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Oil filled gearbox

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Hi. I am just wondering, do any of our 1:10 RC buggies (no matter what brand) have a oil filled gearbox?

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Gear box? None I've ever heard of. Oil filled gear diffs is another story, of course...

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Do not even consider it. It’s completely unnecessary. Some use the white grease that Tamiya provides with kits. I use dry wax lube that is commonly used on bicycles chains. 

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Not really much point; a tiny dab of grease on each gear and they'll last essentially forever, if not abused.

Some of the older models (early 3 speeds, Grasshopper/Hornet, FAV, Kyosho Scorpion) had caps to add drops of oil to the gears as needed, but those weren't really oil-FILLED, add too much and they leaked like an old Chevy.

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1 hour ago, Collin said:

Hi. I am just wondering, do any of our 1:10 RC buggies (no matter what brand) have a oil filled gearbox?

I thought I am the only one with such ideas... 

 

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Ah! Two dreamers with the same dream?

Yea somehow I was printing new gearboxes with propper gaskets against dust and I thought they are pretty proof now. Shure next idear was using liquid oil but I can not see any benefit. Only negativ aspects. But this means nothing.

I was just curious if someone realized it (beside 1:5 scale and other big models)

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4 hours ago, Raman36 said:

I use dry wax lube that is commonly used on bicycles chains. 

I've thought of using that. What brand are you using? 

I disliked that stuff when I was a bike mechanic because people wouldn't bother reading the instructions. They'd come in with their drivetrains encased in wax, and complain about poor shifting. The light touch required completely eluded them.

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10 hours ago, markbt73 said:

Some of the older models (early 3 speeds, Grasshopper/Hornet, FAV, Kyosho Scorpion) had caps to add drops of oil to the gears as needed, but those weren't really oil-FILLED, add too much and they leaked like an old Chevy.

Ah I see, I just rebuilt a knackered old Grasshopper 2 and I wondered what that seemingly pointless little oil cap was. I think it was the only piece I didn't unscrew tbh!:lol:

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As above, sometimes I even just use a drop of damper oil on the olastic gears if using a stock 540. The less friction in their the better. Filling with oil would create alot of friction for this scale and pointless as they aren't under any huge torque of power strains as such. 

I know the buses I work on have the usual oil filled gearboxes, but they do produce upto around 1600nm of torque (depending on engine and gearbox combo) which is huge.

James.

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5 hours ago, Kol__ said:

Ah I see, I just rebuilt a knackered old Grasshopper 2 and I wondered what that seemingly pointless little oil cap was. I think it was the only piece I didn't unscrew tbh!:lol:

That is what triggered my thoughts 12 years ago, and caused me to post that question about a wet gearbox a few months back. 

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As a sidenote, Kyosho used to lead the exhaust through the gearbox on some early models. Quite clever as it both reduced the engine noise and provided lubrication to the gearbox. Don't think it was much of a benefit, but I like the idea a lot.

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3 hours ago, Mokei Kagaku said:

As a sidenote, Kyosho used to lead the exhaust through the gearbox on some early models. Quite clever as it both reduced the engine noise and provided lubrication to the gearbox. Don't think it was much of a benefit, but I like the idea a lot.

Can you remember wich model it was? I am very curious abot this idear.

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Some liquid pump works with gears.  

O9YIrn9.gif

Obviously, the gap is much smaller.  If you plug intake and exhaust nozzle of above pump and try to turn? You can create a hydro-lock. The gears won't move.  It would burn out a motor or burst the case.  

Unlike hydro pumps, RC gearboxes have a lot more room so it wouldn't lock.  But the motor would overheat quickly.  

If you look at the real stuff, gears dip into the oil, but the gearbox is never filled because that could prevent gears from freely running.  On the other hand, clutches and automatic transmissions use the viscosity of oil to function.  

[Having said that, when I was building my Grasshopper in the 80s, I thought if I have to change oil occasionally, that would be like the real thing.  The coolness factor would go up by 300%. But, little grease stuck to tiny RC gears would never run down and pool at the bottom like the real thing.]  

 

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Yep, shure its only a bit of oil and not full filled fishtank (oh what a splatter, fishtank with gears inside :unsure: ).

I am more curious how Kyosho put the exhaust "throught" the gearbox.

 

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16 hours ago, BelknapCrater said:

I've thought of using that. What brand are you using? 

I disliked that stuff when I was a bike mechanic because people wouldn't bother reading the instructions. They'd come in with their drivetrains encased in wax, and complain about poor shifting. The light touch required completely eluded them.

I used Finishline Ceramic Dry Lube 

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11 hours ago, Kol__ said:

Ah I see, I just rebuilt a knackered old Grasshopper 2 and I wondered what that seemingly pointless little oil cap was. I think it was the only piece I didn't unscrew tbh!:lol:

 

5 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

That is what triggered my thoughts 12 years ago, and caused me to post that question about a wet gearbox a few months back. 

Back in the day, Tamiya sold an aerosol can of spray oil similar sized to the paint cans, (they also did a smaller sized spray lubricant with a Fuchs product) that had a tube you put the nozzle like today's spray-on lubes. This is what I believe the easy access oil cap was designed for on the GH/H/LB/MP/PW.

INibXds.jpeg

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16 minutes ago, berman said:

Back in the day, Tamiya sold an aerosol can of spray oil similar sized to the paint cans, (they also did a smaller sized spray lubricant with a Fuchs product) that had a tube you put the nozzle like today's spray-on lubes. This is what I believe the easy access oil cap was designed for on the GH/H/LB/MP/PW.

Ah makes sense, especially if you had the rear wheels off the ground and gave the motor a quick whizz from the controls as you sprayed the oil in

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Over (or incorrect) use of oils / grease attracts dirt + prematurely wears relatively delicate gears / joints 

RC cars just aren’t made to anywhere near the same tolerances as 1:1 - nor do their moving parts have the mass / required longevity to create issues requiring packed sumps or seals 

With a few notable exceptions pointed out above, 90% of the time no (or dry) lube will honestly produce a better result in most places 

And I love 3Sps btw - own 4 and adore the realism / engineering

Even they benefit from dry chain lubes not original oils 👍

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4 hours ago, berman said:

Back in the day, Tamiya sold an aerosol can of spray oil similar sized to the paint cans, (they also did a smaller sized spray lubricant with a Fuchs product) that had a tube you put the nozzle like today's spray-on lubes. This is what I believe the easy access oil cap was designed for on the GH/H/LB/MP/PW.

INibXds.jpeg

 

4 hours ago, Kol__ said:

Ah makes sense, especially if you had the rear wheels off the ground and gave the motor a quick whizz from the controls as you sprayed the oil in

That is how I oil my LB, using WD40 silicone spray with the tube. 

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18 hours ago, Collin said:

Can you remember wich model it was? I am very curious abot this idear.

I can only remember it was done on the Kyosho Peanut 09 models (Dune Buggy, VW Bug and Shalako). Later versions of the Peanut chassis got conventional exhaust systems. Other companies (Spital, Sankyo, Ishimasa?) may have routed the exhaust through the gearboxes too, so I don't know if Kyosho was first with the idea.  

Anyway, here are some pics of a Peanut 09 where you can easily see how the engine exhaust is connected to the gearbox and twin exhaust pipes exit from the gearbox. Not seen in the photos is the gasket that was included for the mating surfaces of the gearbox housing to the separate cover on the underside of it.

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=60122&id=19103

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18 hours ago, Juggular said:

If you look at the real stuff, gears dip into the oil, but the gearbox is never filled because that could prevent gears from freely running.  On the other hand, clutches and automatic transmissions use the viscosity of oil to function.  

[Having said that, when I was building my Grasshopper in the 80s, I thought if I have to change oil occasionally, that would be like the real thing.  The coolness factor would go up by 300%. But, little grease stuck to tiny RC gears would never run down and pool at the bottom like the real thing.]  

Perhaps build a dipstick or view glass to ensure the oil is at the correct level? 

So... You are the third person (so far) in this forum that had this idea. 😁 How about, instead of using grease or 10-40, use light general sewing machine oil (or any other light oil that don't need heat to work)? That should be light enough to splash around like a real gearbox of a real vehicle. 

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I see a problem with the balldiff. shure, it will not wash out the diff grease asap but its just not good.

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8 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

sewing machine oil

I like light machine oil. I use this stuff in bearings.  

IUgsgo4.jpg

It would be kinda cool if we could use liquid oil in a clear gearbox.  Or a gearbox with a lexan window.  Of course, it would have to be plastic-safe oil.  

I find it interesting that we like to do more maintenance.  I mean, put some grease on, it will last a decade. But we want to change oil, even though it's more work, just for the sake of realism.  I'd say that's a mark of us being car people. 

 

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15 minutes ago, Juggular said:

I find it interesting that we like to do more maintenance.  I mean, put some grease on, it will last a decade. But we want to change oil, even though it's more work, just for the sake of realism.  I'd say that's a mark of us being car people. 

Yes, if you remember my other thread, my friend who told me off Tamiya, is against the amount of maintenance required, "couldn't be bothered". Which actually sounds quite strange to me as us modellers actually like problems and the satisfaction of solving it. 

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