Good day all,

Any recommendations for greasing my tanks. Do I need to use different kind of greases for different components of the tank; gearbox grease, bearings grease etc. One more thing, I heard WD40 isn’t a good substitute for grease, as it just displaces water. Is that true? Appreciate if you guys could share a little bit on this subject. Cheers.

Shark

I use Mobile 1 red synthetic wheel bearing grease in my gearboxes. They run butter smooth. I have also used 20/50 synthetic motor oil in my gearboxes. It too worked well but needs to be reapplied more often. The road axles shafts can be greased/oiled but you will collect more dirt on them. It is a win loose issues, it helps, but also increase the need for additional maintenance/cleaning depending on how much dust, dirt, mud and sand you run in.

Just my .02

Thanks bud for the crystal clear explanation. As I type this I am waiting a shipment of Mobile 1 grease from AliExpress so that should be interesting in the days to come. You basically just wrote what were my concerns with greasing the components up; dirt and all that gunk in the components thereby increasing the need for more preventative maintenance.... which I am not a fan of. Oh well, gotta give and take in this hobby I guess. Hopeful that other members could chip in on this subject too. Cheers guys.

Shark

Thanks FreakyDude for the input. I think fsttanks is just trying to share his preference, and appreciate both of your inputs in this subject. However you do have a point that sand and also those good stuffs will ruin the components on the long run especially with a sticky oil type of grease in the tank. At the end of the day, I love my tanks to death and I don’t want to ruin them unknowingly.

Shark

Wet beats dry any day of the week even when dirty. That has been proven time and time again in countless industry studies and tests. If you are worried that much about dirt or sand getting in your gears simply cover them. My tanks are driven exclusively in the desert South West region of the U.S. and not once have I gotten any sand in the gear boxes and I run my tanks harder and faster than most.

Sure you are going to get the “axles” to hold dust and dirt when greased/oiled but getting dirt or sand in the gearbox is far less likely and even more so if you cover the gears with something as simple as a piece of paper. Running the axels with dry lube is one thing, but the gearbox? Neither Heng Long or Tamiya do or recommend that.

Thanks for the reply gp100, it really helps because as an experience RC-er like yourself you would know that there is a whole plethora of greases out there. So many different kinds and purposes argh! It’s a little intimidating really and I could spend a day researching about greases it’s crazy. Thanks again gp100! Cheers.

Shark

You Tube

I’m just glad that the old-timer who finally chimed on this, is you Crius. You welcomed me on my first “Hi I’m new thread” and always am grateful whenever you appeared on the threads. With a knowledge base that seems unlimited, as a newbie and relatively new tanker, I thank you greatly for sharing with the younger and the less experienced ones, your knowledge.

Searching around the internet, yes, white lithium grease is the name of the game apparently with its potential numerous applications. But like you said in your post, you’re using 3 in 1 oil, sewing machine oil in your stuffs. I’d never thought of that but one day, I definitely will give it a try. We live in a day and age where greases with fancy brand names are labelled “RC Grease” packaged and sold at a 200%-300% selling price, it’s a little crazy to really filter out which ones work and which ones don’t.

I hovered over the idea of a covered gearbox for a little while. I’m using Mato’s Tiger Is and they can be handful to maintain and keep up running at times. I ultimately abandoned the idea of a cover gearbox and instead, use less grease to decrease the “mess” it made down the road. Not having access to heavy duty machining equipment and all those gizmos I had to find another way to not ruin my tigers. My matos aren’t exactly shelf queens and once mud, sand, grass, dirt meets grease... oh boy. Not pretty. But I have to say, your particular method of breaking in your motors and gearbox is interests me and thanks for linking your YouTube channel as well! Mighty fine bonus! Count me in as a regular viewer. Always a pleasure to see you and your responses on the threads Crius, especially one on my threads. Once again, thank you so much for the inputs on the relatively subjective part of RC; greasing! Cheers.

Shark

My eyes lit up reading your post because the way you described the application of the Kilmat is so much in line with my thinking of preventative maintenance. Thank you bud! I have to admit, after I finished reading your post, I immediately searched up Kilmat on Google and have decided to get myself some. It’s just so convenient and also easier, compared to a more semi “permanent” solution such as machined or fabricated gearboxes. I would also admit that my skill-level isn’t so high compared to the few more experienced RC-ers around here. That is why I’m not so confident around the fabrication of custom components such as gearbox covers and what not. Thank you Maccrage for the input, appreciate it greatly man!

Shark

Thank you for the input Panther. You pointed out a rather important part of choosing grease that newcomers like me might miss out. Yes, I don’t want to ruin my plastics, or metal, by using the wrong greases. That’d would be terrible. Thank you for pointing that out! Cheers man.

Shark

Aside from the fact that I knew WD40 isn’t a lubricating agent, I didn’t know it causes problems in the long run such as parts becoming tighter and it becomes a gummy-like substance. Wow. Thanks for pointing that little-known fact, the less experienced circles of RC-ers, that the “WD” in WD40. I was one of them who initially thought that WD40 is a lubricating agent. At the end of the day, people like Martellus enables this forum to be a good educating platform for uninformed and new guys. Thank you man for pointing out in that crystal clear explanation.

Shark