B-MOW's SCX10 III JT Gladiator Trail Warrior

[B-MOW71]

New Jeep rolled into the shop! The Axial SCX10 III JT Gladiator has been on my radar to pick up ever since they were released and finally broke down and purchased one a couple days before Thanksgiving. I've been very impressed with the performance of my 10.3 JLU Rubicon and really like the look of the longer wheelbase JT Gladiator that I decided that I had to have one in my rig lineup!

I wasn't planning on doing a build thread for the Gladiator, but I've noticed that there isn't very many of the JT threads here on RCC. There are a couple nice build threads of the JT that I am following here and have enjoyed reading thru them. So I figured I may as well add another thread of the Gladiator to log my journey into making this JT even better and to give others a look at what I plan on doing to it.

I've been watching a ton of YT videos and checking out pics on IG and FB of the Gladiator's that others have built and have seen some really cool looking rigs. The rig that really stood out the most and I instantly fell in love with was the Gladiator that Mad Ape built. His Big Red Ape Gladiator looks absolutely gorgeous and BAD ASS! Love how it looks and all the details that were added to it. It has a mean look with it's nice wide stance and has that lifted look. This is not the type of rig that I would normally build as I like to keep my rigs sitting low, but I'm wanting this build to be more of an overlander type rig since the Gladiator is designed to carry cargo and most 1:1 JT's I've seen have been converted into an overlander.

Anyways, here are the first pics of the JT right out of the box.







More fun stuff coming soon!

 

[Phildirt]

Sub'd. Nice to see another one in the forum, is on my short list for next rig since I've decided the TW will satisfy my crawling needs for the time being. Overlander was my thought for this one as well, it suits the platform.

 

[Topher Builds]

Congrats Bmow! I really like the gladiators too, after seeing one in person last week it’s got the wheels turning in my head.

 

[Phildirt]

I also like it because it got me thinking about a one-off build once I trashed the body, that longer wheelbase is interesting.

 

[hezzdown]

Looking forward to seeing the direction you go with it.

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[derekmac]

Nice, looking forward to this. Sweet garage too!!

 

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

I too am looking forward to this. I agree with the overlander setup, it’s pretty much perfect for it. DMacs gladiator is setup for overland and it’s probably the best Gladiator I’ve seen.

Anyways, excited to see where this goes!


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[dezfan]

One one the nicest looking rigs out of the box without a doubt!

Looking forward to the build.

The SCX10.3 is very tempting, but with a new TRX6 and a UMG10 kit sitting on the bench, it might be a while for me.

 

[MaX-D]

SUBSCRIBED!

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[rkj__]

With all the detail out of the box, the Gladiator is a great start.

 

[B-MOW71]

Sub'd. Nice to see another one in the forum, is on my short list for next rig since I've decided the TW will satisfy my crawling needs for the time being. Overlander was my thought for this one as well, it suits the platform.

I also like it because it got me thinking about a one-off build once I trashed the body, that longer wheelbase is interesting.

Thanks!"thumbsup" We definitely need more build threads of the Gladiator! It is a great looking rig!

From what I've seen, the longer wheelbase does really well! That's the other reason why I wanted one. I didn't have any long wheelbase rigs in my collection!

Congrats Bmow! I really like the gladiators too, after seeing one in person last week it’s got the wheels turning in my head.

Thanks TB!"thumbsup" It was nice to see your ex-10.3 turned Gladiator doing so well in your last video! Hopefully we'll see more of it in the future and possibly maybe catch a glimpse of your new Gladiator too!;-)

Looking forward to seeing the direction you go with it.

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Thanks for following along!"thumbsup"

Nice, looking forward to this. Sweet garage too!!

Thanks!"thumbsup" I've enjoyed following your Gladiator thread! It is a great looking rig!

I too am looking forward to this. I agree with the overlander setup, it’s pretty much perfect for it. DMacs gladiator is setup for overland and it’s probably the best Gladiator I’ve seen.

Anyways, excited to see where this goes!

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Thanks!"thumbsup" I'm looking forward to the overlander style rig. Something different than my other rigs!

I agree, DMacs does look great!

One one the nicest looking rigs out of the box without a doubt!

Looking forward to the build.

The SCX10.3 is very tempting, but with a new TRX6 and a UMG10 kit sitting on the bench, it might be a while for me.

Thanks dez!"thumbsup" The SCX10.3 is nice, but sounds like you already have a couple money hungry rigs on your bench at the moment!

Christmas IS right around the corner! Never know what Santa may bring you!:ror:

SUBSCRIBED!

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THANKS MaX!"thumbsup"

With all the detail out of the box, the Gladiator is a great start.

Agree! Both the 10.3 JLU and Gladiator sure have the scale details!

 

[smog]

That looks fun B, look forward to seeing you have at it. I quite like the layout of the chassis. Do you run full size batts?

I like your idea to swap in the straight axles and use the portals for another build. Win, win. You get set up for your next build early on...lol. There is no Doubt portals have their place in the hobby.

 

[dezfan]

Thanks dez!"thumbsup" The SCX10.3 is nice, but sounds like you already have a couple money hungry rigs on your bench at the moment!

Christmas IS right around the corner! Never know what Santa may bring you!

That is what Santa brought me, he blew a hoof on one of the reindeer on a Christmas Eve practice run, I happened to come along and let’s just say, we worked out a deal! :ror:


"thumbsup"

 

[B-MOW71]

That looks fun B, look forward to seeing you have at it. I quite like the layout of the chassis. Do you run full size batts?

I like your idea to swap in the straight axles and use the portals for another build. Win, win. You get set up for your next build early on...lol. There is no Doubt portals have their place in the hobby.

Thanks smog!"thumbsup"

I have a mixture of full size and shorty size batteries. I'll run them both, but lately I've been running the Helio's 3700mah 3S 45C batteries. They are shorter and smaller and have a long run time.

Yeah, definitely getting the straight axles. Probably put them on my 10.3 JLU Rubicon and keep the portals on my Gladiator. Will save a big lump of money on the next build for sure!

That is what Santa brought me, he blew a hoof on one of the reindeer on a Christmas Eve practice run, I happened to come along and let’s just say, we worked out a deal! :ror:

"thumbsup"

Oh, Ok! I see what you're saying now! Santa already dropped off your goodies early!:ror:

Congrats on the deal!"thumbsup"

 

[B-MOW71]

As with all of the RTR's I've purchased, I immediately tear them down to check to make sure everything is greased and put together correctly. During the rebuild, I replace every screw with Team KNK stainless steel hardware.

So starting with the rear axle, I found that the portal gears were installed with the pins in the square side of the gear. I flipped them around so that the pin is seated in the correct side of the gear.

Diff ring and pinion gears looked to be greased well. Cleaned them off and added marine grease to the diff and portal gears.






On to the front axle. As you can see in the first pic, at first one of the portal gears seemed to be installed backwards. But after further inspection, the gear that looks to be installed incorrectly actually has the same pin groove cut into both sides of the gear. Odd!!!





Here are pics of each sides of the gears. You can see the gear on the left has the same pin groove cut into both sides. The gear on the right has a square cut groove in one side and a curved cut groove on the other side.





Cleaned stock grease out and replaced with marine grease. Both axle screws replaced with stainless screws.

On to the transmission next.

 

[RCBrutus]

Congrats on the JT!

And a big thanks for the clear pics on the gears. My JL has started having a slight click as she breaks in, so one of my goals over the holidays is to tear her down and check all the gears. Have to finish up the Pro first though...priorities! "thumbsup"

Looking forward to the creative things you do with this rig 8)

 

[B-MOW71]

Congrats on the JT!

And a big thanks for the clear pics on the gears. My JL has started having a slight click as she breaks in, so one of my goals over the holidays is to tear her down and check all the gears. Have to finish up the Pro first though...priorities! "thumbsup"

Looking forward to the creative things you do with this rig 8)

Hey thanks and your welcome![emoji1303] I was hoping this may help others with their clickers!

On my 10.3 JLU I found only one portal gear that was installed wrong. It had a slight click before I flipped the gear around. Flipping the gear took care of it. That’s the main reason why I immediately tore the Gladiator down to check all the gears.

Luckily this trans in the Gladiator and my JLU trans had all the gears installed properly![emoji3]


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[Topher Builds]

Nice/odd to see a gear with both sides round-grooved but wish it was that way throughout the whole truck. Perhaps a running change that will phase out the square grooved gears eventually.

 

[B-MOW71]

Nice/odd to see a gear with both sides round-grooved but wish it was that way throughout the whole truck. Perhaps a running change that will phase out the square grooved gears eventually.

That’s kinda what I was thinking. Only one gear like that in mine, but had to be made that way, so it could be that all the gears from now on may have the same round groove on both sides. There really is no need for the squared groove that I can see!


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[B-MOW71]

Next up was digging into the transmission. Great news here, the trans gears were all installed properly and had a good amount of grease from the factory. I cleaned out all of the factory grease and rebuilt the trans with marine grease.




Took apart the shocks to add Noleen to the shock seals. I went ahead and added 40wt oil. I wanted to slow the suspension down a little. I love these shocks! They are easy to fill, super smooth and seem to be leak free!

Also, moved the red springs to the front and the green springs to the rear. I wanted the rear to be a little stiffer since I plan on loading up the bed with overlander goodies. The red springs come stock in the rear and felt too soft for what I wanted.




And a look at the chassis. Replaced all stock black screws with Team KNK stainless steel screws.