Play in the Element Enduro CV Joint / Wheel Slop

[ActonRC]

Hi Folks,

I tried to see if I could find an answer in the search but didn't see anything so here we go...

I bought a Trailwalker recently. It's really great as a whole. Really fun to drive. My one issue is that the front wheels have a lot of play due to slop in the CV Joint. Where the pin (pivot) goes in to the axle portion there is a ton of play which causes the wheels to wander. You would think this would have better tolerances. A guy from a local crawler group has the same truck with the same issue. I have searched for an aftermarket solution but there doesn't seem to be one. Can anyone on this Forum give me some advice? This truck was going to be my "precision rig" to try to highlight driving skill (when I get some, hahaha) but it will be hard to justify taking this truck too serious with that much play in the front end. Please help if you can. I really want to love this truck and had planned to make it a Class 1 comp truck.

 

[HumboldtEF]

I just looked over a bunch of different rigs and almost all have some slop except ones using SSD & Dlux knuckles. A strong servo might be helpful if you dont already have one. I dont really notice this slop when I drive but I understand where your coming from.

You might try some shims between the outside of the axle and the knuckle, that seems to be where the play is. Its a 10mm ID.

 

[Cesco]

I had some play on mine too. By adding shims I removed all play in both axles.

 

[HumboldtEF]

I actually ordered some shims after posting my reply, almost all of the slop is gone. The shims I got were too thick for me to get it perfect so I had to go on the loose side. With them set tight I was actually binding the axle a not so insignificant amount.

 

[Cesco]

I reconise that, had the same. Had to test and try a lot to get it perfect between no slop and no binding.

I collected a lot of different shim sizes and thicknesses last 2 month. Hobbyking were having a sale with their Trackstar Pro Shim sets. Bought a lot of those. And RCmart were having a sale with 3Racing shims, bought a lot of those too. Added some Yeah Racing shims for missing sizes/thickness and have quite a collection now. Currently shimming all of my RC cars.

 

[Shinchu]

I actually ordered some shims after posting my reply, almost all of the slop is gone. The shims I got were too thick for me to get it perfect so I had to go on the loose side. With them set tight I was actually binding the axle a not so insignificant amount.

Source for shims?
I noticed it on mine too and now I cant un-notice it lol
Also I have a spare ds3218 and alloy arm I might toss in.
Then I start to wonder what will flex with that improved torque...
It never ends hahaha

 

[HumboldtEF]

Source for shims?
I noticed it on mine too and now I cant un-notice it lol
Also I have a spare ds3218 and alloy arm I might toss in.
Then I start to wonder what will flex with that improved torque...
It never ends hahaha

CRC shims from RPP https://www.rpphobby.com/product_p/cln4740.htm

They dont list how thick they are, I meant to measure them but forgot. I can check them after work.

 

[Cesco]

I ordered a big selection of different shims (size and thickness).
Trackstar from Hobbyking.
3Racing from Ebay and RCmart.
Yeah Racing from RCmart.

RCmart have a huge selection of many more brands that offer shims.
https://www.rcmart.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=shim

AE also sell shims.

If you really want a big selection you need to buy different brands. As one brand will only have several sizes and not all thicknesses and so on. So I mixed and matched. It was helpfull that at the time Hobbyking was having a big sale on the Trackstar shims, 10pc for under 1 dollar and they come in a container.

Same thing for RCmart with 3Racing shims, also 10pc in a package. Lucky enough they were also on sale, I saved a lot on buying them.

I now have a selection big enough for all of my cars and future builds. Going over all of my cars now and adding shims.
You need to add enough so you get rid of the play, but not add too much so you end up with binding. Done right it makes a huge difference.

 

[Damond]

I had a lot of play in my Enduro so I installed ssd knuckles with ssd pro 44 axle shafts and they seem stronger with less slop and I get more steering

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[mtbmonkey]

My front isn't moving at all. However, the back axles move a lot. Actually I had issues with my rear axles coming out no matter how tight I tightened those screws at the end of the housing. I fixed that by purchasing SSD rear axle weights. I'm going to try shimming the rear to get the slop out. Hopefully, I will have some luck here. Got some crawling to do at Highland Springs in the morning.

 

[HumboldtEF]

Actually I had issues with my rear axles coming out no matter how tight I tightened those screws at the end of the housing. I fixed that by purchasing SSD rear axle weights. I'm going to try shimming the rear to get the slop out. Hopefully, I will have some luck here. Got some crawling to do at Highland Springs in the morning.

fixing the rear axles popping off can also be fixed with some simple washers. these screws are suppposed to retain the bearing and hold the axle in but the heads are often too small to work.

Shiming the rear axle requires a different sized shim than the front, I'm pretty sure is a 5mm ID. Put these shims between the bearing and the flang on the end of the axle.

 

[mtbmonkey]

I had the same problem with the rear axles not staying in. I bought the SSD rear axle weights fixed this problem.

 

[Damond]

I had the same problem with mines I bought ssd knuckles and used ssd pro44 universals and it fixed the slop and added more steering

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