Shimming is definitely optional... I've read that some have done it ... and like most... I haven't found the need...for airsoft rifles it's a must... proper alignment and play in the gears is essential to gearbox life ...In RC tanks... I haven't found the need...as the tanks don't have the same kind of stress put on the gearboxes.. they run better with a little slop in them ...Just my two cents for considerationJake79 wrote:Hey guys
I was just wondering is it only ok to shim your gears when they are new, as I have tried it on my Panther G which is a few months old and when the gears are back in the tank they hardly move!!
I took them out tried it again same result, I've got my Panther A open just to make sure everything is in the right place and it all seems good. What else can I do ?
What you can do... and this will help with the noise.... is to solder the brass bushings to the cages... this will stabilize the axle rotations and reduce the sound... add some silicon grease or viscous gear lube...and that will drop the noise even more....I assume you are using white metal gearboxes too... several of mine are as quiet as the black steel boxes ...some not allJake79 wrote:Guess the only thing I can do is remove the washers and leave the gears as they were. Very loud and clunky, but at least they worked. Thanks for your 2 cents....
...but they are still pretty durable... the minor noise unfortunately is the nature of the beast so to say...but I can't really hear the gears once the tank is 15 feet away Yer I might give that a try, I will be changing the gears in the future when I decide to metal her up a bit. I was just trying to get the most out of white metal gears beforehand. I had it in my head that shimming the gears was the thing to do if they were a bit off. Still don't understand why the washers would stop the gears from turning, the gears are touching each other you would think buy having that extra space between them it would help........ Actually if you think about it ...the answer is pretty simple.... because there isn't really a high stress factor...(power to weight ratio)... you don't really require high tolerance spacing of the gears...especially since all they do is rotate on an axle....in an airsoft gearbox the tolerance is super high...especially with modified springs pistons and head... as there is actual pressure put on the gears.... reason they strip...By shimming the tanks gear axles.... you create more drag...thus pressure ...allowing them to spin free...as they were designed to do... puts no pressure on them... thus they perform wellJake79 wrote:
Yeah that's fine... put more into the brass bushings... and a thin coat on the gears so it doesn't make a mess of your insides.. you also might want to make some covers for the gearboxes ...I use the viscous lube... just a little here and there...then I run the tank while it sits on a block...very slow at first...just to work the lube into the moving areas...then I close the tank up and lock her downJake79 wrote:Just one last thing about the gears, I use Hob-E-Lube, Moly Grease is that alright ?
