Challenger 2 issues. AGAIN

[Sappo]

I tell you this tank has been nothing but a pain since new. Now the turret has stopped revolving. Had it apart to check for obstructions, nothing. Tried to stop the traverse motor by hand, pinched the skin on my thumb. Have cleaned and tested the rotation gear and it worked well. Attached the turret and it just sits there with the clutch in the traverse gearbox slipping. I'm out of ideas, any thoughts?

[SoCalBobS]

Well, something's jamming; if it pinches your finger it's got plenty of juice. The next thing I'd look at is the mesh of the pinion gear and the turret ring gear. Lined up, not crunched together, no loose screws allowing the box or turret to not seat correctly? If you can, take the hull top off and try to operate the turret while looking at that alignment. Just a thought.

[Sappo]

Yeah took the top off took the turret off and ran the traverse while pressing the turret ring tightly, it ran perfectly. Put it back together and nothing changed, still slipping the clutch

[oldwolf]

I have a hl challenger 2. It is very easy to tighten the screws holding the turret ring gear to the turret too much. This will pull the turret down against the hull with enough force to create friction that causes the drive motor clutch to skip. No blockage will be apparent, just too much friction all around. Even if you have put dry teflon or graphite lube on the turret ring, tightening those screws too much will stall things.

[Evan D]

My screws are snug and there’s no drag… must be just some of them… my latest problem is tread pins…

[Vaseline]

CA one side of the pins

[Evan D]

I did even better, green loctite but need a better fix. The pins for the King Tiger are a lot longer and the knurled end is longer. I think I'll try them as I can crimp the ends. But I need to also add the output bearing to the drive shafts and decide if I want to swap to better trads on a few of the tanks, especially the T-90. I think there is something to be said for plastic treads...

I run on short grass and loose dirt, no sand, rocks or pebbles and not at high speed. I set the speed on the Challenger to high and I think that's what caused my problems more than anything. I was having a lot f fun running around FPV with head tracking yesterday.

Talking of output bearings, on the newer versions I read that the bearing holder is already molded to the tank chassis. I assume they all take the same size bearing, anyone know the size?

[sclui56]

On my 6.0s Abrams, I used these 8x12x3.5 from https://5280bearings.com/product/403/

[Evan D]

Thanks, would using a flanged bearing be better? Did your M1A2 have the bearing mount molded into the chassis?

Anyone know if the same bearing is used on the Challenger, Leo, and T-90 too?

[sclui56]

Thanks, would using a flanged bearing be better? Did your M1A2 have the bearing mount molded into the chassis?

Anyone know if the same bearing is used on the Challenger, Leo, and T-90 too?

It's molded in, I think they started with 6.0s production. I believe I used the same one on the T-90 as well. I do have a KV-2 coming and hopefully that hull has been updated as well, we shell see. But it already irks me that it will most likely have turbine sound....

[Evan D]

I pulled the drive sprockets off my T-90, Challenger and Leopard. All take the same bearing (a 8x12x4 can fit in the Challenger) and all have the molded recess. I ordered a set of 8 to do these and my Abrams. Thanks!