go kart differential... to grease? or not to grease...

J

JKautoFab

Active Member
#1
#1

of course i grease everything, but i know i have to take apart this go kart diff to put new grease in it...

im lazy, and dont want to go through the trouble. the diff seems to work as it should, and has some newish looking RTV sealing it

I know this kart sat outside for a while, but if it turns freely still, then the grease probably isnt glue yet... right?

someone tell me its ok not to take absolutely everything apart to fix it... i am so tired of taking EVERYTHING apart.
 
Shawnster

Shawnster

Member
#2
#2

I would take it apart because (A.) As you said, it's been sitting out for awhile. (B.) You said there was what looked to be new sealant which means it was taken apart and you never know what the previous owner may have done. (C.) He or She could have used the wrong lubrication and or may not have used enough. (D.) Even though it may seem to work properly, the diff may not have been reassembled correctly or had a shoddy repair.
Plus it's just cheap insurance and piece of mind.

Shawn
 
Last edited:
thejoker

thejoker

#3
#3

Shawnster said:
I would take it apart because (A.) As you said, it's been sitting out for awhile. (B.) You said there was what looked to be new sealant which means it was taken apart and you never know what the previous owner may have done. (C.) He or She could have used the wrong lubrication and or may not have used enough. (D.) Even though it may seem to work properly, the diff may not have been reassembled correctly or had a shoddy repair.
Plus it's just cheap insurance and piece of mind.

Shawn
Click to expand...
I agree
 
J

JKautoFab

Active Member
#4
#4

the last one i took apart, granted was much worse shape, but is still sitting in pieces because i couldnt get any of the bearings or hubs off. rust has welded solid everything. it only has a single brake disc and i was going to add a double drum setup off another kart i have but ill have to cut and splice the axle to be able to get them on there....


BAH dagnabbit.

i know i saw a thread about it recently about the type of grease you are supposed to use. so i guess regular high temp isnt gonna cut it? i know some of the higher end grease ive used, molybdenum was real good stuff.

a friend came over yesterday and demanded i let him work on a chinese dirtbike i have. told him everything that would need to be checked to be fixed and he kept wanting to skip things, thinking they would be "good enough" but every time i told him he had to, sure enough it would fall apart as you started to disassemble. the glue holding the air filter together had stopped being glue probably a few minutes after it left the factory, and the foam was starting to disintegrate. of course ive got my steady supply of foam and hot glue!

its my fault, i buy nothing but junk and complain when i have to fix it! oh well the price was right....
 
jeep2003

jeep2003

#6
#6

i dont think id worry too much about it. Iv built plenty of karts without checking them out first. If it feels tight and doesnt spin super easy then there must be some grease making resistance. the main thing is that it has all 4 bolts in it. if not the spiders will move around and wreck the case
 
steven Durham

steven Durham

#9
#9

All this reminds me of the long ago time when a $.50 bearing failed in the last lap of the Indy 500 and Andy Granatelli's gas turbine car didn't win the race. LOL That is why you have all the tools hammers, punches and saws And liquid wrench
Steve
 
minibikegi

minibikegi

New Member
#10
#10

whenever I see bubble-gummed blue silicone squeezed outta a component, I just gotta see whats inside!
 
Outlaw Ace

Outlaw Ace

#11
#11

I hear ya on the having to take everything apart but it's part of it unless you want to buy new inferior crap or buy something another person built and not know just how far they went before huckenpuccying the thing back together. I too am tired of going through stuff so I vowed to freshen up older projects and try not to buy anything else. I took a Super Tryke apart and redid the diff and that's about as far as I got before I decided that going further would cost too much for a machine that will beat my back up like go-karts since it's the low seat stirrup on the forks foot rest model. You have to decide what's best for you and do just that, I'm just not that ambitious any more so I'm taking the easy route. You'll make the right decision or regret the one you make, either way you have to work on stuff to some extent eventually. Good luck.
JKautoFab said:
of course i grease everything, but i know i have to take apart this go kart diff to put new grease in it...

im lazy, and dont want to go through the trouble. the diff seems to work as it should, and has some newish looking RTV sealing it

I know this kart sat outside for a while, but if it turns freely still, then the grease probably isnt glue yet... right?

someone tell me its ok not to take absolutely everything apart to fix it... i am so tired of taking EVERYTHING apart.
Click to expand...
 
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