Drooping Differential?
08-15-2005, 02:25 PM
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Drooping Differential?
Hi All,
My Firehammer diff gear is chewing into the protective cover for the gear on the underside of the chassis plate. I replaced a chewed up cover with a new one and after 30 minutes of bashing, the diff gear is chewing into the new cover again (hole visible in cover). Is there something in my rear suspension setup that would cause the diff gear to droop lower than usual. If I land a hard jump is there something that if tweaked would keep the diff gear from drooping down to eat into the cover (i.e. shock rebuild, shock height, etc.)? This is a recent problem so I am assuming something has gone bad or wearing out on the rear end. The bulkheads look ok, the diff gear screws are fully secured into the diff housing. The shocks maybe ready for a rebuild but would that affect diff gear position? The gear mesh between the diff gear and the shaft gear appears to be good. The car does appear to be riding a little low from behind.
I have seen diff covers that are made of something other than the standard nylon material. I don't know if it's aluminum or what. If I put a diff gear protector on the car that is made of a harder material then if the gear is riding lower than it should, won't that just grind the teeth down on the gear (mask the real problem)?
I don't have our camera (wife took it on vacation) so I can't take pictures to illustrate the issue better. I'm also a bit embarrassed to show pictures of my Chinese knock-off with it's plastic parts and CY engine after seeing some of the most amazing FG models with all that Elcon alloy.
Thanks for any ideas on this.
Ken
My Firehammer diff gear is chewing into the protective cover for the gear on the underside of the chassis plate. I replaced a chewed up cover with a new one and after 30 minutes of bashing, the diff gear is chewing into the new cover again (hole visible in cover). Is there something in my rear suspension setup that would cause the diff gear to droop lower than usual. If I land a hard jump is there something that if tweaked would keep the diff gear from drooping down to eat into the cover (i.e. shock rebuild, shock height, etc.)? This is a recent problem so I am assuming something has gone bad or wearing out on the rear end. The bulkheads look ok, the diff gear screws are fully secured into the diff housing. The shocks maybe ready for a rebuild but would that affect diff gear position? The gear mesh between the diff gear and the shaft gear appears to be good. The car does appear to be riding a little low from behind.
I have seen diff covers that are made of something other than the standard nylon material. I don't know if it's aluminum or what. If I put a diff gear protector on the car that is made of a harder material then if the gear is riding lower than it should, won't that just grind the teeth down on the gear (mask the real problem)?
I don't have our camera (wife took it on vacation) so I can't take pictures to illustrate the issue better. I'm also a bit embarrassed to show pictures of my Chinese knock-off with it's plastic parts and CY engine after seeing some of the most amazing FG models with all that Elcon alloy.
Thanks for any ideas on this.
Ken
08-15-2005, 02:38 PM
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RE: Drooping Differential?
No suspension will not effect placement of diff. Check the diff mountings and bearings- is there slop on the bearings and is the diff side mounts holes nice and tight? What size diff wheel are you using?
I would not use a alloy diff gear cover until you figure out the problem, as you'll just damage the diff and possibly lock up. The Marder mounts fit directly onto the chassis, the Leopard has risers. Perhaps you could rise the entire rear end up? Will require new engine mounts and diff risers though
I would not use a alloy diff gear cover until you figure out the problem, as you'll just damage the diff and possibly lock up. The Marder mounts fit directly onto the chassis, the Leopard has risers. Perhaps you could rise the entire rear end up? Will require new engine mounts and diff risers though
08-15-2005, 02:45 PM
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RE: Drooping Differential?
I tried to "wiggle" the diff housing to see if there was noticeable slop but it appears to be OK. Maybe it takes a harder hit to get the slop to show up. I was thinking about making a shim/spacer to drop the cover down a small amount so the gear has to travel further to reach the protective cover. It might make it easier to get hung on obstructions I'm trying to drive over but it's one thought I had.
I have a thick sheet of rubber (half mm or so). I thought of making one or two layers of this rubber into a spacer for the cover. I may have to go to slightly longer screws to hold the cover on.
Ken
I have a thick sheet of rubber (half mm or so). I thought of making one or two layers of this rubber into a spacer for the cover. I may have to go to slightly longer screws to hold the cover on.
Ken
