An Exceed-ingly rare beast

[tiger1]

I heard that mid diff is not a conventional diff. May I know what are the special features of the diff??

Thanks

[GoMachV]

The small bevel gears have square spots that engage a dog plate on each side. When the gears try to turn, they force against the plates making them push out against a piece of friction material and spring. The problem is, it's more of a ratchet. It's not smooth at all. Almost like the slipper on a busier

[rraeford]

I remember racing against a whole platoon of these BITD. They cruised around the track in a line like a train. They made a fair amount of noise and could NOT jump. They also weren't fast in a straight line due to the reasons stated. I also remember that Tower had them listed for years after they went out of production (as low as $49) until they were all gone. I always responded to the box art which made the tires look like they were 4 inches wide. The first time I actually saw one at the track I didn't know what it was because it looked so different from the box illustration. Cool find.

[isobarik]

they where selling them cheap here in sweden too...
got the cosmo shooter ..never unpacked it just returned ...since my friends also had those. they made a funny noise when running on grass due to gerar slippage... wrap wrap.............

oh where they crap..

mvh isobarik

[corvetteboy6988]

GoMarkV, or anyone else, I just recently acquired an exceed, and its in really good shape, other than extremely dusty. No scratches on the bottom which amazes me. I stripped it all down, getting it back together after cleaning, lubing, repairing anything that needs it. Rear gear box had a crack around the top suspension a-arm mount, so used black epoxy from the inside and repaired it, also strengthened up all insides of the other gear boxes halves with epoxy, as they are way to thin.

Anyway, the slip ring material, which is on each side of the copper spring , on each half of the main gear (4 total) for the center diff, that friction material is literally falling apart on mine. I was just checking the motion of the center diff by hand on the bench out of the case, and those rings started tearing. 2 are ok, 2 are torn. I dont think the ok ones would be ok for long if I ran it.
For the life of me I cant identify the material.
Ive tried thick gauge construction paper, and fibrous automotive gasket material, I even sanded the gasket and paper to raise the grain more, neither of which provide the grip that those original rings do.
I know it has to be able to withstand some heat from friction, so was staying away from rubber. But might try a cork/rubber gasket material. I have also heard others using leather for slipper clutches, although these need to be fairly thin in the Exceed.

Any suggestions on a replacement?

I have looked at some old Team Associated slipper rings, but none seem quite the right OD/ID, and not sure what they are made of.

Cant get the front all back together with out these replaced with something that works. I want to run it a few times, then put it on the shelf. Have to experience this beast.

Attached are some pics

BTW, I to always wanted on of these from Tower, the pics made both this and the FF Spirit look awesome with those huge tires, and was drawn the 4wd/4ws, and I remember when they closed them out. But I stuck to Tamiya and Kyosho, but now I finally have one.

[GoMachV]

I can’t say for sure what they used for material however a popular slipper disc material back in the day was rulon. It’s pretty pricy stuff but it’s the stuff they used and by all means should work fine still. Likely much tougher than the brittle old plastics

[corvetteboy6988]

GoMachV, thanks for the quick feedback and response, I know this thread was old!

I just built a re-re Schumacher top cat, and for example, that slipper clutch disk is made of a rough hard white plastic, along the lines of rulon probably, as you mentioned.
These in the Exceed, are paper thin, and if I had to describe them, they feel like old thick construction paper, but of course are not. The are fibrous and have good grip. Almost between paper and fabric. Now, due to the age of the car, perhaps they have change state to some degree, not like they originally where.
There was some of this fibrous material stuck to some of the gear oil in the center diff, so it has been degrading or simply wore off from use.
I have a 4 pack of different gasket materials from fel-pro coming. I already tried the paper gasket type material and it doesnt provide enought friction. There are cork and rubber ones in this sample pack Im getting so hoping those work. But an worried they will be on the thick side.
Im using the one half of the diff with the 2 good rings as a baseline, turning by hand and applying pressure till they "hook" up. SO far nothing has enough friction to lock them up unless a lot of pressure is applied, which the original material doesnt need.

Ill keep this thread posted on what I find that works.