"bedding-in" gearboxes

[sfstu]

hi guys..1st real post on here, tho been reading for awhile and this is a really great,friendly forum..
anyway, spent last night bedding in my 3:1 reduction metal gears ready for marrying up with graupner speed 400's for my late model tiger 1..just a couple of observations really but had mixed results doing this mod...
1st i cleaned off grease then applied toothpaste (all i had at the time) and ran 1st box for an hour or so, cleaned it up and it was pretty smooth and easy rolling but there was some slop in 2 or 3 of the cogs so i stripped it down and added some shims, re-assembled to find the box was now tighter than before the bedding in... >:(
the 2nd gearbox was stripped 1st, shims added, THEN bedded in again with toothpaste..once cleaned up this one was perfect (or good enough for me.. )
the 1st gearbox was run again for another hour or so, cleaned and was finally as good as the other gearbox...

similar thing happened last time i stripped down a metal gearbox so for me, i think, in future i wont bother stripping down the gearbox to clean it after bedding-in, i'll leave it assembled and clean it up..leave well alone in other words...!
by the way, i previously have used a cordless drill to run the gear boxes in but this time i used the motors already attached and just run em off a couple of spare batteries i had lying around..much quieter and easier with a better result using battery/motor..
cheers, rgds stuart

[sfstu]

also...
just "lubed" one gearbox with lithium based moly grease(read on another forum) and one with good old 3 in 1 oil and the one with the 3 in 1 oil runs MUCH better, smoother and quieter... is this ok to use..? i thought it was the molybdenum grease that was the stuff to use but it seems to glue up the gearbox(not that much applied..!)
cheers, rgds stuart

[[ICE]monkey]

moly grease is used becouse it does not conduct electricity, so if you dont have gearbox covers it wont short the board if it splashes over it
regards ,ice

[tiger205]

those 3.1 asiatam boxes, are not very well made & put together, the ones i got needed to te pulled apart and realigned, the gears only meshed about 50%, so loads of fiddeling, i did get them working ok, i used moly grease, if they work better with 3.1 oil, like you say stuart, i may well use that when i next pull my Tiger apart, i am planning to put bearings in my homemade 3.1 boxes, so it will be worth giving the 3.1 oil a go, like ice said you need gearbox covers using 3.1 oil, so i guess i will be making some of those aswell

                Tony

[sfstu]

mine were pretty ropey to start with but spin beautifully now.. will be doing covers anyway (got plastic ones in my bulldog just to keep mess off of board)..
wasn't sure about how long the oil will last but not much of a hardship to add a couple of drops from time to time..? they spin so much freer than with the moly grease tho, and after the time spent trying to get the gears to run as smooth and free as possible gonna give it a go..
was thinking of trying bearings on the output shaft where it passes through body of tank but as tank is all painted not sure if doable without harming paint job/weathering...done it on my sons bulldog and is holding up well so far..
cheers guys, stuart

[tiger205]

if your carefull taking off the imitation gear casings behind the drive wheel on your tiger you should not harm your paint job to much, plus you wont see much when drive wheel is back on

      Tony

[sfstu]

thats what i'm hoping for tony.. bought it painted and weathered which is something i have no idea how to do myself...
cheers, stuart

[tiger205]

no worries stuart, if you do need any help or advice, if you do need to repaint and weather it, then we're here to help

                  Tony

[thekeeperofcrows]

Been tinkering with my tiagen tiger 1, and was toying with the idea of adding a little copperslip to the gears....................good idea or bad ?

[Tankie]

Don't use copperslip because it could get on the electronics and short them out, particularly the receiver. I use silicone grease. I also make stiff cardboard gearbox 'cases' covered with ducktape, which of course could solve the first problem, but belt & braces best. The cases cut down the noise.