# Gear problem



## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

First, I am going to say I have never taken one of these apart, so keep that in mind. 

When I opened this brand new, the gear was loose in the package. So, I put it back in, but it keeps popping out.
The secondary idler gear keeps popping out from all the slack in the Cluster gear. Is there a fix for this?







:dude:


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## old blue (May 4, 2007)

That is probably the worst one I have ever seen. If this is a brand new car I would probably exchange it. If not you just need to take the retainer clip off , put the gear plate on a hard surface and use a hammer and nail set to tap down the rivet in the center of the last gear. Tap it gently and check for progress as you go. Too loose is as bad as too tight. 

Good Luck,
Old Blue


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

on the very rear gear of the 3 gear AW cars, I used a hammer and peening tool to tighten up the rear gear.

look like tat may help u as well

some guys replace the post with a screw, then they can set it just right


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

slotking said:


> some guys replace the post with a screw, then they can set it just right


You mean remove the rivet and use a screw in it's place?


:dude:


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

that was weird, 
old blue's post was 40+ minutes before mine, but did not show up when I looked at the post.

yes, they remove the current post(rivet) and replace it.

not sure but there may be a thread already on the BB that list the best screw to use as well


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

What?

Just because it barfed out the second idler while hand rolling it...?


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## dlw (Aug 17, 1999)

Check post #10 in this thread:

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=367239

And you'll get rid off that gear-slop.


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

Thanks for the suggestions. That screw trick looks pretty neat.


:dude:


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

Alright, I used a crown gear puller to press the rivet out. Now to find the right size screw. :tongue:











:dude:


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

Alright, I used a 3/32 drill bit to enlarge the hole in the gear so a 2-56 X 3/16th button head cap screw would fit through the gear without binding. I used a 2-56 tap to thread the hole in the gear plate.



















The screw fits flush on the underside of the plate. I put a small dab of super glue on the end of the screw to keep it from backing out.










I'm happy with the final result. 







:dude:


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Sweet!


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

sticky THIS


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## TGM2054 (May 14, 2011)

NOW I LIKE THAT!!!! I gotta get some of those screws!!! Where did you find those at?


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

TGM2054 said:


> NOW I LIKE THAT!!!! I gotta get some of those screws!!! Where did you find those at?


I get them from Enco. Click on the link.

2-56 X 3/16 Button Head Cap Screw

You get a 100 for $8.19, I use them for reattaching bodies when I do a wheel swap on a Hot Wheel car. 

There is also a little longer one I use sometimes, they are $8.34 for 100.

2-56 X 1/4 Button Head Cap Screw

You can get the 2-56 tap from them also.

2-56 Tapered Tap $4.49

2-56 Bottom Tap $4.68


:dude:


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## TGM2054 (May 14, 2011)

Thanks Travis, A hundred of those will do me for a while.


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

Only down side of using any of these type screws, is that the gear rides/spins on a bit of threaded steel, instead of the smooth shank of the rivet. In the long term, the plastic gear will start wearing grooves(and either enlarge it's hole or create friction?) in it's hole due to the threads.


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

Ralphthe3rd said:


> Only down side of using any of these type screws, is that the gear rides/spins on a bit of threaded steel, instead of the smooth shank of the rivet. In the long term, the plastic gear will start wearing grooves(and either enlarge it's hole or create friction?) in it's hole due to the threads.


You know, I thought that very same thing. And it may turn out that way, only time will tell.

But, if you look at this enlargement of the screw, the "peaks" of the threads appear more rounded than sharp, like you would think they would be. And instead of the gear making full contact with the smooth shaft of the rivet, with the screw it is riding on the ridges, which would be less contact, thus less friction. Plus, the ridges are at and angle (spiral), so they shouldn't cut a (straight) groove into the plastic gear. Does that make sense? LOL! :freak:











:dude:


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

So, do they make a shoulder bolt that would work?


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

Bill Hall said:


> So, do they make a shoulder bolt that would work?


I don't know, that would be ideal, but we are talking about a very tiny screw here...only 3/16 of an inch in length.

:dude:


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

*ummmm...*

Well Travis, I'm glad you thought about it. But think about this, although the steel threads wouldn't cut a straight groove, the spiral action of the thread on the spinning gear would maybe even act like Drill bit or boring auger ? So instead of merely cutting grooves, in time it might act like reaming a larger(oblong) hole ? Just an idea...


travis1960 said:


> You know, I thought that very same thing. And it may turn out that way, only time will tell.
> 
> But, if you look at this enlargement of the screw, the "peaks" of the threads appear more rounded than sharp, like you would think they would be. And instead of the gear making full contact with the smooth shaft of the rivet, with the screw it is riding on the ridges, which would be less contact, thus less friction. Plus, the *ridges are at and angle (spiral), so they shouldn't cut a (straight) groove into the plastic gear.* Does that make sense? LOL! :freak:
> 
> ...


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

Ralphthe3rd said:


> Well Travis, I'm glad you thought about it. But think about this, although the steel threads wouldn't cut a straight groove, the spiral action of the thread on the spinning gear would maybe even act like Drill bit or boring auger ? So instead of merely cutting grooves, in time it might act like reaming a larger(oblong) hole ? Just an idea...


Another good thought, and that may very well happen. Again, time will tell. I am sure there are a lot of better ways to do it, this is just what I tried. It was suggested to tighten up the rivet with a hammer and nail set. That may work better, I don't know.....but knowing me, I would have had a sore thumb and a broken gear. LOL! :tongue:

Heck, if it doesn't last, I will learn from the mistake. 


:dude:


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## TGM2054 (May 14, 2011)

I've tightened them up with the hammer and nail set, it's not easy and usually you get the rivet too tight.
The nice thing about this screw, is, if or when it does wear the gear out, take the screw out and put in a new gear, not a big deal. :thumbsup:


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

I've used the hammer and small nail punch method and it does work but have found there will be fatalities. If using this method, er on the side of caution and leave a small amount of play. One or two light taps too many is all it takes to bind the gear. If this occurs, mop up the tears and get your soldering iron with a pointed tip. Get her good and hot and while holding the iron perpendicular to the underside of the rivet, give the rivet dimple a _very gentle_ push until it sinks a fraction into the plastic. This frees up the business end and the gear.

Perhaps a better alternative uses a steel jaw vice, two small neo dot mags and a small steel ball bearing. Place a mag on each jaw face, opposite each other, with the ball bearing on the face of one of the mags. While squinting to see better, hold the underside of the rivet against the ball bearing and gently tighten the vice until the other mag just contacts the rivet face. From here it's just going by feel. Tighten the vice perhaps 1/8 turn, less is more to begin with. Release the vice enough to remove the gear plate and check the gear play. Repeat as required. I still leave a tiny amount of play because I don't think you can get them completely slop free without binding them.

The latter is my preferred method.

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

*+1 for Jisp*

I myself have used a similar method using a small vice....I found it was alot easier and more controlled than a nail set and hammer.


Jisp said:


> ..*....Perhaps a better alternative uses a steel jaw vice*, two small neo dot mags and a small steel ball bearing. Place a mag on each jaw face, opposite each other, with the ball bearing on the face of one of the mags. While squinting to see better, hold the underside of the rivet against the ball bearing and *gently tighten the vice until the other mag just contacts the rivet face. From here it's just going by feel. *Tighten the vice perhaps 1/8 turn, less is more to begin with. Release the vice enough to remove the gear plate and check the gear play. Repeat as required. I still leave a tiny amount of play because I don't think you can get them completely slop free without binding them.
> 
> The latter is my preferred method.
> 
> ...


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Werks fer me*

The vice ...

...the C-clamp...

... and for delicate work, I like the drill press squeeze for light operations that require a kiss. Just jig up the gear plate and chuck up the appropriate drift.

The benefit being that it allows you to quickly raise the arbor so you can easily monitor progress after squeezing or tapping the rivet.


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

From reading these replies, this seems to be an inherent problem. Has anyone ever contacted the manufacturer to let them know it is a bad design? Or if not a bad design, maybe a flaw in the manufacturing process when they are assembled. 

We are not talking about a $.99 cent toy here, these little cars are expensive. For the price, you would think the quality would be better.

:dude:


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## TGM2054 (May 14, 2011)

They know about it. It's a QC problem. The last half dozen or so that I've gotten have been better but not perfect.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

I'm sure AW would be happy to provide you with warranty service.


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## oneredz (Jan 29, 2012)

QC does/did seem to be a problem, especially with the 4gear chassis. My fix for this problem was to remove the rivet and replace it with an 0-80 x 3/16" flathead phillips screw. I just threaded the screw into the gear plate. The gear only contacts a small patch of the underside of the screw head.

I am just too lazy to get out a drill and my tap set, i wanted to fix this problem with minimal sweat on my part.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

sounds like a real solution. thanx!


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