BJ4WE Slipper

[DaHomie]

Hi guys, I need your help.
I raced my BJ4WE this weekend and twice during the meeting the slipper clutch came loose.
I have never experienced that problem before but this weekend the entire slipper was brand new so I figure I must have built it wrong somehow.

After it had loosened the first time, I took it apart, replaced the screw, steel nut and spring with new ones and also flipped the pads so that the unused side would be "slipping" to make sure I would not have problems with the glassy surface of the side that had slipped excessively.

I then loctited, the inside of the steel nut with a needle and put everything together.

On the last A-final it came loose again...

Can someone please share with me, and maybe others, details on how to build and set up the BJ4WE slipper clutch correctly so that we don't need to feel worried about it coming loose?

And if I need to loosen the slipper to have more "slip" during a meeting, how do I then make sure it does not come loose after the adjustment?

I would also like to take the opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to all you guys on the forum contributing to help out, you are all fabulous!!


Regards,
Roy

[PaulRotheram]

Did you rebuild the slipper during a race meeting? it's pretty hard to make it fully reliable through a race meeting i'm afraid to say. The one way i've found to make the slipper reliable after it has loosened off in a race meeting is to use glue on the T nut, and leave pleanty of time for it to cure.

The slipper has been a pain for me whilst running the car, there seems to be quite abit of a difference between batches of the slipper hardware (screw,t nut, springs etc) as ive built my own, and also Jimmys slipper exactly the same yet they are completely different (his works, mine backs off!).

The only definate way of a backup for a mid meeting crisis is to have another full slipper assembly ready, however I don't wish to do this my self, either.

i've recently tried to install a thrust bearing on to the screw to make the slipper adjustable and not back off (thanks to mr price for the idea) mid meeting, however ive not had time to test this out. I will let you know wether it works or not when i get chance to have a crack with it.

[jimmy]

I see an article coming paul?

[jcb]

I had similar problems at the Tivvy national with mine. Think I used three or four slippers that day, with varying degrees of success as to how long they would last before they started to slip. Sometimes it would be a couple of laps other times it would happen towards the end of the race.

Like Paul has said I think it must be something to do with the manufactuing tolerances. The one I have in S4 at the moment has performed faultlessly, but was built by the same person and in the same way as the many i had problems with at Tiverton

[DaHomie]

That would be very appreciated because having to be afraid of the slipper backing off was not fun at all...

I also seem to have a problem feeling when the spring is fully compressed (to know where to set it). When I rebuilt the slipper before the meeting I probably overtightened the first T-nut since the ears came off... Is there any trick to know when it is compressed or is it just me that has no "feeling" in my fingers :-)

//Roy

[PaulRotheram]

you can read me like a book jimmy haha!

I can't 'feel' the tension either when screwing it down.. I think this is some type of american witchcraft!!

I normally adjust it bit by bit, get two wrenches in the outdrives and feel how much it is slipping by hand. Alot of it is trial and error untill you get a good feel for it.

Then without overadjusting i'll then test it out in the car by doing either of the two methods as shown above in this thread.

Also, are you using the new 'steel t nut' option part? this seems to be better.. but with the lack of nylon you can't readjust it mid meeting

Stay tuned for a full on article, jimmy blew my cover haha!

[Lee]

Use the metal T-nut, and when you build it as per the manual compress the spring once with a pair of pliers, put a small amount of threadlock on the screw and tighten it 100% then back it off 3/4 of a turn and leave to set over night, buy a spare one also

[DaHomie]

Lee, I use the metal T-nut. I also compressed the spring using pliers. I am not sure however that I got the spring fully compressed since I can still turn the screw when the metal ears on the T-nut touches the bottom of the outdrive. That was what happened on my first T-nut, I snapped the ears right off it when I tightened the screw...
...And I guess it should be extremely hard to turn the screw with the spring fully compressed which in turns means that the spring was not fully compressed even when the metal ears on the T-nut was making contact with the bottom of the outdrive?

[Lee]

Yeah the T nut will touch the botom of the out drive but keep going until the spring is compressed, you will feel it but go easy, then just back it off 3/4 turn.

Also on the nut you snapped the ears off, was it a plastic one or metal?

[DaHomie]

It was the metal one! And ofcourse it will snap every time if I screw it passed the moment when the metal ears touches the bottom of the outdrives.
Could it be an idea to use a thrust washer also on the nut side of the assembly? That way it would not need to screw in so much before compressing the spring fully? Or does that have other "not wanted" side effects?

[Chequered Flag Racing]

Originally Posted by Lee

Use the metal T-nut

what's the part # for the T-Nut?

Anyone tried putting a 'kink' in the end of the diff-screw like Yokomo used to do on the works 91/93? (They may even do it on present day cars but I haven't had 1 for years.)

[Chequered Flag Racing]

Originally Posted by Chequered Flag Racing

what's the part # for the T-Nut?

this it ?




I was just looking for the nut

[Lee]

Thats the baby, its only about $7 i thnk for that kit, worth every penny too!!