AX10 Gen2 Budget Re-build

[nightcrawler48]

Hopefully you can stand my long-winded post here as I explain what I am doing.

I picked up an AX10 Gen2 chassis last month on ebay. It will be re-built as a present for a young RC enthusiast I know. He has been an RC fanatic for about 6 years now and is totally into the go-fast stuff. My wife and I took him to a spot we like with trails and some rock crawling areas. He did okay with his Arrma on the trails but was totally frustrated when it came to climbing on the rocks. I thought about taking my loaner truck for him to use but decided maybe this would be an opportunity for him to see the difference between the go-fast and the crawlers. Since then he has been asking a ton of questions about crawlers and searching the internet for trucks for sale. Anything worth getting is way out of his price range so the AX10 will get him started. I didn't want to go overboard on cost in case he decides it isn't for him.

About the chassis and the build - the chassis was listed on ebay as "rusty and dirty". And, it was as described when I got it. The good thing is, it is completely stock except for HR C-hubs and came without tires or wheels, no ESC, no transmitter, no servo, no body but it did come with a 35T Axial motor. I hooked up an ESC, a receiver, installed a steering servo, and mounted some wheels and tires for a test run. It ran perfect for a used truck.

I tore it completely down and started cleaning everything. Discarded all the rusty screws and nuts. At the time I was doing this I didn't think about doing a build thread so I didn't take any pictures. I started looking here for some information on what was happening with the AX10s and I was glad to see some current lovin' from grob23 and VoltSCX. That was when I decided to start this thread.

I'm going to use everything I can from the original chassis to try to keep the cost down. Some things I'll use from my parts bins, some things I will make or 3D print, and some things I will have to buy new. Hopefully it won't be too boring. I'll start posting pictures and explain what I'm doing as I start assembling the chassis.

 

[nightcrawler48]

I got the chassis side plates and the skid plate cleaned up and I'm happy with how they look.



As much as possible, I will be using stainless hardware.

The rod ends for the lower links are held in with the screws bolting the side plates to the skid plate. I'm using the plastic rod ends from some leftover Axial parts trees I have. The suspension links will be aluminum round bar which you will see later.



Just a side note, the chassis came with the plastic links which I am not going to re-use.

 

[nightcrawler48]

Transmission is dismantled and cleaned up. I noticed when I unbolted the transmission from the skid plate the threads were stripped in the transmission housing. My standard fix is to drill the holes out to 4mm and press in brass M3 insert nuts. I use a bit of epoxy on the outside of the insert nut to help hold it in the plastic housing. With the soft Axial plastic, its not difficult to press the insert in. I've done this before on these 3 gear transmission housings and haven't had any issues yet. I leave it to set for 24 hours before mounting the transmission to the skid plate.



The bearings were in reasonably good condition so I popped the seals and re-greased the bearings. I assembled the transmission using all the original parts including the plastic gears. I'll see how long they last. Also re-used the 48DP 87T spur gear and the 20T motor pinion gear, mounted the Axial 35T motor, and set the gear clearance.



I'll install the transmission on the skid plate tomorrow after the epoxy on the insert nuts has had a chance to cure.

One thing I forgot to mention, the motor is in excellent condition compared to the other metal parts. It runs smooth and quiet so I just added a drop of oil to the bushings on each end.

 

[nightcrawler48]

Changed my mind on what I wanted to do today. Instead of installing the transmission I worked on the rear axle. The outer pinion bearing and the two (2) outside axle bearings were pretty rusty and dirty so I decided to replace them instead of trying to salvage them. The inner pinion bearing and the two (2) crown gear bearings were in good shape so I popped the seals out and greased these bearings and did the three new bearings as well.



I had noticed the tires and wheels seemed to have a lot "wobble" to them when I did the test run earlier. I'm going to be using Wraith Method beadlock wheels with Injora 12mm hex hubs.





I discovered the locating hub on the axle hexes was sticking out past the clamping face of the rim so the axle nut didn't contact the face of the wheel. That was causing the "wobble". Machined 0.030" off the locating hub and everything clamps up nice and tight. No more "wobble".