hey guys.i have been given a slimline tjet to tune for a friend,and it runs like a pile...any advice?so far,i have lapped the gears with a dremel and wirewheel,cleaned the comm plate(tiny pancake!)soaked the brushes in rubbing alcohol and cleaned on paper,increased brush spring tension,oiled at all major friction points,etc...do the smaller pancake motors run as fast as their bib brothers?the brushes are also very small,but taller than standard tjet brushes.i would like to make this into a good runner for my buddy,so any help is appreciated!:)

JB's Thunder Brushes made Thunder Slims. I don't see them on the JB site.

http://www.thunderbrushes.com/index.html

Looks like Tom Hiester has them.

http://www.xp77.com/hiester/thunder.htm

Any Slim Line tune up article I can remember reading praised these brushes as improving performance. I haven't tried these yet but plan to do so in the future. Here is an article from HO World that I have bookmarked for future reference.

http://howorld.fsmra.com/archives/review/mmjb/mmjb.html

I won some F-1 beater bodies on the bay and bought some NOS Slim Line chassis for the bodies. I got Large TJet Slick silicones from Bud's HO and these really improve handling. PVT also makes a sili slick for the large 4-dot hubs.

:drunk::hat::freak::dude:

thanks,RM,i will pass on the info,as i am not paying for replacement parts.i just wrench his tjets the best i can,as he has stated he is a racer/collector,not a grease monkey like me.but he has some nice old cars he lets me tinker with,so what the hey?of course it didn't hurt at all when he offered me some 1/32 strombecker track!

If you're not willing to pay for replacement brushes perhaps you may want to cook them? I've cooked t-jet and afx brushes but I've never tinkered with a slimline, perhaps it will give you what you're looking for?

If you're not willing to pay for replacement brushes perhaps you may want to cook them? I've cooked t-jet and afx brushes but I've never tinkered with a slimline, perhaps it will give you what you're looking for?

basically,if i have the parts i put 'em in,and he does me favors in return.i just didn't have any slim brushes available.cooking them?how do you do that?i have the car running,but not well,as the brushes are probably too short at this point(probably the originals)...

I put mine in the oven on about 350 for about 5 minutes. Then I take them out let them cool down and run them across a piece of paper.

so what does this do for the brushes exactly?just help remove excess carbon?or does it improve the conductivity aswell?this the first i have heard of doing this,so i am naturally curious for more info before i pooch some good brushes...

I use a soldering iron to clean my brushes. I place the brush on a piece of wood like a toung depressor or popscicle stick. I then turn my iron as hot as it will go. I then press the tip against the brush and you will see the oils leach out into the wood. Turn the brush over and repeat. After this is done, I will then rub the brush on paper to finish and that's about it.

wow great tips guys!keep 'em coming!

sometimes i cook brushes on an old George Foreman grill. the non-stick coating was starting to peel off and my wife was gonna throw it out. i snagged it and dragged it to the basement... now when I'm tinkering, i put new brushes in from my stock of clean "cooked" ones, and i put the old grimy ones in a little container. when I have a bunch, I set them on the grill and plug it in... after a couple minutes, you can see the oils and stuff bubble/boil/evaporate out the top of the brush. then i wipe them off and they're good as new...

--rick

if you are looking to just make a runner not a collector
cut out the back of the chassis move the axle gear to the other side
they all see to run fast backwards so moving gear over makes them very fast and they seem to run cooler

if you are looking to just make a runner not a collector
cut out the back of the chassis move the axle gear to the other side
they all see to run fast backwards so moving gear over makes them very fast and they seem to run cooler


Mahorsc knows what he's talkin' about. I've seen a few slimmys that I would run against full up mahor stockers.
I also would like to know what ever became of the slimmy that dash was supposed to make?
Any word on this?
You could make a KILLING repopping the magnets for these..........:woohoo:

i can't hack it up,but he's right.it went faster backwards.until it derailed of course!and yeah,the magnets are cool.i seem to have a brush problem,so i will just tell my friend to get new brushes.

I use a soldering iron to clean my brushes. I place the brush on a piece of wood like a toung depressor or popscicle stick. I then turn my iron as hot as it will go. I then press the tip against the brush and you will see the oils leach out into the wood. Turn the brush over and repeat. After this is done, I will then rub the brush on paper to finish and that's about it.


I have found that the cold battery powered soldering irons work perfectly for this. Not an original idea, but I don't remember who first posted this tip to give them credit.

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com

I won't claim to be the first one to use the Cold Heat soldering iron to cook the oil and gunk out of my brushes but I have been doing it for some time now and it works great. Being battery powered, you can take it with you when racing away from home. Very handy...

i can't hack it up,but he's right.it went faster backwards.until it derailed of course!and yeah,the magnets are cool.i seem to have a brush problem,so i will just tell my friend to get new brushes.

Try some BSRT fray style shoes instead of the stock klunkers. Anything you can do to lighten or loosen a Slimmy pays dividends.

thanks for all the info.i just cleaned the hell out of it,polished the comm,electrical contacts,shoes,etc.soaked and polished the brushes,and increased brush tension slightly,and it runs well enough.i also polished the gears with a dremel and wirebrush,which i do to all my afx and auroras.i got a deal with him that i tune his tjets and he gives me slot goodies.works out well,cause i got no slot bucks!:p

You've already run-in the gear train with the Dremel & wire brush and polished the commutator plates. Plenty has been said about the commutator brushes.
Some other things I always do to SlimLines to loosen them up is:
1. Slice/sand a hair off the back of the crown gear...enough to give some side play.
2. Push an awl through the lower armature shaft hole to slightly enlarge it. I use an awl because the rules I've raced SlimLines under prohibit drilling. But the armature shaft hole is usually a tad too tight when stock and just gets tighter with running heat....a slight push of the awl is all that's needed.
3. The awl trick is also good if the axles are tight.
4. Use the awl if the rear gear shaft's lower hole is binding.
5. Make sure that gear shaft end is smooth....some have a cut-off nub which binds in the hole.

SlimLines can be made to run with T-Jets. I recall one racing season where we were running them on a large 21st Century track. We were amazed that the SlimLine class lap times were about the same as the Modified T-Jet class!
That said, like all chassis types, some are just dogs and nothing will make them faster.
Weird Jack

thanks jack,next time i see him,i will see if he has the car with him in his pitbox,and check these things for him