Hi all
A while back I destroyed the crown gear and the input pinion on the rear diff in my Senton.
Tower (and Hobbyco) were good enough to send me a new one under warranty - however, when it arrived, it didn't fit - the diff was just too fat for the diff housing! Or so it seemed.
I believe I ended up somehow with a Kraton crown gear instead of a Senton one. The Senton and Kraton run almost identical diffs - apart from the crown gear - the Kraton is (apparently) a spiral gear, the Senton a straight gear.
Anyway, I emailed Tower (and Hobbyco) with my woes - explained that the new diff didn't fit and that I suspected I had a too-large crown gear for a Senton. They sent me a new crown - good customer support yes, but another 4-5 week wait for postage to Australia!
I wasn't angry, I just wanted to bash my Senton. Does that make me a bad person? I'm sure if you've read this far, you don't think so.
So I had a wait on my hands - and a decent diff - it was just a bit fat. "If only I could make one of the bearings on the left a bit skinnier this diff might just work?" I thought to myself...
Then I did some googling - the Senton runs bearings 16x8x5 on either side of the r/f diffs - if there were such a thing as a 16x8x4 bearing, I might just get some life out of this diff! It might not be perfect, but I might get a few runs out of it while awaiting the correct diff....
And it just so happens 16x8x4 bearings do exist! I ordered 2 from a local seller (thanks http://plaig.com.au/shop/ !!) and they arrived 2 days later. I slotted one in, replacing the bearing that sits on the left of the crown gear.
And hallelujah! I was back in business. I shimmed the diff in tight, applied a generous dollop of lithium grease, and I've gotten 10 good runs out of this diff thus far.
Since then the new Senton crown gear has arrived from Tower - see the images attached for a comparison of the crown I got first vs the crown I got just last week.
Have I got a Kraton crown gear there?
If I do, I can confirm that a Kraton crown will work in a Senton, with a slimmer bearing on the left of the diff.
If that's not a Kraton gear, can someone explain how/why those 2 gears are so different?
A while back I destroyed the crown gear and the input pinion on the rear diff in my Senton.
Tower (and Hobbyco) were good enough to send me a new one under warranty - however, when it arrived, it didn't fit - the diff was just too fat for the diff housing! Or so it seemed.
I believe I ended up somehow with a Kraton crown gear instead of a Senton one. The Senton and Kraton run almost identical diffs - apart from the crown gear - the Kraton is (apparently) a spiral gear, the Senton a straight gear.
Anyway, I emailed Tower (and Hobbyco) with my woes - explained that the new diff didn't fit and that I suspected I had a too-large crown gear for a Senton. They sent me a new crown - good customer support yes, but another 4-5 week wait for postage to Australia!
I wasn't angry, I just wanted to bash my Senton. Does that make me a bad person? I'm sure if you've read this far, you don't think so.
So I had a wait on my hands - and a decent diff - it was just a bit fat. "If only I could make one of the bearings on the left a bit skinnier this diff might just work?" I thought to myself...
Then I did some googling - the Senton runs bearings 16x8x5 on either side of the r/f diffs - if there were such a thing as a 16x8x4 bearing, I might just get some life out of this diff! It might not be perfect, but I might get a few runs out of it while awaiting the correct diff....
And it just so happens 16x8x4 bearings do exist! I ordered 2 from a local seller (thanks http://plaig.com.au/shop/ !!) and they arrived 2 days later. I slotted one in, replacing the bearing that sits on the left of the crown gear.
And hallelujah! I was back in business. I shimmed the diff in tight, applied a generous dollop of lithium grease, and I've gotten 10 good runs out of this diff thus far.
Since then the new Senton crown gear has arrived from Tower - see the images attached for a comparison of the crown I got first vs the crown I got just last week.
Have I got a Kraton crown gear there?
If I do, I can confirm that a Kraton crown will work in a Senton, with a slimmer bearing on the left of the diff.
If that's not a Kraton gear, can someone explain how/why those 2 gears are so different?