D4 Noise
 

How noisy are peoples D4's? Mine has always been a bit of a screamer at high speed and rattles a bit at slow speed. Looks to me like that central drive rods that go into the slipper have a bit of movement etc. Suspect it is all normal, just wondered. The only other 4wd cars at my track are belt driven so i have nothing to compare it to.

could be a bit of rattle in the driveshafts at slow speed if the car is a bit old and worn. Main thing to listen for is clicking/crunching under acceleration, that will mean you have stripped the crown gear in one of the gearboxes. Make sure the slipper is giving a bit under hard acceleration to protect the gears

Cheers Jim, thats what i thought as the diffs are smooth. I shimmed the gears nice and tight so should have no crown issues, but thinking about it that may not help with noise i guess.

there may be where the problem lies..... try shimming the diffs so they feel free (the car should roll a good few feet when pushed but doesnt click if you holt the spur and try to turn a wheel) also use grease in the gear boxes and check the spur pinion mesh.

I'll give that a go, in my old zx5 i was told to shim the diffs nice and tight as they were well known for stripping teeth. I shall crack it open and have a good look

I Bet its the pinion your using mate, they can make loads of noise on my D4, if I use an 18t it will be loud but if I put on the 17t it becomes a lot quieter, but this was with those RW pinions but now I use the Edit pinions as they are the same width as the spur and these are dead silent.
Try it and see - Rob.

the edit pinions are nice but if you race on an astro track that has any sand on it then you can kiss them goodbye. Get a grain in the mesh and it destroys the soft alloy of the pinion, i went through 3 in one meeting!

A nice fresh pinion should be ok. Older ones that are a little worn can be noisy. Also check the spur all round to make sure there isn't any little stones in it

Most of my Edit pinions have 'sand damage' and sound fine. As long as you get the grit out straight after the run it should be fine.
It could be something as simple as the make of pinions you have that causes the screaming noise. I once had some RW pinions and they made a horrid noise. Once I got some new one (different make) the noise dissapeared.
OR, the mesh is too tight. try loosening the mesh on the spur/pinion.

Other than that Id do as suggested re-shim the diffs. and also make sure you don't over tighten the gearbox tops. This can cause them to clamp the bearings and cause them to bind.
The rattling noise probably is just loose shafts clattering on the outdrives. may be woth getting some of the Edit litghweight versions and use the drive blades on the shafts. it nothing to worry about really. I've been running my Cyber with loose shafts for the whole of this season and it hasn't caused any problems. :)

Cheers all for the responses. Interestingly i have been using RW Pinions so may order a replacement. Track is a little sandy however to so will avoid Edit.

Telboy - Thanks for the advice. I have some spare Edit outdrives, but am not sure what you mean by blades. I was warned the driveshafts can brake the blades if i don't cover the driveshafts in heatshrink, but as i couldn't work out what blades were i gave up!

These are the blades. :)

http://www.hbeurope.com/piw.php?partNo=61333&lang=en

There are others, but we've found that these are the best and last well. They fit on the diff end of the driveshaft. It stops the outdrives wearing. :)

Cheers Telboy much appreciated :)

Hey all

Still having a few issues with noise on my D4. I think the pinion is the cause of my original problems, however since opening the rear diff casing, greasing and re-shimming I have a new rather loud noise. The car sounds like it is petrol powered! It is hard to describe, but when i was a small kid i used to put a bit of card on the back of my bike so it rubbed the tyre and sounded like a motor. It sounds like that!

I have changed the gears etc, but still the noise remains. Ran a whole race meeting with it today and the gears are fine. It is definatly coming from the back.

I wonder if it is the casing rubbing, but not sure why this should be the case now as it is not new


I plan to take a bit off at a time and see when the noise stops, thought I would ask if anyone has any ideas too?

Thanks

Dave

undo the screws at on the top deck at the rear you may have them in the wrong way one is longer thabn other it maybe catching the crown wheel.

stu

other than that hows it going

Cheers Stu, could well be that as i took them out when i did the diff. Going well, has taken me to the next level of driving i would say. I am not going to win a regional, but have defo improved. Thinking about taking it to the EPR winter race series to see how i can do at another track :)

that would be good that car finished 4th at its maiden reginal at epr it got beaten by ellis stafford grant williams and andy carter car was very good round there.

stu

Quite a lot to live up to then! I will be aiming to finish :)