pic: Toughbox Mini Bound Up On AM14U3 KoP Chassis

[GeeTwo]

As we were trying to free our bound out TB Mini yesterday, I am trying to figure out how too short a journal would cause a problem with seizing, as it does not make contact with the plastic housing in either case. I am even more curious as to how you put a thinner bearing in and did NOT cause the bull gear to rub against the large cluster gear; they are rather close to each other with the stock bearing. This would only be feasible if, rather than the journal being cut too short, the hex part of the shaft is cut too long.

On our TB-mini, the binding is certainly not from the output shaft or bull gear; it occurs from time to time when back-driving the cluster shaft with a 3/8" socket. The binding appears to be due to the large cluster gear rubbing against the output shaft bearing (in the plastic housing). We tried swapping out the large cluster gear (slight improvement?), swapping the two bearings in the housing (no difference), and will try swapping the face plate and plastic housing tomorrow on the suspicion that the bearing holes have the wrong spacing on one or the other.