Help with Ninco angle winders!

[Zippideedooda]

Hi guys, I am stumped as to why two used Ninco cars I recently picked up on ebay, ( yes the dreaded ebay to some), are not working. I bought a used Ninco MT900R race set and both the cars (Mosler MT900R's if you don't know)have angle winders in them. The motors were unsnapped from their mounts when the set arrived, so I re-snapped them into place and tried them on my track. They both worked and completed several laps but were very noisey! I lubricated the gears and also hot glued the motors to the chassis, because they had alittle play in them. I got this idea from a video I had seen on tuning cars. When I tried them again they were alittle quieter but they also would stop almost immediately and needed to be pushed to get going again. Keep in mind i cleaned the track that day as well. After removing the bodies I could see that the gears are not meshing well with the pinions. These are stock gears I believe and made of plastic. The axle also has a red spacer on them which I don't understand the purpose for?

So what is going on? Should I have left the motors unglued? Do they need the play in the motor mount to compensate for the crappy gears? Are the plastic gears and pinions worn out and need replacing? Does the red spacer have something to do with the set-up?
These are beautiful cars. The bodies are comparable to any of my FLY's. I would love to get them running again.
I would post a picture, but...

[BRS Hobbies]

Could the motor be touching the track rails and shorting them out? I would check each chassis to make sure that it's flat. Also, check the pinion gear to see if it's split. They tend to split over time and then the gears will bind.

[chrisguyw]

Hello, ....Many Ninco anglewinder owners have found it very beneficial to replace the rear end bushings/pinions/spurs etc. on their cars, and once modified they can be made into seriously quick/smooth cars......that said, lets try to resolve the problems/issues with your stock cars, before major surgery/cost.


The simple stuff first.................


1/ It always advisable to (very advisable )to secure the motor in its cradle with either motor screws, hot glue/shoe goo, and, or tape in any of the currently available plastic chassis cars. Any movement of the motor in its cradle creates issues with gear mesh (and the associated noise). Second, and particularly for Ninco anglewinders, securing the motor helps to stiffen the rear end of the chassis (very much a Ninco issue),....this flex in the rear end of the Ninco cars causes the much known "Ninco hop".......not the hot tip for a quick, smooth, good handling car..............so, leave the motors glued in.

2/ The red spacer on the axle helps prevent lateral movement of the axle, which on any anglewinder is a big issue, as lateral movement of the rear axle will allow the spur gear to move either towards or away from the motor/pinion. This lateral movement will change the "lash" to either too loose or too tight.....causing excessive gear wear and noise.
Slide the red spacer towards the bushing/axle upright on the spur gear side, so that there is little if any lateral movement....this will ensure consistent gear mesh........a drop of oil and you are done.

3/ I have seen many Ninco anglewinders with split pinions........have a close look,....if it is split, replace, preferably with a brass pinion.

4/ As the cars are used, and you do not know the prior owners maintenance schedule, there may also be a nicked tooth, or two, on the spur.......have a good look.......if there is a nick, I would strongly advise replacing the spur with one from Slot-it ,NSR, etc., but check first, and let us know.

The more difficult troubleshooting..........

If the cars stop intermittently...........it could be,.....starting at the front of the car.......

Dirty braid
A poor connection between the lead wire/eyelet/braid
A break in the lead wire
Poor solder connection at the motor tabs
Rear tires worn, motor touching "high' bits of the track rails
A shorted/dirty comm

All of these are possibilities, and all should be checked..........to clean the motor/comm, you can squirt a bit of contact cleaner into the motor on the comm end , run for minute or so at low voltage(3/4 volts) and apply a drop (very small drop) of oil on both motor bushings, or if no contact cleaner, run the motor under water for a minute or two (3/4 volts) dry, (hair dryer) and oil.

Please let us know how you make out, and once you get the little fellas running, we can discuss modifications,...if any.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Chris Walker

Below is a pic. of a Ninco I built more than a dozen years ago.......rebuilt motor box for an "S" can, adjustable front axle blocks, Sloting plus bushing tube, MB slot/Slot-it gears etc. etc............it is still one of my quickest cars.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I have some experience with the Moslers (from several manufacturers), and I can tell you there is nothing more likely than the pinion gear from Ninco. They, as near as I can tell from my many years experience with Ninco, are junk. Replace the pinion, then look to see if there is anything else to do. It will save you time.

[Zippideedooda]

Well thank you all. It is just as you all have mentioned. The pinion gears on both cars are cracked, and that is exactly where the binding occurs. Had to get the cars under a magnifying lens to spot it. Since I am unfortunately a strict home racer against two of my boys, I think a cheaper fix is in order. But oh Chrisguyw does your chassis look sweet! What I have found is a 12tooth angled pinion in stainless steel in either 48 or 64 pitch, made by ARP. The 64 looks more like the original pinion. What do you think? Would this be a good replacement?

[GT40 Racer (DM)]

I replace them with a 12t plastic pinion. The advantage of using the plastic is you can more easily position it on the shaft to get the right position for the smoothest running.

Something like these would work well - and you would have a couple of spare

https://www.132slotcar.us/product_info.php?products_id=36531

[chrisguyw]

What I have found is a 12tooth angled pinion in stainless steel in either 48 or 64 pitch, made by ARP. The 64 looks more like the original pinion. What do you think? Would this be a good replacement?

NO !! .............the gears in our little plastic cars are .5 module (roughly 50P), and will not mesh well (at all) with the 48 or 64P ARP's

You can buy a 12T pinion from Slot-it, NSR, Scaleauto etc. etc.,..........they are all the pitch you are looking for.

Cheers
Chris

[Mitch58]

Yeah, what Chris said. He pretty much covered the bases.

Remember Ninco built and sold these as toys, we are turning them into "race" cars.

Enjoy, I have several old Nincos that I enjoy as much as any others.

[Zippideedooda]

GT40 Racer, thank you for the link. I tried to find some on another website but thought I needed ones that had an angle to them like the originals. The only ones like that were made of steel.

chrisguyw, thank you for your suggestions. If I had a club nearby and raced more competively, I would definitely want to tune the chassis like what you have done with yours. Thanks for sharing the photo of it.

Mitch58, maybe if I stopped buying cars I could afford to have more realistic "race" cars.

[slothead]

Another thing is even if you were able to get the pinion gears off while the motors were glued in the chassis you may not be able to get new pinions on the motor shafts. Even with a pinion press tool there may not be enough room. Whatever you do, do it right to be able to have the most fun. The time spent racing with your boys will be worth more than the money invested.

[Yamfj1200rider]

I used a plastic Thunder Slot pinion gear and it was quieter and meshed better than the brass pinions.