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I just got the 42110 Land Rover Defender and assembled bags 1 and 2. I tested everything before joining the front axle and rear axle, and the friction was quite low, not nearly high enough to get gears to skip or practically stall an PF XL motor.

When I joined the two halves, the lower gears worked just fine, but there was slightly more friction generated than I expected. However, on the higher gears (3/lo and above) the friction increased way more than expected, rendering 4th/lo somewhat unusable and 4th/hi completely unusable. Strangely, all the gears work flawlessly if the car is pushed backward. Also, the rotation of the output of both the 4-speed and the 2-speed transmissions is uneven, the output of the 4-speed transmission being way more uneven than that of the 2-speed transmission.

The friction certainly is not the sum of the front and rear axles together, it is far more. Also, it is worth noting that I modified the 3:1 gear ratio between the axles and central differential to a 1.667:1 ratio, as with the 3:1 ratio the problem was way worse, but not because of the gear ratio, but because both of the U-joints were out of phase. Any explanation for this strange behavior or tips on how to fix it are welcome.

10/10/19 update: I watched RacingBrick's video on this subject, and it turned out that PART of the problem was that my U-joints were out of phase. I fixed that problem and it is working a lot better, but the problem still persists, although to a lesser extent.

10/11/19 update: I switched the 1.667:1 ratio for the 3:1 ratio while making sure that the U-joints were in phase. The unevenness issue is virtually gone, but the skipping of gears still persists, but to a lesser extent. I can post another YouTube video if it helps.

10/11/19 update 2: I added bag 3 and both of the problems are back, though somewhat different. Before, the gears started skipping immediately, but now it works just fine for the first 5 to 10 feet, then starts to skip. I checked the U-joints and they're in phase. I'm very confused.

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNyK0ZDi-pE

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  • There are reports that a new mold for the 28-teeth mesh gear may be causing significant friction. You may want to check those, and maybe try replacing them with some others from your collection
    – Joubarc
    Oct 10, 2019 at 10:39
  • @Joubarc It is not very clear which gear you mean, as you say the gear has 28 teeth, but your link directs me to Brickset's page for the 20 tooth gear. I assume you either mean the type 3 differential or the 20 tooth double bevel gear. Also, I don't know what a "mesh gear" is. Could just be plain ignorance on my part though. If you could clarify that would be great.
    – technicguy1
    Oct 10, 2019 at 15:16
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    my mistake, the link is correct and that gear has indeed 20 teeth; not sure why I said 28. By "mesh" gear I meant "double bevel", I think they used to be called that way at some point because they mesh better than regular wheels; and can mesh straight or perpendicularly. But indeed "20-teeth double bevel gear" would have been the proper description; sorry about that. You can read more on the issue on this eurobricks thread
    – Joubarc
    Oct 11, 2019 at 7:34
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    @Joubarc Ah, now I see. Thanks for clarifying.
    – technicguy1
    Oct 11, 2019 at 14:53

1 Answer 1

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Just figured it out by rebuilding it. I had pressed the "walls" of the transmission too much, resulting in very high friction.

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    I have exactly the same problem. Can you explain for me, what exactly solved the problem? Because "you pressed the walls of the transmission too much" doesn't help me. Please help!
    – Csaba
    Jan 1, 2021 at 19:38
  • When building the front transmission, there are some gears connected to steering and the transmission sandwiched between 2 beam assemblies. If you squeeze the assemblies too much, there will be a lot of friction. Although I still had some friction, it was considerably diminished. Hope that helps!
    – technicguy1
    Jan 2, 2021 at 20:31
  • Technicguy, thank you for the answer! Could you share a picture about the assemblies you talking? I could not find them on the car.
    – Csaba
    Jan 5, 2021 at 8:21
  • I'll try; Would knowing the step when the assemblies are built help? (Sharing pictures is kinda hard for me)
    – technicguy1
    Jan 6, 2021 at 3:00
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    The step where the first assembly starts would be step 206. I also found a further improvement more recently, which I will post in my answer soon. (Currently I do not have time; it is somewhat complex, but effective.)
    – technicguy1
    Jan 7, 2021 at 2:23

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