Troubleshooting: DB01

[Miguel]

Hi Guys,
I'm a newbie and just bought and assembled a new Durga DB01 and I'm running a Yeah Racing brushless 10T with tamiya slipper clutch and Lipo.

My first 2 test runs were brilliant, everything worked perfectly, the car flew and I started tweaking the camber and steering angles and generally I was having a great old time.

However after my 3rd run in a gravel car park and then on smooth dirt surface the transmission started making a clicking noise so I stopped driving. :(

I took the spur gear cover and gearbox covers off to inspect but nothing looked out of the ordinary. I took the opportunity to tighten the drive belt tension by 1 click and applied a bit more grease to the diffs.

I then took it for a run and now the clicking has almost disappeared but now the drive isn't going to the wheels 100%. It's as if the motor is spinning hard but the car is only travelling at about 20% full speed. I thought it would be something to do with the slipper clutch so I've tried it on a variety of adjustments but nothing seems to work.

Please help, very frustrated don't what to do from here...

cheers,

Miguel

[tahe]

You said you applied grease to the diffs.

What kind of grease?

If you don't use the correct diff grease and don't tighten the diffs correctly again afterwards, the diff balls will slip. This will also wear out the diffs very quickly.

Try disassembling the diffs and see whether it looks like the balls are slipping. If you used the wrong grease, you'll need to clean it off completely and reassemble using the correct grease. Also check that the balls are still round and that they have not worn grooves into the plates.
The manual also shows you how to test each diff for correct tightening. You can take the diffs out and test that they don't slip before disassembling them.

Apart from that, you can see where the transmission slips by holding the car with the body off to the ground and gently applying throttle for a very short moment. Where does the drive train stop moving? Of course, doing this for more than an instant with more than a very low throttle may very well wear out or break something, so be careful and keep the car pointed in a safe direction.

[tahe]

Here's a copy of the manual:

http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcmanual/58395_db01.pdf

Check out page 5.

This picture is from that page and shows you how to test each diff for slipping:

17684

But if you did not use diff grease, just disassemble each diff, degrease, check for wear and rebuild. The more you test, the more you will wear them out.

[F1END]

Did you actually take the diff apart to add the grease? Do the diffs work ?(i.e. when you turn a wheel, the opposite side turns in reverse)

I could be wrong, but sounds to me like a case of Durga-diff. Due to the fact they are half plastic, if they aren't assembled just right, durga diffs can create so much heat they melt the pulley. Has happened to me twice. One time the diff completely fell apart, the other time, it looked fine till i took it apart.

To make sure it can't happen again (if it is that, or even if not, this is a good idea) get a set of metal diff halves, either the 501x part or the 3Racing one, and a set of ceramic diff-balls. It's mainly the rear that needs it, but if you can afford to do both, do.

Only other possibility I can think of... you didn't put grease in your slipper did you?! :p

[Miguel]

Thanks guys,
I'll check the diffs as instructed and hopefully I"ll find the problem.

I'm sure I used the correct diff ball grease so at least I wont have to wash off the grease... and I definitely didn't melt the spur gear.

Thanks a lot for the responses, it's great to have a forum like this where you can easily get advice. :)

Miguel

[Miguel]

Thanks Guys - sorted. My DB01 is back on the (dirt) road again. I think the diffs must have just loosened up after my first test runs.

cheers,

MM

[mattybucks]

Thanks Guys - sorted. My DB01 is back on the (dirt) road again. I think the diffs must have just loosened up after my first test runs.

cheers,

MM

It might be the photo but it looks like rear nearside camber needs taking in a bit.

[Miguel]

Yeah at that point I was experimenting to try and make it as oversteery as possible. I'll checkout the setup threads to find a sensible setting.

[tahe]

Nice looking body shell. :thumbsup:

[Miguel]

cheers,
Here's a better pic.

Is there a DB-01 gallery, the galleries should be sticky I reckon to show examples of cool shells.

Miguel