Fat Freddy Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 The transmission on my Element Enduro has started to sound a bit noisy so I decided to investigate. After ruling out the rear axle and the front diff, I had a look inside the gearbox. I really couldn’t see anything wrong except a bit of corrosion on the outer bearings which carry the…..( as I’m writing this I realise I don’t know the correct terms for what I’m describing 🤦♂️🤣)…. bits that the drive shafts bolt to. (?) It’s a fair bet that these two bearings are the culprits. I’m pretty sure I have some correct size bearings to replace them, somewhere, but while I was looking, I found a bag of bronze bushings that had come with a kit ages ago. I’d swapped them for “proper” bearings at the time. It crosses my mind that bushes don’t rust and it’s not as if crawlers need to move fast. Whilst they do offer more resistance than a bearing in good condition, it’s probably less drag than bearings which are binding badly enough to create a loud screeching noise. So, what do you folks think? Bush or bearing? (btw, I’m not proposing to swap all bearings for bushes, just the ones that are most likely to be exposed to water and grime). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone-wolf Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 Im a bit of a fan of oil bushes in crawlers that will be run it water and such, my old carisma ford F-150 has a lot of bronze bushes and has not failed yet 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Freddy Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 1 minute ago, Lone-wolf said: Im a bit of a fan of oil bushes in crawlers that will be run it water and such, my old carisma ford F-150 has a lot of bronze bushes and has not failed yet So that’s Bushes 1- Bearings 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bajadre Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 not a crawler myself freddy but have to agree with lone on this esp running in the wet and mud defo bushes over bearings, on smooth surfaces where the roll resistance matters then bearings ie bashing or racing/tarmac 👍less moving parts in bushes 😎 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Freddy Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 1 minute ago, Bajadre said: not a crawler myself freddy but have to agree with lone on this esp running in the wet and mud defo bushes over bearings, on smooth surfaces where the roll resistance matters then bearings ie bashing or racing/tarmac 👍less moving parts in bushes 😎 2-0 to the bushes 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 very interesting question Freddy normally i would change bushings out for bearings but you got me thinking as bearings dont like water,mud and grit so i guess another vote for bushings in a crawler etc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shergar Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 Bearings all day long. But rubber shielded, not just metal ones. There so cheap these days they don’t seem to have gone up in price since the 1980’s either. Im stripping my TRX4 at the moment, I will post what the bearings look like when I pull them out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Freddy Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 1 hour ago, Stormbringer said: very interesting question Freddy normally i would change bushings out for bearings but you got me thinking as bearings dont like water,mud and grit so i guess another vote for bushings in a crawler etc All my instincts lean toward bearings. Remember how exotic “ball race kits” were back in the day? I’ve always swapped bushings for bearings but it just struck me that maybe for this particular application they aren’t so much of an upgrade. 1 hour ago, Shergar said: Bearings all day long. But rubber shielded, not just metal ones. There so cheap these days they don’t seem to have gone up in price since the 1980’s either. Im stripping my TRX4 at the moment, I will post what the bearings look like when I pull them out. I think these are rubber shielded. I won’t replace any of the inner bearings which won’t get wet and muddy, I’d expect them to last years. So that’s 3-1 to the bushes so far. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 7 minutes ago, Fat Freddy said: All my instincts lean toward bearings. Remember how exotic “ball race kits” were back in the day? I’ve always swapped bushings for bearings but it just struck me that maybe for this particular application they aren’t so much of an upgrade. I think these are rubber shielded. I won’t replace any of the inner bearings which won’t get wet and muddy, I’d expect them to last years. So that’s 3-1 to the bushes so far. Maybe its force of habit moving from bushes to bearings back in the day 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 2 hours ago, Shergar said: There so cheap these days they don’t seem to have gone up in price since the 1980’s either. Tell Traxxas that….. https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/351702/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyUK Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 It's a case of horses for courses. There are many situations where bushes are better than bearings and vice versa. Speed and clean conditions is better with bearings, rubber sealed. Gearbox (and most diffs) internals can be the metal sealed type because the grease/oil inside the gearbox will seep into the bearings and keep them lubed. Many brass type bushes have self lubricating properties so are ideal for crawler wheels. Personally though, I use bearings in everything and check/oil after three trips. The trx4 brushed motors have brass bushes and get a drop of 3in1 oil after every third outing, no wear after 2 years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bajadre Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 Quote All my instincts lean toward bearings. Remember how exotic “ball race kits” were back in the day? I’ve always swapped bushings for bearings but it just struck me that maybe for this particular application they aren’t so much of an upgrade. so true matey considering the speed of the average crawler goes different with onroad kits you need to upgrade the bushing as they cause resistance like in the tamiya road kits why they brought out the race bearing kits etc every else from crawlers defo bearings for less roll resistance 👍example if i stuck bushings in my 6s truggy the wheel hubs would start to melt at 50mph lol 😂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shergar Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 https://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/forums/topic/250265-shergar’s-trx-4/?&page=3#comments A quick run down on 6 months of a well enjoyed, and well soaked crawlers bearings. The abridged version? ….better than expected! Seem to spin freely enough, no imminent failure but you can feel they have a slight grinding feel. I will fit a replacement set regardless from RC bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 Sealed stainless bearings are so cheap that you might just as well chop over to them. Sealed bearings do have quite a bit of drag but running them on something slow will be unnoticeable. Igus bushes would be something interesting to try as they're maintenence free, cheap and available in a squillion sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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