Senton Hearing a clacking sound coming from my car when launching or turning.

[1999fd]

I checked if the body is hitting on something or if there was something wrong with my pinion or slipper. Don't find something off. Very weird. Was driving fine just this sound like if you drop a pen on a desk. Can't take a video of it since it's dissembled rn. If anyone had this problem I would some help. ( I have the motor from the Kraton and slipper from the Kraton all v2 parts. )

 

[gotnitro]

When launching and turning.... Sounds like possible internal planet gear salad. Time to open it up and find out.

 

[katydon]

When launching and turning.... Sounds like possible internal planet gear salad. Time to open it up and find out.

Not sure if I'm understanding exactly but my Vorteks was making a sound similar to what you describe and it was the motor bearing closest to the pinion gear that was bad and needed replacing easy check just remove the motor and move the pinion gear from side to side and if you hear a clicking sound bearing is bad.

 

[1999fd]

Not sure if I'm understanding exactly but my Vorteks was making a sound similar to what you describe and it was the motor bearing closest to the pinion gear that was bad and needed replacing easy check just remove the motor and move the pinion gear from side to side and if you hear a clicking sound bearing is bad.

Motor is brand new.

 

[1999fd]

When launching and turning.... Sounds like possible internal planet gear salad. Time to open it up and find out.

hmmm

 

[Diem Turner]

hmmm

Check your diffs' input pinion/ring gear mesh. If the teeth look good and everything is ok there, open up your diffs and inspect the gears inside.

 

[Velodromed]

hmmm

Rear diff issue. Input/ring gear mesh too loose and they’re beginning to strip.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

Yup to all of the above. I've never heard that sound and had it NOT be a diff issue.

 

[1999fd]

Rear diff issue. Input/ring gear mesh too loose and they’re beginning to strip.

How to adjust mesh? On diffs. Yes the diff ring got eaten.

 

[Velodromed]

How to adjust mesh? On diffs. Yes the diff ring got eaten.

With a shim or two on the ring gear side. They come with 1 opposite the ring gear side from the factory. But that usually needs to be totally removed after 10-15 runs and then placed on the ring gear side after another 10-15 runs. By this point you may need 2 shims on the ring gear side. That is if the diff/input isn’t bricked. Oh, they go under the bearing up next to the diff. Also make sure to press the bearings firmly against the diff.

 

[gotnitro]

Depends on how the ring gear was eaten. You would put shims in where the bearings are on the opposite side of the ring gear to back it off. You’d put shims on the ring gear side to make the mesh tighter.

 

[1999fd]

With a shim or two on the ring gear side. They come with 1 opposite the ring gear side from the factory. But that usually needs to be totally removed after 10-15 runs and then placed on the ring gear side after another 10-15 runs. By this point you may need 2 shims on the ring gear side. That is if the diff/input isn’t bricked. Oh, they go under the bearing up next to the diff. Also make sure to press the bearings firmly against the diff.

Is this usable? Or should I get a new one? Don't really understand the mesh thing. Will I need to change something if I get a new diff case?

 

[Velodromed]

View attachment 268526 View attachment 268527
Is this usable? Or should I get a new one? Don't really understand the mesh thing. Will I need to change something if I get a new diff case?

It doesn’t look awful. The tips of the teeth are rounded down a bit much. This tells me it’s not tight enough against the ring gear so it’s skipping and wearing from the top down. That’s the ‘crunking’ sound you hear. Also, the compacted grease muck between the teeth can cause it to ‘ride high’, only using the top part of the teeth which can cause early and uneven tooth wear.

Here is a new input gear in pic #1 & 2. The teeth are slightly rounded at the top and evenly sloped to the bottom. Next pic is a worn input, notice how the teeth are sharp at the tip? By keeping the mesh tight and regularly cleaning the gunk out it’s wearing from the bottom up, maximizing the gear life. That’s what I like to see.

You really need to get the old grease that’s compacted between the teeth out on a regular basis. I service my rear diffs at least monthly and the front ones every 2-3 months (they are not near as stressed as the rear). I use an old toothbrush and scrub it hard to get all the compacted muck out. When I reinstall it I use minimal grease (superlube) and smear it into the ring gear. What does your ring gear look like by the way? Post a pic of it after you scrub it down.

The mesh between the two is similar to the pinion/spur mesh. I like it fairly tight and check it monthly because, as they wear, the mesh will loosen up. When new, the factory puts a shim beneath the side opposite the ring gear because they are pretty tight. As it wears that shim needs to be removed to keep the gears close together. As it wears even more that shim needs to be put on the ring gear side to press the gears together. Pic #4 is the shim. The next pic, #5, is the shim on the non ring gear side, like it comes from the factory. Pic #6 is the shim on the ring gear side.

Check the bearings closely and replace if they are getting crunchy. When putting them back on they need to be pressed tight up against the diff. I use a socket and screw driver handle to tap it tight, as indicated in the last two pictures. The very last pic is the input and ring gear together. The connection between the two is the ‘mesh’ I’m referring to.

You don’t need a new diff yoke unless it’s badly warped or damaged. I don’t like the plastic case on the rear diff at all, it flexed to much. It’s fine up front, but I run hot racing or similar metal diff yokes on the rear. They are one of the better metal upgrades. The hot racing ones are silly expensive, near 38 bucks. This one is working just as well for over the last month, $25 plus 8% off.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask anytime. Can always message me if you want.

RC Differential Yoke Set, Aluminum Alloy Composite Differential Yoke for ARRMA Granite, Big Rock, Typhoon, Senton 3S 1/10 RC Car Accessory(red) https://a.co/d/9S7aET5

 

[SrC]

Motor is brand new.

Might have bent the motor mount and the pinion/Spur gear mesh is all jacked up now. Remove your Power Module first, to verify, Then if Ok , look to the Rear then the Front Diff's in that order. BTW the stocker Motor BB's are cheap and can Fail very early on. If the BB's seem ok, Definitely use a synthetic Oil on them. One drop each. Opening up the motor and cleaning it to do this. The rig will be faster, motor should last for many years if you do this. Preventive maintenance matters greatly. Best to examine frequently and upgrade motor BB's well before the Armature gets bricked. Then, you will need a whole new motor. Jims Motor BBs are one brand to consider. The Power module needs to be opened up at very frequent intervals to clean out and examine the motor mesh. All the Arrma 4x4's need this attention to detail, or you will be hung out to dry. Being a slave to parts repacement much sooner than later.
Wrenching is 80% of this hobby. Doing this correctly, will afford you a solid 20% of fun Bashing time without issues.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

In addition to what @Velodromed stated:

The same principle for setting motor pinion/spur mesh on the 3s trucks is the same you should use for you diff. You want the gears as closely meshed as possible without binding. They way you do this is by installing DRY (non-greased) gears into the yoke with no shims, install the yoke into the chassis, and hold the motor pinion while you rock the ring gear/diff back and forth. You should hear clicking (space between the gears). If you hear clicking, take the diff back out of the yoke, add a shim on the ring gear side and reassemble. Then repeat the process for checking for audible clicking. When you add enough shims until there is no clicking, go back and remove the last shim you added, reassemble and validate clicking returned, then you should be good to assemble the diff. That's as tight as you can get the mesh without binding. Your diff will last 10x longer than if you didn't add shims.

Just remember to NOT tighten the yoke too much before installing this will cause binding. Don't add grease to the gears until the mesh has been set. Otherwise, you won't be able to hear for clicks. If you're gears are pre-greased, or already have grease on them, you'll need to clean out at least the excess grease if you want to hear the clicking

 

[SrC]

+1
How it's done.

 

[Velodromed]

Just remember to NOT tighten the yoke too much before installing this will cause binding

Not fully tightening the yoke will allow the mesh to separate under hard accelerations etc. The mesh has to be spot on with the yoke fully tightened. That’s what shims are for, to set the mesh properly.

It’s easy to determine how tight it is by taking the fully assembled diff in hand, holding the ring gear firmly, and then wiggle the input gear end. Since the ring gear is often slightly out of true it needs to be turned, checking the connection all the way around. Very slight binding will work itself out during use. Hard binding means a shim adjustment is needed.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

Not fully tightening the yoke will allow the mesh to separate under hard accelerations etc. The mesh has to be spot on with the yoke fully tightened. That’s what shims are for, to set the mesh properly.

It’s easy to determine how tight it is by taking the fully assembled diff in hand, holding the ring gear firmly, and then wiggle the input gear end. Since the ring gear is often slightly out of true it needs to be turned, checking the connection all the way around. Very slight binding will work itself out during use. Hard binding means a shim adjustment is needed.

I don't mean to say "don't tighten the yoke". I mean, don't overtighten it. I've stripped those threads and have had the gears bind when i tighten down too much. perhaps I needed a shim on the non-ring side?

 

[Velodromed]

I don't mean to say "don't tighten the yoke". I mean, don't overtighten it. I've stripped those threads and have had the gears bind when i tighten down too much. perhaps I needed a shim on the non-ring side?

Ah that makes more sense. Yes, can’t over tighten those plastic ones. Otherwise they will strip like the other plastic parts, except worse because they are full plastic, not nylon composite like the arms, diffs etc. I don’t like them on the rear at all because there are weak and flexible, just can’t handle the torque. They are fine for the front though.

But yes, if the gears bind when you’re tightening it down all the way you need to add a shim on the non-ring gear side, or remove the shim from the ring gear side if you have one there. Then, after a dozen runs or so and it’s broken in, remove it. The best thing though is to get one of those cheap metal diff yokes for the back, like I mentioned earlier. The only differentials I have striped in over 2 years are ones on the rear with the plastic yokes

 

[1999fd]

Ah that makes more sense. Yes, can’t over tighten those plastic ones. Otherwise they will strip like the other plastic parts, except worse because they are full plastic, not nylon composite like the arms, diffs etc. I don’t like them on the rear at all because there are weak and flexible, just can’t handle the torque. They are fine for the front though.

But yes, if the gears bind when you’re tightening it down all the way you need to add a shim on the non-ring gear side, or remove the shim from the ring gear side if you have one there. Then, after a dozen runs or so and it’s broken in, remove it. The best thing though is to get one of those cheap metal diff yokes for the back, like I mentioned earlier. The only differentials I have striped in over 2 years are ones on the rear with the plastic yokes

Yes so my rear diff spur gear was eaten. It was pretty close to death but then added a kraton motor and killed in seconds. Even if I made the mesh tighter the gear was so eaten the same thing would still happen. I was expecting this someday but not so early. So um rear diff is gona ordering both new gear tomorrow. Thanks all for the help.