dont know if this could be another avenue to explore.i have noticed that the original plastic motor mount has two "poles" that locate into the gear box.these poles then allow a self tapping screw to hold the mount against the gearbox.take two motor mounts and place them face to face(poles pointing towards each other).you will see that one pole is longer than the other.now my point is this....i have two gpm alloy mounts,both have equal lenght poles.when i slot it into the gearbox(completely loose from the car) i find that it can be hit or miss wether the mount sits flush with the gearbox.what i done was add a washer to one pole,between the pole and mount ring,and it seems to allow the mount to sit perfectly flush.previously it would allow the motor to sit at a tiny bit off center and thus make the pinion sit squint to the spur.to get the washer on the right pole,simply use the orig plastic mount for reference...hope this makes sense!??

By Jove I think he's got it! I just put my callipers on an unused plastic mount and there is a difference of about 0.5mm or maybe less (my callipers don't have fractional measures) between the bottom pole (the closest to the spur gear) and the top pole. I haven't checked on my GPM mount yet, it is currently in the gearbox, but I will pull it out tonight and check. It does seem to make sense, maybe then I will be bale to get a 22T pinion to fit.

[pikachoo75 0]

hi nckmat,I scratched my head for the longest time with this issue.i had run my top force with a sport tuned motor.i was shocked that it sounded louder than my Terra scorcher! I also noticed that it didnt seem to have much punch from a stand still.I ran it with an Mtronics 11turn speedo,the esc was fine but the motor was roasting to the touch.I had put this down to running it with a high capacity battery over about 20 mins.

Once i got home and stripped the gearboxes i too found the silver paste from the alu idler but more worrying was the jet black stripe covering half the width of the teeth on the spur.It was then that i spied the alloy mount had a gap between it and the gearcase to one side.initialy i thought i hadnt tightened it up properly,but due to one of the poles being longer it could only sit so far in.I also was unable to use a 21 tooth pinion at the time as the gear mesh was far too tight.so i returned to using the plastic mount till i sorted the alloy one.

I consider myself competant at building cars so i realy had to question myself on how i had put the gearbox together,and what damage i could have done,so imagine my surprize when i became aware of such a minute glitch.

you could ask if this tiny difference was too ensure that genuine parts gave best performance or mearly an oversight by the 3rd party parts maker.either way it does grate me to discover at my cost such things.

I think the whole situation is due the design of how the motor attaches to the gearbox.In one hand it is clever that you can be assured of pinion mesh due to the pre determined holes on the mount,but on the other hand,the design offers conveince at the cost of a precise fit and stable anchorage for the motor to sit on.And its this instability that seems to break the plastic mount or allow the pinion to seat irregularly and strip/burn teeth.

if only it was offered like the df03 with a "standard" motor plate with one fixed motor screw and one screw in a slot that allowed adjustment.but then i guess that may be why the df03 was born.

Excuse the rant as when you know to look for the mount sitting flush,it all seems to work smooth!

I dont own Tamiya's own make of alloy motor mount but im guessing it will be designed to fit perfectly,and work as it should.I am in no way saying the GPM mount is not suitable,but even GPM may not have been aware of the the tiny difference ....and its consequences!!!

hope it all works for you

[nckmat 0]

hi nckmat,I scratched my head for the longest time with this issue.i had run my top force with a sport tuned motor.i was shocked that it sounded louder than my Terra scorcher! I also noticed that it didnt seem to have much punch from a stand still.I ran it with an Mtronics 11turn speedo,the esc was fine but the motor was roasting to the touch.I had put this down to running it with a high capacity battery over about 20 mins.

Once i got home and stripped the gearboxes i too found the silver paste from the alu idler but more worrying was the jet black stripe covering half the width of the teeth on the spur.It was then that i spied the alloy mount had a gap between it and the gearcase to one side.initialy i thought i hadnt tightened it up properly,but due to one of the poles being longer it could only sit so far in.I also was unable to use a 21 tooth pinion at the time as the gear mesh was far too tight.so i returned to using the plastic mount till i sorted the alloy one.

I consider myself competant at building cars so i realy had to question myself on how i had put the gearbox together,and what damage i could have done,so imagine my surprize when i became aware of such a minute glitch.

you could ask if this tiny difference was too ensure that genuine parts gave best performance or mearly an oversight by the 3rd party parts maker.either way it does grate me to discover at my cost such things.

I think the whole situation is due the design of how the motor attaches to the gearbox.In one hand it is clever that you can be assured of pinion mesh due to the pre determined holes on the mount,but on the other hand,the design offers conveince at the cost of a precise fit and stable anchorage for the motor to sit on.And its this instability that seems to break the plastic mount or allow the pinion to seat irregularly and strip/burn teeth.

if only it was offered like the df03 with a "standard" motor plate with one fixed motor screw and one screw in a slot that allowed adjustment.but then i guess that may be why the df03 was born.

Excuse the rant as when you know to look for the mount sitting flush,it all seems to work smooth!

I dont own Tamiya's own make of alloy motor mount but im guessing it will be designed to fit perfectly,and work as it should.I am in no way saying the GPM mount is not suitable,but even GPM may not have been aware of the the tiny difference ....and its consequences!!!

hope it all works for you

Thanks for that, I am going to use a friend's micrometer to check the length of the poles and hoepfully will have a resolution tonight, although I think I might need a new spur gear after the weekend's racing. I have to say my current Blazing Star (still waiting for two more pieces to finish the Top Force) was kicking butt in the novice group at our local off road rc club until somebody rolled in front of me and forced me, at full speed, into the only really solid object on the track and snapped my front damper tower - game over. But we will be back in 2 weeks with a Top Force Evo, to really show them how it's done. I can't believe how much quicker than some of the AE and Kyosho stock cars the Blazing Star was with just a Sports Tuned motor, maybe I'm just a better driver than they are, but the next meet will determine that.

[djmcnz 755]

Go hard out: Top Force Evo +

[Live Steam Mad 18]

Hi, just a few comments... I have built several TA-01 / TA-02 and a Top Force and have run them often, and I have never encountered a problem like this. I used the plastic motor mount and kit motor on a TA-01 Celica and TA-02 Escort, and a GPM alloy motor mount (bought in 2006 I think) on a Top Force (re-release). All have smooth gearboxes with no bad noises or loudness. The 'poles' on the plastic motor mount deform when you have put tapping screws though them several times (mine had one pole 0.27mm longer than the other, with the top slightly deformed, maybe they increase / decrease in length when you let tapping screws bite into them a lot?), however surely it is the mounting "face" where the 'bottom of the poles' are that gets mounted flush against the gearbox, i.e. I don't think the poles' length matters, and they will both be compressed when you put the tapping screws into them anyway which then surely pulls the "face" hard flush against the gearbox. That's my understanding of it, anyway.

BTW on the subject of geaboxes, why does Tamiya use so many Nylon-66 in their cars, it REALLY bugs me (in this case the TA0x / TF all use Nylon gearboxes). Kyosho and Schumacher's Glass Filled Nylon is way stronger so it seems, but Tamiya only use that kind of material the for gears and not the gearbox (well sort of, I think they use Delrin which is similar in properties I think). My TF front gearbox snapped badly in a front end collision with a pavement and I had to replace the gearbox lower part with a GPM alloy part to prevent this from happening again.

I note that GPM makes 2 versions of the alloy mount. One has 5 holes in it ;-

http://www.asiatees.com/display.php?id=107...A02&pid=958

...that's the "modified" version. The 'standard version' that I bought 3 of, has 6 holes in it and is identical to the Top Force kit's plastic part in function, and the holes line up absolutely perfectly with the plastic Top Force kit part when placed back to back with it, I just checked this, BTW this web page has the wrong picture on it, it for sure has SIX holes not five ;-

http://www.asiatees.com/display.php?id=123...A02&pid=958

...is it possible that you are trying to use the "modified" version with 5 holes and just haven't noticed, and by accident it is then in the 'wrong' hole (or the pinion is the 'wrong' one for that hole) as a result?

As I say, my Top Force runs nicely with the GPM "standard" alloy motor mount. I can tell since gear wear is very low (even after it was thrashed at Kidderminster this year, boy did it ever take a hammering jumping off the large ramp, and goodness it flies perfectly and lands perfectly, but it nearly destroys the car LOL) and vibration is very low also even at top speed (I can tell by holding the chassis in my hands to feel the vibrations). I am using the Tamiya Super Stock RZ motor ;-

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...96&sid=5475

...and blimey it was fast at Kidd., it was certainly quite a bit above average speed. I use it with the 16T Aluminium pinion only with that motor. The motor was not getting too hot on it's long laps at Kidd., I can tell because 1) the brushes are not discoloured coming back from the tip, they are still the original colour, I checked, and 2) the magnets have not lost any of their strength at all (too much heat kills the magnets after 30 or so runs), and 3) the commutator was nice and clean and not discoloured.

Just my 2 pence worth of thoughts...

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[pikachoo75 0]

hi live steam mad,i think the prob may be due to varying manufacture tollerances with the alloy mounts.its tricky to describe so i took some photos.

i can only get one shot per entry.

i have a black top force/manta ray gearbox and a red ta01/02 gearbox.both have the same make up.

the top hole from face to face measures 12.5mm the bottom hole 11.5mm.the red or black plastic mount has pole sizes 10mm and 9.5mm.these fit like a glove as they should.but my alloy (gpm) mounts have 10.25mm on both for the 5 hole modified and 9.5mm for both on my 6 hole std mount?now even tho the 6 hole mount has the shortest poles ,i can still see a gap between the gear case and the mount??? now the gap is tiny but even when i tighten the mount right up it allows the motor to tilt up and down under load.??i can only imagine that the proper Tamiya mount is identical to the plastic,guess i will need to buy one of them.

[pikachoo75 0]

and the madness continues!!i took the std alloy mount apart,thinking i might be able to check the poles in the holes!!!

they seem to fit no problem.....i then reassembled the mount....same parts same screws,nothing altered at all......guess what!

IT WOULDNT EVEN FIT IN THE GEARBOX!!!

seems that were the poles join onto the mount they fit into a recess.i slackened the poles and retightened them,bingo they fit again?guess the mount recess must have been subject to stress caused by the original poor fit.either way im not too keen on using it without ensuring that it is juggled to fit...

it must your luck to get a decent fit,im guessing that when the CNC tooling was new the mounts were precise,after a couple of thousand (million!) runs the tooling may be allowed to run abit "outside" its orig tolerance.guess it goes to show,you get what you pay for! (or are lucky enough to get one made correctly!! )

however if your car runs good with one of the gpm mounts,great.im not running them down.its just i have had a few different makes of 3rd party parts and the fit or finish has been random to say the least.

guess the moral of this sorry tale is....if it aint Tamiya ,check it fits before you run it!

[nckmat 0]

and the madness continues!!i took the std alloy mount apart,thinking i might be able to check the poles in the holes!!!

they seem to fit no problem.....i then reassembled the mount....same parts same screws,nothing altered at all......guess what!

IT WOULDNT EVEN FIT IN THE GEARBOX!!!

seems that were the poles join onto the mount they fit into a recess.i slackened the poles and retightened them,bingo they fit again?guess the mount recess must have been subject to stress caused by the original poor fit.either way im not too keen on using it without ensuring that it is juggled to fit...

it must your luck to get a decent fit,im guessing that when the CNC tooling was new the mounts were precise,after a couple of thousand (million!) runs the tooling may be allowed to run abit "outside" its orig tolerance.guess it goes to show,you get what you pay for! (or are lucky enough to get one made correctly!! )

however if your car runs good with one of the gpm mounts,great.im not running them down.its just i have had a few different makes of 3rd party parts and the fit or finish has been random to say the least.

guess the moral of this sorry @ss tale is....if it aint Tamiya ,check it fits before you run it!

OK, now I'm totally confused!

1) Why do all the resellers sell the 5 hole "modified" mount as the one for TA01 and the 6 hole "standard" as the one for TA02, including x3racing.org where I purchased mine from and Asiatees? Why would they do that if it isn't the correct mount?

http://www.asiatees.com/display.php?id=161...01&pid=1004

http://www.asiatees.com/display.php?id=123...A02&pid=958

You will notice that the second one is a) listed as a TA02 mount (I am asuming that the TA01 and TA02 gearboxes are identical) and it only has 5 holes and it quite clearly says on the package that it is the standard mount.

2) What do you guys mean by "modified"?

3) Can I use a "modified" mount in my TA01 gear box? How do I get it to work?

4) Has anybody tried to seal the gap between the mount and the gearbox? And if so what did you use?

5) Have a look at the attached image, it shows the difference between the plastic and the GPM "modified" mount.

6) I just noticed that the tapping in one of the posts is shorter than the other, I wonder if this could be causing some problems too?

I will add more images tomorrow, I need to sleep now!!