TRF 501X thrust bearing #9949300?

[Howard1650]

After a fantastically enjoyable day at Worksop, (thanks to the organisers and everyone that help to make the event run smoothly.) I stripped down my ball diffs because they were unscrewing and losing all drive. After a quick inspection it was clear that the small thrust bearings had failed on both the front and rear. Although the thrust bearings were still in one piece, the outer cage had cracked. The rest of the parts were clean and looked ok. I rain the diffs tight (may be too tight) and, combined with very little grease on the thrust bearing, believe this extra load cause the failure.
For the re-build I will used the standard Tamiya parts, but is there a better alternative to the thrust bearing #9949300? This part is used on a lot of Tamiya cars.
I will also loosen the slipper to relieve the stress on the drive train, and remove the small pips in the diff pulley which could be touching the diff plate.

[jimmy]

Never seen one of these crack so you must have cranked them a bit I don't think you'll get much better tbh, they are fine - just go easy and use some quality grease in there next time - either black grease or the tamiya anti-wear grease.

[edvin]

Do not overtighten it. You can feel when spring is fully compressed, afterwards do not tighten it any more! This is very good and reliable bearing.

[AaronR]

Last time I ordered from RC Market in HK, I ordered 10 of these $2 USD thrust bearings...

http://rcmarket.com.hk/index.php?cPath=51_98_120_176

Are the ceramic bearings really worth the extra $5 USD? Not for me. I just replace the thrust bearings (and diff nut) every time I rebuild a diff. Cheap enough and cheap insurance.

[SidewaysLS4]

Yeah, seems like the standard thrust bearing is fine...but thanks for that link...less than 1/2 what I paid for my ceramic diff balls, I'll keep it in mind for the future!

[Spoolio]

Glad you enjoyed the day, I thought your 501 sounded a bit off towards the end of the qualifiers and we had a brief chat as everyone was packing up, had the diff balls squared off too or was it just the thrust races that had given up?

On my Durga I've found the thrust races were the only part of my original diffs that were salvageable - just make sure they are adequately lubed with your choice of grease (I'm just using kit ball diff grease) and don't overtighten that stupid screw. I built mine with enough pressure just not to slip, then tighten them after a run as it'll have bedding in a little.