Horatio
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- #221
I've had a fairly lengthy few weeks without doing any RC.
So today I used my Flexi day off to fit a new clutch on my Baja 5B.
I run a Turtle Racing housing, bell and pinion. The shoes I replaced are the original items that came with the original Kit!!
Bizarrely, an issue crops up where the pinion mates onto the clutch bell. The interface between them is effectively a keyway - a slot and groove.
The problem seems to be that the clutch bell where it comes through the bearing burrs up and gets wider - like it's much softer than the hardened steel pinion it mates to.
So instead of being perfectly right angles, like this _| |_ it's more like _\ /_
This pushes the pinion off the end until it slips, wearing off the end of clutch bell. It's remarkable really, because the pinion bolt and spring washer are very, very burly items - M6. And the keyway is 1/4". (6mm).
Here's how it looks when it fails:
Anyway....
the clutch was coming out - new pins, washers and bolts.
There was good meat left on the clutch, but it was glazed - note the shine. Making me wonder if heat is the source of the keyway issue.
Bearings were cleaned out and re-lubed while it was all apart. I had brake/carb cleaner on the bench anyway for the carrier, so the bearings were getting it!
Cheats way of locking the gears during maintenance.
Piston stop is a useful tool if you're working on the clutch.
Plug looks a nice colour - chocolate brown. 1:32 ratio works fine with my fully synthetic Silkolene 2 stroke mix.
Time to charge up the bomb proof 6v 5000mah NiMH - on my trusty vintage charger.
All back together - might try out some speed runs on this beast on the weekend.
Very loud ones at that. 
So today I used my Flexi day off to fit a new clutch on my Baja 5B.
I run a Turtle Racing housing, bell and pinion. The shoes I replaced are the original items that came with the original Kit!!
Bizarrely, an issue crops up where the pinion mates onto the clutch bell. The interface between them is effectively a keyway - a slot and groove.
The problem seems to be that the clutch bell where it comes through the bearing burrs up and gets wider - like it's much softer than the hardened steel pinion it mates to.
So instead of being perfectly right angles, like this _| |_ it's more like _\ /_
This pushes the pinion off the end until it slips, wearing off the end of clutch bell. It's remarkable really, because the pinion bolt and spring washer are very, very burly items - M6. And the keyway is 1/4". (6mm).
Here's how it looks when it fails:
Anyway....
the clutch was coming out - new pins, washers and bolts.
There was good meat left on the clutch, but it was glazed - note the shine. Making me wonder if heat is the source of the keyway issue.
Bearings were cleaned out and re-lubed while it was all apart. I had brake/carb cleaner on the bench anyway for the carrier, so the bearings were getting it!
Cheats way of locking the gears during maintenance.
Piston stop is a useful tool if you're working on the clutch.
Plug looks a nice colour - chocolate brown. 1:32 ratio works fine with my fully synthetic Silkolene 2 stroke mix.
Time to charge up the bomb proof 6v 5000mah NiMH - on my trusty vintage charger.
All back together - might try out some speed runs on this beast on the weekend.
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