Do You Need The Paper Motor Mount Gasket?

[TurboTimmy 88]

I just installed a Tamiya Torque Tuned 540 in my NSU TT. After I got it back together, I noticed that I forgot to put back the paper "gasket" between the motor and the gearbox. Is that going to be a problem? I never had one on my Hornet...And right now the Hornet has a Sport Tuned. Thanks.

[TurnipJF 9188]

The paper gasket serves two purposes - it is both a dust shield and a heat shield. I find that if the cooling slots in the front of the motor align with the opening in the gearbox for the motor shaft then the paper gasket stops dust from entering the gearbox via the motor. I also like to use the gasket if I'm running a hot motor on a plastic gearbox or motor mount.

However when using a metal motor mount which acts as a heatsink, it is better to have the motor in direct contact with it for maximum heat transfer, so then I omit the gasket. If there are any holes which might lead to dust ingress, I cover these with small pieces of tape.

[Hobbimaster 190]

If it calls for it, yes. I look at it as a dust/dirt blocker for keeping debris away from the gears. These open can motors can get dust and dirt sucked into them when running, and then the spinning armature can throw dust out the front cooling holes. It may not be 100% sealed, but every little bit helps.

[ALEXKYRIAK 1046]

The question I always wondered about, but was too chicken to ask.

thanks!

 

[frozenFire 5]

Yes you need it. I just learnt it the hard way the other day. After 10 minutes playing with my TA02 rally car, there was dirt and sand in the rear gearbox. All the nylon gears were badly marked. I tried a few things but it was the motor that was blowing stuff inside the gearbox. As said above, if you have a TA01/TA02 aluminium motor mount like I do, you really need to cover the holes with some tape.

[nowinaminute 2815]

Definitely yes, I think it's there for debris more than anything. You may remember a week or so ago I posted pics of my old Nikko MT at the beach. 

I usually only run sealed brushless motors at the beach so I was surprised to find out the brushed motor I used that time had sucked half of the beach into the gearbox!

I highly recommend either using the gasket with brushed motors or some kind of cover over the rear air holes on the motor itself of you WILL end up with dirt in gearbox. 

For comparison, I opened my Grasshopper gearbox the other day which has been to the beach dozens of times but always with a brushless motor and it was pristine.