Lets fix the Savage Transmission

[lincpimp]

Originally Posted by JasonB

Option 3 was a success! I am very happy with this mod. Thanks for the tip linc!

The truck has never run so quiet, which tells me there is no more gear on gear grinding inside the tranny. The truck is so silent, even at WOT, that it is hard to believe it's a FLUX.

After 6 runs, I opened up the tranny, and there are zero signs of gear wear. Only down side I can see to this mod is I will need to totally seal up the tranny to keep the lube from seeping out. Those high RPMs fling that stuff so hard that it even slides past the bearings. Pictures tell the story.
Attachment 9721Attachment 9722Attachment 9723Attachment 9724

I cleaned it up and sealed the top half to the bottom half after taking these pics. Next time I break it down, I'll look into sealing the bearings into the holders and onto the gear shafts. That should prevent the lube from sliding past the bearings, but will not hender the bearings from doing thier job.

What kind of oil/lube are you using?

Back in the day, Sikeston34m was using stp oil sabilizer. Thick stuff, and it really sticks to the gears. He was not having a leak issue like you are having, and all he did was use rubber sealed bearings. Pretty sure the stock bearins are rubber sealed in the flux anyways.

Glad to hear it is working well, metal gears need oil. I think using some rtv silicone would seal it all up well. I would smear some on the shafts where the bearins sit, and where the bearing contact with the case. And on the case halves too. Maybe just use some bearing grease between the top and bottom cases, so they can come apart easily.

Should make those gears last!!!

[JasonB]

Originally Posted by lincpimp

What kind of oil/lube are you using?

Back in the day, Sikeston34m was using stp oil sabilizer. Thick stuff, and it really sticks to the gears. He was not having a leak issue like you are having, and all he did was use rubber sealed bearings. Pretty sure the stock bearins are rubber sealed in the flux anyways.

I'm using STP Oil Treatment (link) and stock rubber sealed bearings. Perhaps Sikeston was running less RPMs back then. Mine leaked like a sieve, everywhere except the parts I had siliconed together. My transmission has seen over 1 year of heavy use, so perhaps a new transmission won't leak as bad. I think I can seal it up well, but that will take a complete break down and clean up again . . . for that I'll wait till this gear gives up it's ghost which hopefully won't be for a very long time.

[JasonB]

I decided to take the tranny out to clean up the sticky oil and stuck on sand and take another look at the gears inside. Since I've sealed up the case, I use the adjustment holes to check the oil and peak at the gears (hex driver makes a great dip stick). Still zero gear wear after more than a dozen runs. I'm thinking these gears are going to last for a very long time. Only thing I can see breaking them now is too much torque shearing off the teeth from locking up the tires or doing several back flips or something of that nature.

Why check the oil? Well it's gradually being forced past the bearings, so I'm just making sure there is still enough left in there to do the job. Perhaps it will get low enough that it stops leaking but still keeps the gears lubed. It's down to under 1/4" so I think it's getting close to that point. Already have a permanent fix in mind for the bearings, but I'm not ready to totally break down the case, degrease it, clean off the old RTV, etc, etc yet.

[ljoncp]

Do you think white lithium grease would work as good as the STP oil treatment?

[JasonB]

I don't think any kind of grease will stick at those RPMs, but who knows. Like someone mentioned earlier they make grease sticky enough to stick to a motorcycle chain.

I found the link to redshift's comments on the STP stuff; it's ear the bottom of the thread. Sounds like less is more. (http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20896)