Packing the Differential

While you're inside your transmission replacing an idler gear or for some other reason there are a number of things you can do to improve it's reliability and performance. One of these is to pack the differential itself with thicker grease instead of the lightweight Traxxas grease. This will tighten the differential up and help both wheels gain optimum traction.

You can either use white lithium grease or the thicker brown grease. I personally use the heavy brown grease. However, some people feel as if it makes the differential too stiff and the white lithium grease works better as a mid-weight grease if you prefer the middle road. Both types can easily be found at any local auto parts store.

Follow the instructions to disassemble your transmission and remove the differential.

All you need to do now is remove the four screws holding the differential together, then pry the top of the housing off with a small screwdriver.

Pack the heavy automotive grease between all the gears inside the differential, filling the differential housing up. Then put the cover and screws back on the differential, and place the differential back in the transmission.

If you are wanting a locked differential for rock climbing, you can glue the internal gears together by filling the differential with Shoe-Goo, however that's a permanant solution. A better solution would be to use Silly Putty, as it can be removed later if you desire to restore your differential back to normal operation. No matter which route you go, a locked differential will cause handling will suffer as the wheels are no longer allowed to turn independently.