Gears problem...perhaps.

[Tricky13]

Just tried my Tiger outside on grass and It wont turn properly and I can hear what sounds like slippage, now I have read about the HL nylon gears having a crude clutch, do you think that is the cause? I know the answer is to fit a metal gear box, but just wondering if anyone has done a temporary fix?
It works fine on hard floor and carpet, its just short flat grass.

[tomhugill]

Yes that's the slipper clutch. The short term fix is to glue the clutch (to do this you'll need to disassemble the gearbox). A longer term fix is some taigen black steel gearboxes ( forget the pot metal ones).

[wibblywobbly]

There are two sides to the coin.

Glue up the slipper clutch (its an internal ring on one of the gears) and keep the plastic ones. The advantage is that you get very quiet gears, and they are surprisingly durable...and cheap to replace.

Or, buy the black metal gearboxes, they cost more but won't slip. They are noisier than the plastic, but quieter than the horrible HL white metal gearboxes.

One way to make the HL ones quieter is to use grinding compound on them. Take them out of the tank, place a small dab of the compound on each gear, and run them for a about a minute. Clean all of the compound off afterwards. To stop the metallic ringing sound that they make, fill the recess on the back of each gear with silicone sealant.

My own view is that the plastic ones are excellent, though if you want 3:1 ratio's etc you are going to have to get your wallet out.

Rob G

[jackalope]

I faced a similer problem myself when I bought my Tiger, it did great in my house but when I took it outside it threw its tracks quicker then I could put them on! And the thing would get stuck trying to make a turn in the grass because the motors just didn't have enough power behind them. I tried upgrading to the 4.1 hardened steel gearboxes and this made it able to run in the gras but it kept throwing tracks. Finally after upgrading to all metal road wheels, idler wheels, Taigen metal lower hull, and a second set of drive sprockets she runs like a champ in any terrain! But I did more then double the cost of the Tiger in upgrades so I could run it how I wanted to. So I guess it all boils down to how deep your pockets go is how well your tank will run. At least from my experance cause Alpha says I got a lemon with my Tiger. But I managed to make some reeeeaaaaaaallllll nice lemon aid out of her!

[Tricky13]

Well I have pulled out the gears...never realised how out of true they sit, so have shimmed them so the sit a bit more true in the hull,
I have cleaned and epoxied the clutches, so once it stops raining I will give them a try on grass again,
whats the betting the motors wont like it and I will have to replace them .

[jackalope]

Well I have pulled out the gears...never realised how out of true they sit, so have shimmed them so the sit a bit more true in the hull,
I have cleaned and epoxied the clutches, so once it stops raining I will give them a try on grass again,
whats the betting the motors wont like it and I will have to replace them .

At that point you may as well get the 4.1 steel geared gearboxes. I'm thinking all you're going to do is strip those plastic gears when you try to turn on the grass.

[Tricky13]

No stripped gears, but it has revealed that the motors/battery are a bit weak, so I could be on the slippery slope.

[ALPHA]

No stripped gears, but it has revealed that the motors/battery are a bit weak, so I could be on the slippery slope.

Get a stronger Battery first ... you will be surprised at how much more pull the motors have...you can stick with NiMh at 5000 mah
changing motors on a stock tank is a little overkill...now if you add weight..then change the motors

ALPHA

[jackalope]

5200mah batteries is what I use in both of my tanks and they seem to run great! Odd though the Tiger will run for almost 2 hours before it needs to be "refueled" but my King Tiger can only go for a little over an hour and I've tried swapping batteries and the results are the same. I'm thinking its cause my King Tiger is pushing more then 25 pounds where my Tiger is only 21. And to think I still have MORE parts to put on the KT!