My "very late" RC10 CE

[BWX]

I knew this was inevitable, so I just went ahead and did it last night. I think my diff was slipping on some of those test runs, and when adjusting diff how you are supposed to, it felt gritty, I had to loosen it up more than you're supposed to before it felt got smooth.. It hasn't been apart in several years, maybe 10 or more..





Looks pretty good considering..




Bearing still in excellent shape. This is the second or third rebuild with them.


Kinda dirty but not too bad.


Where's all the diff lube go? I swear when I put it together there was plenty in there!


At least the black grease hung around.


before cleaning-





All cleaned up..











They look fine.. I think I'll just clean and re-lube. I thgink this will be the second time for these rings/ diff balls.


These also look fine.


I'll have enough diff lube this time..




Rings still look good too...




And back together it went, no problem..










I got a new slipper pad too.. the one that guy on ebay makes and sells for $9..


Almost forgot this little guy..



So after tightening diff all the way down, and then backing off a little less than 1/4 turn, it is much smoother than before, so I guess mission accomplished.

So now since it's all apart, might as well install the zero degree hubs..






Or maybe that can wait till tomorrow...

[broodenburg]

bad luck with the shocks. Hope it can be fixed just drilling out the hole.

curious how the new caster blocks and stiffer tower will work on the car. But I guess you'll be running low grip surfaces so a little flex won't hurt. To stif means less grip if I'm not mistaken.

when it comes to building a diff I guess you will like this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIYPol1udUo

[BWX]

bad luck with the shocks. Hope it can be fixed just drilling out the hole.

curious how the new caster blocks and stiffer tower will work on the car. But I guess you'll be running low grip surfaces so a little flex won't hurt. To stiff means less grip if I'm not mistaken.

when it comes to building a diff I guess you will like this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIYPol1udUo

Yeah I can always take the brace off if it doesn't work well or I get some weird behavior from the car. Or I can just adjust the springs/ damper around the new stiffer setup. I like to try stuff, and then if it works good, cool, if not I can always easily change back to stock setup. That's definitely part of the fun!
Sometimes I'll be running on very loose stuff, but sometimes I'll be running on very hard stuff.. But I won't be racing.. if I was, or if I do, I would build this a lot differently I think.

Thanks for that link.. I watched that series. I'm not so sure about some things that guy does though. I would ask why he put diff lube under the diff rings.. no where in my manual does it say to do that. It says just to install them dry. Also why is he putting thick silicone shock oil on the transmission gears? I know my version are meant to be run dry, they're "self lubricating", and seem to last a long time like that. I looked at the re-re Worlds car manual and noticed that calls for lube on the tranny gears, but on mine it doesn't. Maybe his does, but using thinck shock oil? Hmm.. Also he says AE are completely wrong about how they say to adjust the diff.. (tighten down and then loosen 1/8 to 1/4 turn) He just completely discounts what Team Associated say in the manual, LOL.

Also why is he sanding the diff rings? Maybe I'd try scuffing up diff rings before I throw them away just to see what would happen.. maybe get one more run out of them? but I didn't think it was necessary or wise to sand diff rings. I certainly wouldn't do it on brand new ones. Yeah I think that guy might not know what he's doing, at least on some of the stuff he says. But- I do like to experiment with different ways of doing things, so some of those ideas will be good to try I suppose..


edit- So I checked just to make sure.. Yup, nowhere does it say to lube outside of the diff ring where it rides in the groove on the hub.. edit- After thinking about it, I would think that is exactly where you'd want the most friction to be.. (outside of diff ring coming into contact with drive hub) but I guess you'd have to ask the guy who designed the thing what he thinks, to be sure.


And when I built it right, this always seems to work well:


Maybe the newer diffs are different?

[RC10th]

The reason I think they put it under the rings is to prevent them from slipping. I believe the Stealth diff grease has some stick, some greases can be too slippery and are what lead to ruined diffs. This is why they tell you not to use black grease or their silicone grease.

[broodenburg]

As rc10th wrote, I do think you need grease on the outdrives/rings. Watch this AE video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB7-qCq3k-I

I don't think that the diff has changed over the years. rc10 stealth, b2 and b3 are all the same. B4 just uses bigger gear/rings, but that diff is technically the same.

But on the other hand: I'm no expert by any means. And the other youtube guy is fun to watch and I think he do knows what he's doing. I tried a few of his sugestions and they seem to work.....

and with completely torking down the diff... I not sure that's right. You don't want flat spots that's for sure.

Perhaps the big guns on this forum could enlighten us?

any luck on the shocks? started painting already?

[BWX]

Yeah I am very careful when tightening the diff "fully" before backing off. It isn't really all the way tight. I would say it is about 1/16 turn from all the way tight before I back off.. It seems to work ok though. Maybe next time I will try putting some lube on rear of rings.. just to see if I can feel a difference. I'm sure some will end up there anyways as I slathered a bunch on this time. I'll have to check that other vid.

About the shocks.. no I haven't started them yet. I'll have to drill out that one that is too small as shock shaft won't even go through it, and not sure if the bevel is needed on the outside where the o-ring would be (I think that's where it goes)..

I'll have to find a close up pic or something or see what a good one looks like.

Too cold to paint body unless I do it inside.. It sucks, but I don't think I want to be doing that inside. I guess I could turn on ven tin bathroom and open window or something. I dunno. It is 25F outside and getting colder this week.

-Edit-
Just watched that Associated diff build vid. Yup that is exactly what I have always done except I don't put any lube on outside of rings just because they don't say to in the manual, but mine stick on there pretty good anyways. It looks like there is no one right way to adjust diff either. I think what Ben Ray (youtuber in above vids) does to adjust diff is a little crazy and wrecks at least one ball cup, LOL.. but I am thinking he might end up just about 1/4 turn out from all the way tight anyways! LOL


I might just buy a new set of rings and balls and then experiment on this old set with sandpaper just to see what happens. After all this is putting out quite a bit of power and a new set wouldn't hurt. I'll never sand a brand new one though! My old one has visible lines where balls ride on it but no groove that you can feel or see. Maybe a re-surfacing would actually help those, who knows.

[BWX]

So yesterday I got some Rit dye and a cheap medium/large sized pot at Walmart. Then today I realized I needed a strainer and some tongs so I went to the dollar store and found some cheap stuff.

I decided since I am doing it, I may as well dye all the white parts I have black. Everything was black on the car originally, so I guess that makes sense.

I cleaned up the surface of the bumper with a plastic bristle brush and some alcohol/ and then soap. So it was really clean anyways.

Here's how much this thing weighs.. not too bad.



before cleaning..


after cleaning..





First time dying anything..






And it worked amazingly well on the White parts...


Can you tell which are dyed and which are naturally black? Nope.. This Rit dye is good stuff.






But.... No, the dye did not work on the bumper at all. After I got done I went to town on it with a black magic marker, then used a blow dryer as a heat gun to cure it. That worked pretty good though.

I made a little vid of the process, I'll try to get it uploaded soon.

[slotcarrod]

I'm sorry but I do not love that bumper!

[BWX]

LOL. I don't either. I love what it does though. Maybe I'll make a new one and try to make it look better.
I made that probably 14 years ago, and didn't take my time either.

[vintage AE]

I'd find a vintage wide bumper, it's got to be a better way to go...visually, and function wise too.

[BWX]

I've had them in the past, they are all brittle and break, especially in the cold.. I'll probably just make another one and plan it out a little better this time.

What I really like is how they protect the front suspension, hinge pins, and all those parts. Ever since I put that on there, I haven't broken anything up front, and have had some crashes. If I were to race it at a club or something, I'd just take it off. It is just for "bashing" and FPV.

[erichevy]

I for one, kinda liked the bumper.... think you should have left it green tho. Gives it some character

[BWX]

Well I can always leave the next one green I guess.. I have enough of that stuff to make about 4 or more of them probably.



I wish I could find some of that type of stuff that is flat..

[broodenburg]

For sure you could buy a very expensive NIP wide bumper, but..... your green home made one give's the car character!

[BWX]

Yeah I think I want to try to make another one, but make it look more "even" and symmetrical.


Man I cannot find anyone that will take a pic of the inside of the rear shock tube! (on a couple different forums)

Might have to send them back.. which sucks. All i need is a pic.