Guess it's time I clean off my workbench and get back to work on this, eh?
Placed an order with RPP today for a bunch of much needed goodies to remedy some of my previous problems. Some of you already know what I've been leaning towards from my responses to other threads, but for those that dont:
4 Gmade XD Piggyback shocks are on their way. Opted for the 103mm length. I also ordered a set of dual rate springs from the Slash Proline Powerstrokes, thought I'd try them on it for a better ride height adjustment. Only concern is if the spring diameter is the same as what the piggybacks use. Brief forum and internet search didn't provide any answers, but even if they dont I've got another project in mind I'll use them on.
The 3Racing shocks I've been running have been leaking from day 1. While they did a decent job, I really like the looks and added tuneability the Gmade piggybacks offer. I never really tried to prevent them from leaking, all they ever received was an occasional bleed & refill, with 1 cleaning the entire time I've owned them. Might tear them down and try sliming the o-rings for use later on.
RC4WD D44 Wraith length axle set for the front and rear are on their way as well. I likely could've gotten a set of Currie's for the same price, but I haven't seen anybody else running these yet so I figured I'd give them a shot. That and I like the looks of them. "thumbsup"
Ordered the matching steering link set for them as well.
A pair of Gripfab lockers are on their way. I've read some fantastic reviews on them so far, and nothing negative. While the HR lockers I bought haven't given me anything to worry about yet I'm not satisfied with the amount of slop they have. Will save them for another upcoming project.
The 43/13 Ring & pinion gears I put in the rear so no wear whatsoever, so I'll be moving them to the new D44 housing. But the stock 38/13 I've been running in the front is done for.. No teeth left on it. I did find the cause tho, when the suspension was compressing it was jamming the pinion gear in. Solution? I grounded the male and female MIP shafts down (Rather crudely at that) to shorten their lengths.
All I had available to do this at the time was a hand held grinder. Will purchase a better sander in the future for cleaner work. But, it serves it's purpose and gained me the clearance I needed.
A set of the thrust washers SuperShafty sells are on their way to prevent this from happening again with the new housings. Too much money invested not to take precautions against this. I've also got a set of 36/14 overdrive gears coming for the front. I know there's been issues with the gear mesh on that set, but I'm going to give them a try anyway. If I'm not satisfied I'll get the heavy duty 38/13 for the front again.
Aside from ordering parts I've also began some panel work:
Nothing fancy. Battery tray / splash shield, side panels, and you can't see it but there's a flat panel under the Dinky dropbox as well. I relocated the panels the chassis came with to use as inner door panels. Because of the servo for the 2 speed trans I'm going to have to make a custom interior. Haven't quite figured that one out yet on what I'd like to do.
Speaking of the 2 speed trans.. I ordered up a set of the HSP throttle linkages.
My servo horn on the shift servo stripped out. Too much throw was being applied from improper setup. Saw another forum member use something similiar, and realized it's the perfect setup for what I need. Will put a spring on either side of the shaft, so it'll allow full throw of the servo horn in either direction without putting too much tension on it and stripping anything out.
Future planned upgrades:
Better radio / receiver. The 3 channel I bought from RC4WD just doesn't have much range on it. A thing made painfully clear when I was at HonchoForever's gathering last year.
Another 3s lipo battery. The Venom I've been using refuses to charge anymore, and is less than a year old. I'm convinced this is my fault tho, that I didn't set my lipo cutoff correctly and ran it down below what was needed. Still looking into getting it revived.
Benjamin at HobbyTown USA in Lubbock offered to try and revive it for me, I just haven't taken the 70 mile trip yet. Some people might say that's too far to drive, but look at it this way. Lubbock has the nearest Walmart to where I live in the little town of Spur, Texas. It's an hour drive for me, and a trip I take atleast once a month for supplies, and etc.. So really it's not that big of a deal to go. I just don't want to go to Lubbock for that reason alone.
Speaking of which, if anybody is in the Lubbock / Abilene area and want's to meet up sometime, shoot me a PM. "thumbsup"
Another upgrade I plan to do is a new set of links. My front upper 3 link is kinda cobbled together. Would like to find something cleaner and stronger, I'm half convinced it'll break off if I have a half decent fall.
