Project: YellowJacket

[BasuraBlanco]

A co-worker introduced me to this hobby a few months back. I have absolutely no experience with crawlers and very little experience with RC vehicles in general. This will be a pretty basic kit build with some commonly used modifications, nothing fancy or truly original.

Futaba 3PM-X
Tekin FXR ESC
Tekin T35 Pro Handwound
HiTec HS-7955TG (steer)
HiTec HS-5645MG (Dig)
RC4WD Aluminum Axle Front/Rear (Black)
RC4WD Aluminum Axle Truss (silver)
Ballistic Fabrications Aluminum Diff Covers
RC4WD Resistance 2.2 internal beadlocks
HR Aluminum Diff Cases
HR Aluminum Bottom Shock Mounts
HR Hard Steel Transmission Gears
Axial HD Ring and Pinion gears
Axial Aluminum Steering Knuckles
Axial Tube High Clearance Links
Axial Aluminum competition (heh-heh) Shocks
Axial DIG Upgrade set
CKRC Suspension Lowering Kit
CKRC Hood hinge kit
CKRC 32p Spur/Pinion gears
MIP Spline Center CVDs
Integy Alloy Steering Linkage

As you can see by my list, I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Lets see if we have everything:

Kit...

Check.

Guts...

Check.

Upgrades...

Check.

Guess the thing isn't going to build itself, lets get on with it.

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Here you can see a comparison between the stock ring and pinion and the Axial HD spiral cut gears. I wanted to do a OD/UD setup but I could never get a straight answer from distributors as to whether the Axial HD spiral cut gears had the updated drilled pinion shafts so I just ordered two sets of HD Ring and Pinions AX30395 in the stock ratio (38T/13T) and hoped that they were drilled.

The only stock components in these assemblies are the axle shafts, bearings, lockers, and the spacing gasket; and yes, I greased the gears before putting on those spooky diff covers. I'm using "Green Grease" from AutoZone

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Shocks...yeah...I'll keep it short

I'm Going to run 80wt shock oil in the rear and 30wt in the front. Do I really need to? You're asking the wrong guy, I'm just making this stuff up as I go along.

BTW do you like my work bench? I'll have you know, that is 100% genuine cardboard...imported...from my garage.

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Links and Shafts

As you can see (I didn't at the time) the upper links are awful short. The aluminum tubes are the correct length but the link ends are the smallest ones in the kit. There are longer link ends on the parts tree but they are straight instead of angled, I may be forced to use the stock plastic upper links until i can get the right size ends ordered.

servo and linkage installed

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Transmission

Upgraded to steel gears and going from 48p spur and pinion to a 32p setup. The spur gear is larger than stock and will require some modification to the cover (Dremmel to the rescue) I have a feeling that the nine tooth pinion is going to be to small, the drive ratio is going to be (pardon my math, I was in the Marines) 6.6:1, quite a bit longer than the stock 4:1. Won't really know until I run it, can always get a larger pinion.

Tekin 35T Pro handwound

DIG installed, transmission mounted on skidplate

Everything married together. In the above photo you can see that I'm using the straight link ends. They fit, but these will only be a temporary band-aid until my angled link ends arrive. Also, it's nice to finally see the ceramic saki cups that i got in Okinawa put to good use. “Kam-pai!”

 

[sixhundred71]

doesn't look like a noob build. Looks like your off to a good start."thumbsup"

 

[redrokin00XJ]

Great start BTW!!!! You dumped a ton of money into this, Unless you whored yourself out. That will be my next step for sure. My question is on that 9T pinion, Its a little tall for a rig like that.... Even on my Comp rigs I use a 12 to 14T pinion. that's just my .02 But it is really lookin good. Keep up the good work Devil Dog.

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Thanks for the comments! Thankfully, there is a resource like the rccrawler.com, I must have read every Wraith build thread there was before I attempted my own. Lots of great ideas and advice, I really wanted to do this build right the first time.

My question is on that 9T pinion, Its a little tall for a rig like that.... Even on my Comp rigs I use a 12 to 14T pinion.

redrokin, thanks for the advice on the pinion gear, I will definitely try a larger one.

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Starting to construct the chassis. I'm going to go ahead and put most of the cage together, body and interior will come later. I want to use this opportunity to mock out the electronics placement and from other threads it appears that the hood will have to be cut to fit the new upper shock mounts. It will be easier to mark those cuts with the lexan still clear.

I had read in other threads that the CKRC lowering kit had fit issues

used a Dremmel to file the upper part of the passthrough hole on both front mounts and also ground out the spur cover to fit the larger spur gear.

Here we see the rear shock mount bracket. I know that a lot of people are flipping the rear shock mount to get the rear end lower. I won't be doing that, I figure that with the adjustable lowering kit and the inverted lower link mounts on the axles (forgot to point that out in the earlier post) I'll have a low enough COG. I also reinforced the rear mount with a 55mm stand-off (Axial AXA1428 ) this is probably overkill, but figured it couldn't hurt.

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Mounted the body to the skid plate

this should give me a good idea how I want to run the electronics. Starting with the essential Wraith mod: battery forward. I'll be using a cut-down battery tray rather than the CKRC plate.

Dremmel got a workout today

Like a freakin glove

Here's what I have in mind for the rear compartment. That is just a cardstock mock-up, the real one will be either aluminum or styrene.

looks like I'm going to need a servo extension

 

[crawler nut]

i ran a 62/10 with my 35 turn and it was perfect. your gearing also depends on the weight. if its a lite rig you can gear it a bit higher, if its heavy you will be happier with a smaller 9 or 10 tooth pinion. my guess is with all of theat aluminum you'll end up pretty heavy, so i think you made a good choice with the gearing.

 

[HRDROKN]

Damn!

Nice stack of parts!

"thumbsup"

A co-worker introduced me to this hobby a few months back. I have absolutely no experience with crawlers and very little experience with RC vehicles in general. This will be a pretty basic kit build with some commonly used modifications, nothing fancy or truly original.

Futaba 3PM-X
Tekin FXR ESC
Tekin T35 Pro Handwound
HiTec HS-7955TG (steer)
HiTec HS-5645MG (Dig)
RC4WD Aluminum Axle Front/Rear (Black)
RC4WD Aluminum Axle Truss (silver)
Ballistic Fabrications Aluminum Diff Covers
RC4WD Resistance 2.2 internal beadlocks
HR Aluminum Diff Cases
HR Aluminum Bottom Shock Mounts
HR Hard Steel Transmission Gears
Axial HD Ring and Pinion gears
Axial Aluminum Steering Knuckles
Axial Tube High Clearance Links
Axial Aluminum competition (heh-heh) Shocks
Axial DIG Upgrade set
CKRC Suspension Lowering Kit
CKRC Hood hinge kit
CKRC 32p Spur/Pinion gears
MIP Spline Center CVDs
Integy Alloy Steering Linkage

As you can see by my list, I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

[trialbuyfire]

I just completed my battery forward mod last night. I did basically the same thing as you except I left my electronics block in the stock location and just moved the esc to the rear.
This config fits without having to change any wiring. I attached my chopped up battery tray using one screw on the tab just below the electronics. I also mounted it 180° different than yours with the opening facing the front.
I got my aluminum rear tray from Carter Fab. That's where I mounted the esc using a single hood pin. I have pictures and will post them pretty soon...
Good luck! Looking great so far!"thumbsup"

this should give me a good idea how I want to run the electronics. Starting with the essential Wraith mod: battery forward. I'll be using a cut-down battery tray rather than the CKRC plate.

Dremmel got a workout today

Like a freakin glove

Here's what I have in mind for the rear compartment. That is just a cardstock mock-up, the real one will be either aluminum or styrene.

looks like I'm going to need a servo extension

 

[Red_13]

Mounted the body to the skid plate

this should give me a good idea how I want to run the electronics. Starting with the essential Wraith mod: battery forward. I'll be using a cut-down battery tray rather than the CKRC plate.

Dremmel got a workout today

Like a freakin glove

Here's what I have in mind for the rear compartment. That is just a cardstock mock-up, the real one will be either aluminum or styrene.

looks like I'm going to need a servo extension

Nice build...If you dont mind me asking. What did you use for the support brace between your rear shocks, or does the kit come with it? Havent ordered mine yet. Just trying to get my parts list together first. Thanks in advance..."thumbsup"

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Not a lot done today, pics of today's progress to follow. To answer some of your comments and questions:

trialbuyfire wrote:

I just completed my battery forward mod last night. I did basically the same thing as you except I left my electronics block in the stock location and just moved the esc to the rear.
This config fits without having to change any wiring. I attached my chopped up battery tray using one screw on the tab just below the electronics. I also mounted it 180° different than yours with the opening facing the front.

Damn, I didn't even consider that. I think I've actually seen some similar configs in other threads. Unfortunately, I'm already committed to the way I have it.

red_13 asked:

What did you use for the support brace between your rear shocks, or does the kit come with it? Havent ordered mine yet. Just trying to get my parts list together first.

That part does not come with the kit you will need to order them. They are Axial 55mm stand-off (Axial AXA1428 ) which come in a set of 2, you'll also need two M3x20mm Set Screws (Axial AXA0187)they come in sets of 10

HRDROKN said:

Damn!

Nice stack of parts!

Dude...you know that this is all your fault right? :lmao:

If you all want to see some no holds barred, seat of the pants fabricating; check out HRDROKN's Venom Creeper build.

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Electronics and rear compartment

From dream to reality. I used a sheet of 1.5mm styrene, would have preferred aluminum but I don't have the tools or skill to attempt it (I'm using my wife's desk and some cardboard as a workbench for crying out loud!) styrene is a little more noob friendly. Why doesn't Dremel (look I actually spelled it right this time) make a dedicated counter-sink bit?

Control wires laid in. Those Tekin FXR ESC's are HUGE!!! (Oh...and kids...don't smoke.)

Measured out the wiring harness. I was originally going to use 4mm bullet connectors between the ESC and motor, but they seemed too large for the 14ga wire that I'm using. Shouldn't be much issue with using a set of Dean's plugs instead, should there?

completed wiring harness.

OK boys and girls, if there is one piece of wisdom I can share with my fellow builders out there, it's this: Do Not Go Cheap on a Soldering Iron!!! I found out the hard way that a cheapo RadioShack soldering iron will not do for this kind of work. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but get yourself a quality Iron. One that is solidly constructed, has adjustable power, preferably with a narrow "chisel" style tip. Lesson learned...moving on.

Power cables laid in. Tried as best I could to route power cables down one side and control cables down the other to minimize cross-talk (that is a thing right?)

 

[trialbuyfire]

Too funny! I too am using my wife's desk with cardboard on it to work on my Wraith!

You're work is looking really good! I love the detailed pics and cleanliness!
This is a very well organized build, so it's easy to follow.

Thanks also for the soldering iron tip. Care to share specifics like what iron you like and in your experience what price range are we talking about for a "good" soldering iron?

Electronics and rear compartment

From dream to reality. I used a sheet of 1.5mm styrene, would have preferred aluminum but I don't have the tools or skill to attempt it (I'm using my wife's desk and some cardboard as a workbench for crying out loud!) styrene is a little more noob friendly. Why doesn't Dremel (look I actually spelled it right this time) make a dedicated counter-sink bit?

OK boys and girls, if there is one piece of wisdom I can share with my fellow builders out there, it's this: Do Not Go Cheap on a Soldering Iron!!! I found out the hard way that a cheapo RadioShack soldering iron will not do for this kind of work. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but get yourself a quality Iron. One that is solidly constructed, has adjustable power, preferably with a narrow "chisel" style tip. Lesson learned...moving on.

 

[BasuraBlanco]

Thanks also for the soldering iron tip. Care to share specifics like what iron you like and in your experience what price range are we talking about for a "good" soldering iron?

I borrowed my neighbor's, it was a Weller WESD51D (50W digital), and was very impressed. A quick search on google shows that they retail for around $180 - $200, quite pricey. Weller also makes an analog version (WES51) which appears to be less expensive ($90 - $120) but of the same quality.

 

[trialbuyfire]

Perfect, thank you! That helps a ton.
I've been struggling with my cheapo soldering iron and this confirms the fact that having the right tool for the job is essential to success!
I am in the process of changing all my batteries and RCs to Deans.
With 3 cars, a helicopter, a tank and about a dozen batteries I've got a bunch of soldering to do...

I borrowed my neighbor's, it was a Weller WESD51D (50W digital), and was very impressed. A quick search on google shows that they retail for around $180 - $200, quite pricey. Weller also makes an analog version (WES51) which appears to be less expensive ($90 - $120) but of the same quality.