B44 building questions.

[zaquiz]

I have just finished building my B44 and I have two issues.

The first one is regarding the differentials adjustment. Since there not much text in the manual, i have to ask if I have understood the pictures right. The right adjustment is 3/4 of a turn less than fully tightened? The star at -1/8 is the one that makes me wonder... does this mean this is the starting point?

Second question. After fully tighting the six screws on the rear gearbox the feeling is quite hard. It doesn’t feel completely smooth. Is this normal? I have gone through the process a few times and all shims etc are in the right place. What can be wrong?

Thx

[Mike Hudson]

You tighten up the diff fully then loosen 1/8 of a turn
As for your rear gearbox it may need bedding in, it should feel nice and silky after first few runs of the car if not then it may be the outer edges of the bevels on the ring and pinion gear that are causing the stiffness.
This was discussed on an earlier thread and was said that if you carefully take some material off the outer edge of the gears. Particularly on the ring gear and give it a slight "bevel" on the outer edge then this should sort out the tight notchy feel.

Hope this helps

Mike

[zaquiz]

Ok, so fully tightned and 1/8 turno off!

So I can try running the car, even though the tight notchy feel, and then check after a few runs if it feels smoother?!

[Southwell]

You check it after a few mins of running. Have you got the diff rings the right way round? I assume their handed like a B4, it shouldn't be notchy.

[Zedman]

I assume you have the problem sorted by now but to any new owners this may be helpfull

Shims are for shimming so use them to adjust the mesh in the gear box, if it feels a bit notchy try removing one shim from the gear side assemble the gear box and see if its smoother, also check there is no side to side movement, fit and remove as needed till no side to side play but the gear mesh still feels smooth, after a few runs when everything has bedded check and re-shim as needed

[zaquiz]

Thanks, all sorted out by now. Did my first podium (3rd) in the Spanish championships first leg some days after the post. But this after spoiling two qualifiers because of to "un-tight adjustment" of the gears, which made them start making a awful noise and finally breaking completely. I understand that another reason for this was a too tight setting of slipper and a 4.5R...

[Zedman]

Set my diffs to 1/8 off full as per the manual but I seem to get no slip when I manualy turn the wheels even with pretty hard effort ( I stopped before they slipped in fear of breaking something ), should I back it off some more or does the "locked diffs" work ok ?

[Rich D]

The diff shouldnt slip at all - thats the job of the slipper clutch.

Hold the left back wheel with your left hand, use the thumb of your left hand to jam the spur gear, now try and turn the right rear wheel with your right hand. It should be almost impossible to turn using moderate force. If its slipping easily then your diff needs tightening a little.

Back the slipper right off and run your car on some grass or other high grip surface. the slipper will be slipping like mad at this point. Now slowly tighten it a bit at a time until there is just the smallest amount of slip before the car accelerates forward. This will protect your gears when landing from jumps etc and is the correct setting for the slipper.

HTH

[Jamie B4]

When i built mine i didnt take any notice of the book and basically did the diff to the feel and as long as you take your time and adjust if necessary this is better - also be aware that it does back itself off when you run it a few times and so readjust