Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

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seb4
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Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by seb4 »

So I bought the Taigen 3.1 PRO steel gearbox with 380er engines for my Heng Long Leopard 2a6.

When it arrived there was already some play on the drive shafts.
Also one of the gearboxes, the left one, did not run smooth and makes too much noise.

I can feel it when I turn the sprocket with my hands. The gearbox seems to be jamming at first, then it moves. It has become better now after using it for one month, but there is still that weird sound. Maybe this is not important, after all the tank rides fine.

The other gearbox is running good, it moves smooth without friction and makes no weird noise.
For one month there were no problems, the drive shafts clearly wobbled, but the tank was driving ok. Then one of the tracks broke. These tracks were also just one month in use.

In contrast, the standard plastic Heng Long gearbox was just fine. I used it for two months and there was no wobbling at all, and the tracks delivered are still good. It suffered as bad as the Taigen one from driving through the same terrain: mud and wet clay.

So I am wondering if this copy of the Taigen gearbox is a dud or is it a combination of factors. I really do not know if the track breaking has something to do with it. Maybe that track was also a dud. Maybe I over-stressed the track with this wet mud terrain.

As for now, I have a few options:
Put the Taigen motors on the Heng Long plastic gearboxes and see what that does.

Replace the Taigen drive shafts with new ones. (will not solve the somewhat stiff left gearbox).

Buy axle supports.

As you see I am a bit at a loss what do to. I apologize for such a long question. English is not my native language, making it hard for me to describe the problems.
desmo16
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Re: Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by desmo16 »

Hello, I had a problem like that with my tiger1 Taigen with the 4: 1 ratio. In the end I replaced an engine that does not work well, basically a copper filament had been broken inside the engine, until it broke completely on the transmission shaft. If I were you I would try to reverse the engines and see if the problem is actually the engine.
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43rdRecceReg
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Re: Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

In Britain, we have had news reports in the past of Trains not being able to run properly, or at all, when we had the 'wrong kind of snow' on the tracks. :crazy: The network can also grind to a halt, with leaves on the tracks in the Fall.
On this basis, maybe you had the 'wrong kind of mud'. :). The really abrasive kind. ;)
As an incidental, do you oil or grease your gearbox bearings/gears regularly? Dry PTFE works well, and even the Tamiya grease that comes with kits. seems to keep wear down.
In general, however, 'Pro' is added to many product descriptions these days- even face creams :/ , to give a reassurance of quality.
Taigen steel gears seem to garner good responses, in the main. They should, as they are not 'gut und billig'- cheap. As with all things made in China these days, quality control is variable. So, it may have been a case of bad luck. The basic plastic gears often give good and trustworthy service, at a fraction of the price.
In the last two years, or so, I've dipped my toes into the Tamiya 'full-option' pool of tanking options. To me, the gearboxes feel, and look, better made. That is, with tighter tolerances, and the feel of precision.
That said, I think the King Tiger units had a known problem at one time. In all, though, they do tend inspire one with a little confidence that they will get through 'thick and thin', (mud, snow, and so on) season after season.
Your English is fine, by the way. :thumbup:
Last edited by 43rdRecceReg on Mon Feb 11, 2019 2:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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seb4
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Re: Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by seb4 »

desmo16 wrote:Hello, I had a problem like that with my tiger1 Taigen with the 4: 1 ratio. In the end I replaced an engine that does not work well, basically a copper filament had been broken inside the engine, until it broke completely on the transmission shaft. If I were you I would try to reverse the engines and see if the problem is actually the engine.
thank you. I will take a look at that.
seb4
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Re: Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by seb4 »

43rdRecceReg wrote:In Britain, we have had news reports in the past of Trains not being able to run properly, or at all, when we had the 'wrong kind of snow' on the tracks. :crazy: The network can also grind to a halt, with leaves on the tracks in the Fall.
On this basis, maybe you had the 'wrong kind of mud'. :). The really abrasive kind. ;)
As an incidental, do you oil or grease your gearbox bearings/gears regularly? Dry PTFE works well, and even the Tamiya grease that comes with kits. seems to keep wear down.
In general, however, 'Pro' is added to many product descriptions these days- even face creams :/ , to give a reassurance of quality.
Taigen steel gears seem to garner good responses, in the main. They should, as they are not 'gut und billig'- cheap. As with all things made in China these days, quality control is variable. So, it may have been a case of bad luck. The basic plastic gears often give good and trustworthy service, at a fraction of the price.
In the last two years, or so, I've dipped my toes into the Tamiya 'full-option' pool of tanking options. To me, the gearboxes feel, and look, better made. That is, with tighter tolerances, and the feel of precision.
That said, I think the King Tiger units had a known problem at one time. In all, though, they do tend inspire one with a little confidence that they will get through 'thick and thin', (mud, snow, and so on) season after season.
You're English is fine, by the way. :thumbup:
Thanks for your answer, it is helpful and reassuring. I will probably run this gearbox for a while on more forgiving terrain. If needed then I change it for the plastic gearbox or a cheap metal one from Heng Long.
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Son of a gun-ner
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Re: Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by Son of a gun-ner »

I have found that the left boxes of a few of my Heng Long tanks are tighter for some reason.
I know you have Taigen boxes, but looking at their construction, I wouldn't be surprised if they were made in the same factory.

I haven't looked into it yet, but my gut tells me that some makes of left gearboxes are made a little tighter with the different tooling needed to make the side plates. In other words, when the plates have their shaft holes stamped in them before they get bent, some holes are a little closer on the left box. Also the motor is in a different position, therefore the location holes for that could be closer/tighter.

As for your new track breaking, it could have had a weak link, but, it's more likely that as steel geared boxes don't have the clutch that the plastic boxes do, when you used to drive over the same area, your plastic boxes "slipped" and saved your tracks from breaking, but now with your new boxes, you don't have that "safety" backup.
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Re: Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by seb4 »

Thank you. I will check that. The right box was worse as the left from the beginning. Disappointing for such a price. I will buy a Heng Long metal one for when this one is worn out.

Like you said the tracks were probably over stressed too: viewtopic.php?f=33&t=26504 That swamp clay was too bad for a rc tank I guess.

The Heng Long metal ones are not as good as the steel ones- but I can buy two sets of them and they still cost less as this Taigen one I bought: https://www.rctank.de/Leopard-2A6-31-PR ... -axles-low
Last edited by seb4 on Mon Feb 11, 2019 4:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by Son of a gun-ner »

Oh, this wasn't one of the cheaper Taigen boxes?

Like I said, I haven't looked into the reasons why. But if your tank still drives in a straight line like it did before you changed boxes, I wouldn't worry too much about it, the boxes should smooth out over time and use.

Sadly straight cut gear teeth are inherently noisy, made worse because they don't run in oil.

Car gearboxes gears are usually helical for two reasons, one, more tooth contact area for gear width, and two, less noise. But then again, the teeth on those gears are also smooth faced.
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Re: Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by General Jumbo01 »

Personally, l wouldn't use the HengLong metal gearboxes as they are rather low on material quality. The Taigen boxes use better metals, reflected in their prices, but l guess you can always be unlucky and get a defective one. Why not send it back?

The HengLong nylon geared boxes run quite well and, unless you can't live with their gear ratios, I'd suggest you use them until they break. The Taigen model names, although they sound like gear ratios, are not (yes, l was fooled too).

Generally, all of the HL/Taigen/Torro motor and gearbox units are of basic quality. It may be possible to simply replace the motors with a quality 'can' with lower turns that would provide lower speeds and more torque but l'm not yet familiar with smaller sized units yet.

Always add a tiny spot of oil on both ends of the armature shaft bearings and then feel free to grease liberally the gearbox gears. Try to use a light weight grease that doesn't attack plastics - if you can find a Teflon grease this will be perfect but otherwise some model train greased do a good job.

Unfortunately, cheap brushed motors without ball races will always be noisey but l don't know the smaller brushless cans yet so cant recommend one, but with two brushless escs you'd have to get an 'open' spec MFU. Hope this helps.

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seb4
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Re: Bad Taigen gearbox or just a bad track?

Post by seb4 »

Son of a gun-ner wrote:Oh, this wasn't one of the cheaper Taigen boxes?

Like I said, I haven't looked into the reasons why. But if your tank still drives in a straight line like it did before you changed boxes, I wouldn't worry too much about it, the boxes should smooth out over time and use.

Sadly straight cut gear teeth are inherently noisy, made worse because they don't run in oil.

Car gearboxes gears are usually helical for two reasons, one, more tooth contact area for gear width, and two, less noise. But then again, the teeth on those gears are also smooth faced.
No this is the 3.1 PRO steel gearbox: https://www.rctank.de/Leopard-2A6-31-PR ... -axles-low

The tank drives in a straight line, but there is more wobbling as with the Heng Long plastic one.
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