Pinion Bearing Issues

[84yoda]

Im thinkin with the boot, depending if its already sealed or not, use a zip tie there. Then add grease right tthere for 2 reason. One, for lubrication and two, if any dirt/dust/sand gets through, grease will catch it. That way it wont make it to the bearings."thumbsup"

 

[tonyfalkon]

The other half of the joy in owning my RC's is working on them, best I can do is repair what is broken see if it works and try again if it fails. My method is far from one size fits all application, I always bring spares at a bash session and break the RC components down after, the best I can hope for is slow down the deterioration. I firmly believe that there is no such thing as fool proof or bullet proof RC, it just means I haven't found a way to play with it yet and if I'm not working on the RC after a session, then I'm not really having fun with it and if that's the case then what's the point of owing one. (but that's just me)

 

[Tzicul]

Not just you!

Sent from my Sony Xperia Z5

 

[Deckard]

This hobby isn't for people that don't like wrenching. No matter what RC you buy, it's going to break at some point. I see RCs being repaired at the LHS and have a good laugh with the techs at the issues people just don't want to deal with. I don't think those folks stay in the hobby very long. Most are bashers or kid toys. Everyone I've ever met that crawls is into wrenching. It just comes with the side of the RC life. It's not fun when something breaks every pack but when I do crazy shit I don't freak out when something breaks.

The YXL needs a disclaimer "Not a toy, not a Slash 4x4, it will break or hurt you if you drive like an idiot. You will have fun." or Axial needs to do the upgrades we have all been doing.

Tony, thanks for posting the pics. Do both rigs have the same HR drive shaft? (I assume you have 2 YXLs). I'm looking at purchasing the telescoping HR shaft and think you have the EZ shaft. Both end look the same, so it shouldn't matter.

I'm going to try the HPI boot.

 

[Deckard]

Took a look at the rear axle last night and.... carnage. Pinion and ring are destroyed. Housing - destroyed. Bearing on the driveshaft - destroyed. Bearing on the diff cup - dead. Bearings on the axles - crunchy.

I'm going to rebuild it but use the old style ring and pinion. I bought some as back up when I first got the YXL and switched out to the HD just because they looked cool. They're not that cool. I never broke the stock gears in the rear end. I think I'll get the GPM aluminum diff cup and some new bearings too.

Next time I get the HD gears I'm sending them to BHB to mod. Then it will be his fault when I break them :lmao:"thumbsup"

 

[tonyfalkon]

Tony, thanks for posting the pics. Do both rigs have the same HR drive shaft? (I assume you have 2 YXLs). I'm looking at purchasing the telescoping HR shaft and think you have the EZ shaft. Both end look the same, so it shouldn't matter.

I'm going to try the HPI boot.

Both CMT and RTR used to have HR DS but only the CMT have the clear boots on since its heavier, I was gonna install one for the RTR as soon as I was done testing it out to see if its a plausible solution, 2 weeks later I destroyed the RTR's rear axle housing. Blessing in disguise actually I've been wanting to see if the front center DS would fit there, it did, if this works out I might/will be replacing the HR DS on the CMT too..

If you look at the pic below that's the RTR with the YXL front center DS installed with the 22 mm HPI boot covering it.

 

[tonyfalkon]

Took a look at the rear axle last night and.... carnage. Pinion and ring are destroyed. Housing - destroyed. Bearing on the driveshaft - destroyed. Bearing on the diff cup - dead. Bearings on the axles - crunchy.

The bearings you destroyed, as long as the inner and outer rings are intact and round with no wobbles you can use them as spacers if you do a custom build, but just in case your throwing those parts and bearings anyway send them my way, I will gladly pay the shipping. I'm experimenting on YXL parts including but not limited to shafts, links, wheels, differential housing front and rear basically any YXL parts that your throwing anyway. PM me, Lemme know.

 

[Tzicul]

I have a lot of broken bearings, but I don't think the shipping from Europe is very "friendly" to your pocket

Sent from my Sony Xperia Z5

 

[Deckard]

The bearings you destroyed, as long as the inner and outer rings are intact and round with no wobbles you can use them as spacers if you do a custom build, but just in case your throwing those parts and bearings anyway send them my way, I will gladly pay the shipping. I'm experimenting on YXL parts including but not limited to shafts, links, wheels, differential housing front and rear basically any YXL parts that your throwing anyway. PM me, Lemme know.

I have a ton of take offs, broken parts (they're like trophies). I'll take a look at what I have this weekend and PM you.

Just so I'm clear.... your rear drive shaft on your RTR is the center shaft from an RTR. I thought about doing that but I figured the length would be off and it would bind or just fall out. I was too lazy to actually check (taking the front apart is a beating).

 

[tonyfalkon]

Just so I'm clear.... your rear drive shaft on your RTR is the center shaft from an RTR. I thought about doing that but I figured the length would be off and it would bind or just fall out. .

I thought so too, when I put it on I was sure it was a little short but, unless you put longer shocks then it will definitely fall off, no issues so far on jumps, mud and water but its only been used for 10 hours. YXL DS has fewer parts/joints to break, cheaper to replace and if either one break you'll have to buy the whole part anyways, no one sells replacement parts for the one you broke, my only concern is the 5.5 mm shaft 1 mm thinner than the HR.

 

[Lavaheadache]

You could try fitting a bearing on the driveshaft and zip tie a boot to it and the other end to the housing it ought to work until that bearing needs replacing. This will allow the boot to stay stationary while the axle spins.

That HPI boot would work on a stock axle if you trimmed the thinner parts off. Could also look into some shock boots or even a balloon for that matter.

 

[SvdV]

Since I'm looking for a solution as well, I tried asking advice from the local hobbyshop owners. They unanimously said a boot will either get tangled up or capture dirt (insert complaints about modern cars here, and how their old cars with open boots still drive after 200k miles). The advise I got was to not grease it up, as that will capture and hold the dirt. Instead, keep it clean, and the centrifugal force will repel incoming dirt. Anyone tried that?

 

[BarHarborBasher]

That's what I preach...
That's why I think a shield f design is a better application for the xl... but I did notice that a 21x16mm pinion bearing fits nicely onto the stock driveshaft...


QUOTE=SvdV;5554208]Since I'm looking for a solution as well, I tried asking advice from the local hobbyshop owners. They unanimously said a boot will either get tangled up or capture dirt (insert complaints about modern cars here, and how their old cars with open boots still drive after 200k miles). The advise I got was to not grease it up, as that will capture and hold the dirt. Instead, keep it clean, and the centrifugal force will repel incoming dirt. Anyone tried that?[/QUOTE]

 

[Deckard]

A bit OT, but I agree with BHB that boots are bad. My first 1:1 was a Jeep Cherokee. The first time it needed tires I put the biggest off road tires I could on it. They rubbed like crazy but I didn't care, it looked cool. My friends also had 4x4s and we would go off roading all the time. We do healthy activities like drink beers, party, or try to hookup with girls (muddy girls). Good fun back then (getting old sucks). The car was in the shop once. The same gas station my mom got gas at frequently because she had a diesel and played golf with the owner. Anyway, my mom saw my Cherokee on the lift and asked the owner what was up. He showed her the boot that cracked and filled with mud. He also told her that I had to have been doing ALOT of off roading. Man she was piiiiiiiiiiiisssssseeeed.

So, eff boots. They got me busted in high school. I hate them.

On topic: I place an order with Tower for an almost entirely new rear axle and ordered new bearings from Fast Eddy. The boots are on back order from Tower and they'll arrive when they arrive. Regardless of a boot getting me busted in high school, I think I'll try it out. It's only $7 for 4 so if it works it's a cheap mod. I'll keep an eye on that bearing and report any more or any less dirt build up. I may try adjust the pitch of the rear axle a bit too. Maybe if it's angled up a bit it won't get so much abuse. It would be nice if it had been designed with some sort of a shroud for more protection. Fixed rear axles look bad ass but they take some serious abuse. Even more so when they're on a beast of a rig.

 

[Deckard]

Not even a full pack and the bearing blew out. I didn't have the boot on (Tower Ships when they feel like it) but this was very light driving.

That's it for me. I'm selling this thing. It's cool as hell but it's designed horribly.

 

[BarHarborBasher]

Not even a full pack and the bearing blew out. I didn't have the boot on (Tower Ships when they feel like it) but this was very light driving.

That's it for me. I'm selling this thing. It's cool as hell but it's designed horribly.

Wow... That sucks...completely understandable man...

 

[pro mod steve]

Have you tried my cup idea? Been having good luck so far. Still pull the pinion bearings and clean em after every bash session. I have been able to get through 4 packs in dirt without a failure.

 

[Tzicul]

I'm sure someone will say I don't know what I"m talking about, but did you try the third bearing mod? Not a single problem since I installed it on my rig, on both diffs. And I still have the straight cut pinion on the front axle! Any kind of cup and the third bearing should get you out of trouble

LE You can find the boots on dollar hobbyz

Sent from my Sony Xperia Z5

 

[pro mod steve]

I think anything is worth a shot at this point. After all it IS up to us as Axial built it, hyped it, then said good luck and wiped their hands of any intention of helping the consumer.

 

[Deckard]

I'm sure someone will say I don't know what I"m talking about, but did you try the third bearing mod? Not a single problem since I installed it on my rig, on both diffs. And I still have the straight cut pinion on the front axle! Any kind of cup and the third bearing should get you out of trouble

LE You can find the boots on dollar hobbyz

Sent from my Sony Xperia Z5

I rebuilt the axle last night. I had spare housing that I replaced when I first got the rig. The previous owner had stripped the lockout screw holes and I was newb at the time (still am). Just put some CA on the screws this time around.

I'm going to try the 3rd bearing. I have the Dhawk spacer on now, but I'll give a 3rd bearing a shot. 15x21x4mm x 3...right? No shims. I just want to make sure I'm correct on the mod.

The boot should arrive today.

I don't want to sell it because I don't think there's anything that can replace it. I don't see anything on the market that seems like it would as fun to run and looks as cool as the YXL.

I really do wish Vanquish would release a V2 of the axle housing. If it fixes the bearing issue, it would be worth the money to me. If I could get a pack through the rig and have it break only when I do something stupid, I would be thrilled. I pisses me off when it breaks because of lazy dev.