RC10 - A Stamp Rebuild - Chipped Idler Gear

[XLR8]

This is great! I really appreciate all of your input, thanks guys!

I can't afford to do this wrong and ruin the original parts, and hearing all of your success stories, and best practices, makes me feel more comfortable about doing this.

First, I soaked all of the white plastics in water, it has been about 10 hours so far.


Should I remove all of the ball studs, e-clips, and hinge pins, or can I soak this all in peroxide like it is?

Thanks again!

Yes, absolutely remove the metal.
Otherwise the metal will rust and stain the nylon.
Also, leaving the screws and pins in place will trap peroxide so you definitely will want to remove them first.

[XLR8]

Actually it is recommended you boil the parts after they completed a peroxide bath.

I've heard that as well.

Look, I think we would agree that subjecting vintage RC10 parts to boiling water and harsh chemicals isn't good for the nylon.
I've done the peroxide treatment in the past but these days I'm more accepting of age related discoloring in an effort to conserve a piece of RC history.
I believe that by leaving some patina on old parts, it confirms their age and I don't see that as a bad thing. In other words, a used vintage RC10 probably shouldn't look like a brand new 40th anniversary car.

[GreenBar0n]

This is great! I really appreciate all of your input, thanks guys!

I can't afford to do this wrong and ruin the original parts, and hearing all of your success stories, and best practices, makes me feel more comfortable about doing this.

First, I soaked all of the white plastics in water, it has been about 10 hours so far.


Should I remove all of the ball studs, e-clips, and hinge pins, or can I soak this all in peroxide like it is?

Thanks again!

Yes, absolutely remove the metal.
Otherwise the metal will rust and stain the nylon.
Also, leaving the screws and pins in place will trap peroxide so you definitely will want to remove them first.

Wasn't sure if that was stainless hardware, I'll remove it. Thanks!


For the record: I have no problem with patina, my '66 VW Bus is all original paint, and still wearing the body damage from it's previous life and the original owner before me, or 1989.

But this vintage RC10 I would like it to be even in fade, and color, not marked from the sun sitting carelessly in a window. It can re-yellow after this process and it won't bother me a bit, but I'll keep it out of the window and let it fade naturally, as time goes by.

Also will not boil the parts, but simmer them, just before the boil and for less than 5 minutes to cure. I did the Rit Dymore project recently, near boil with thin parts at 15 minutes, there were 0 negative effects. The molding process to form these parts is well above boiling, so I'll be careful.

Thanks again guys!

[JosephS]

Actually it is recommended you boil the parts after they completed a peroxide bath.

With no support I have always done this before. My thoughts were that if the nylon is dehydrated it would absorb water/fluid. So I wanted to hydrate the nylon with plain water first so the peroxide would only be on the surface as opposed to impregnated in the material.

I may just be overthinking this.

[JosephS]

Also will not boil the parts, but simmer them, just before the boil and for less than 5 minutes to cure. I did the Rit Dymore project recently, near boil with thin parts at 15 minutes, there were 0 negative effects. The molding process to form these parts is well above boiling, so I'll be careful.

Thanks again guys!

Nylon can be fully boiled without negative effects. Nylon need to be well above the boiling point of water to melt, about 500 degrees. You can flat out boil a stock rc10 with no problems

[GreenBar0n]

After soaking in the water, the nylon seems to have become more supple, and the fade isn't as crispy or dry looking.




Wondering if I even need to do the peroxide now. I'll wait to see what the water did for these tomorrow, and then decide on the peroxide.

Thanks again!

[XLR8]

After soaking in the water, the nylon seems to have become more supple, and the fade isn't as crispy or dry looking.




Wondering if I even need to do the peroxide now. I'll wait to see what the water did for these tomorrow, and then decide on the peroxide.

Thanks again!

Ah, I see the difference now. Yes, the parts from one side do look more yellow.

Okay, well maybe drop the yellow parts in peroxide for a few hours, pull them and check the color. Repeat until they match.

By the way, I don't see any stainless steel parts in your photos. Everything looks to me like stock AE hardware which are steel.

[XLR8]

Actually it is recommended you boil the parts after they completed a peroxide bath.

With no support I have always done this before. My thoughts were that if the nylon is dehydrated it would absorb water/fluid. So I wanted to hydrate the nylon with plain water first so the peroxide would only be on the surface as opposed to impregnated in the material.

I may just be overthinking this.

Not overthinking. Actually I think that's an excellent idea.

[GreenBar0n]

Got the arms apart, and the hardware cleaned.


Been in the sun for about two hours, and was in the peroxide out of the sun for two hours, four hours total so far.


Still see stains on the gear case and shock parts. Only have about 2 hours of light left back there. Will remove them when the sun goes down, and check the progress.

How long is too long, to leave these in peroxide?

[XLR8]

I can't say if there is a time limit but it's possible you will want to leave the very yellowed parts in the bath longer than the others to achieve a more uniform color.
I reckon you already knew that.

[GreenBar0n]

I was thinking I would leave all the parts in until they matched, wasn't sure how this is supposed to go.

The sun is down back there, I pulled the parts in for the night. Looks like not much has changed so far.




I'll leave these in peroxide until tomorrow, and then see if they need the sun again.

[GreenBar0n]

Done with the peroxide, it did help a bit.

Worst side first.

Still some sun damage on the gear cases and front arms.



Now I can get back to rebuilding the 6-gear, and finish this.

[XLR8]

Those parts look fantastic!
The slight shading from the sun just gives it character and let's everyone know this one's a legit, OG, Made in America RC10.

[RogueIV]

I'm guessing that comment wasn't posted by Kevin Talbot.
Actually, doing wheelies really isn't harmful. It's the sudden shock to the drive train from the tires losing then suddenly gaining grip under throttle as the car lands from a jump or drives over rough terrain that really tests the integrity of gears. Remember, the 6-gear trans doesn't use a slipper clutch so the plastic idler gears become the sacrificial part in the drive train; the weak link in the chain.

That's why I think I have the chip on one idler gear. The guy who last ran this, put the softer silver springs on, and then put the collars near the bottom of the shocks, loading up the suspension so that it sits at the very top.


The angle was so steep that the axle stubs were biting the arms, look how bad one side got chomped.


Pretty sure that's the reason for the idler gear chip.

Willing to bet he didn't have enough internal limiters in the rear shocks. In the original manual they tell you to put 5/8" of fuel tubing on the shock shaft to limit down travel. Without this the axles can rub like what you see on yours.

[GreenBar0n]

Those parts look fantastic!
The slight shading from the sun just gives it character and let's everyone know this one's a legit, OG, Made in America RC10.

Thanks! They did come out really clean. I was worried when I pulled the parts out of the peroxide at first, they were still brown and reddish where the hardware was in some spots, but that dirt and oxidation wiped right off of the surface and left the plastics white again. Going to work on getting this one back together today.

Willing to bet he didn't have enough internal limiters in the rear shocks. In the original manual they tell you to put 5/8" of fuel tubing on the shock shaft to limit down travel. Without this the axles can rub like what you see on yours.

Screenshot 2024-05-23 001328.jpg

I've never read the manual for the early RC10, I do have it in PDF, just didn't know that was in there. It's a great idea, and seeing as I'm going to be rebuilding a lot of shocks in the near future, I want to do this to all of them. Much thanks for letting me know this is how it was done!