My rebuild of the problem areas... with pics!

[Guest]

Looks great man, love the black. You do gotta crank in those upper links. Most likely you will also have to adjust the tow. Every time I've taken the front suspension apart I've had to re-adjust.

 

[nitrohobbiest]

I got the camber back in to 1.5 in the front and 2 in the rear. Problem is there is so much slop in the carriers that its not staying where I set it so I picked the average.

So I drove the heck out of this truck today but never got through a whole tank of fuel. Here's the story. First problem happens on the large oval. I was driving it real fast and hard through the corners. Next thing I know, it won't move an inch. Engine is grabbing but no go. Turns out I got a large rock jammed in the center diff gears. Chiseled that out and was back in business. 1 minute later, truck is leaning out bad and stalls. After fooling with it for a while, we discover the fuel cap isn't venting properly. So I messed with it and basically installed it loosely to keep it running. So now I'm running the offroad track with it, hitting the jumps hard. I'm not babying this thing at all. I put the time into it so I could enjoy so now is the time to test its ability. Well several laps later, the truck seems to be pulling to the right as I approach a jump. It ended up being a leaking shock in the front. The lower seal cap either unscrewed or snapped off but either way it had slid down the shaft. At this point I gave up and drove my Savage and my LST2 which I love! The Redcat will get a look over soon but for now, I've had enough with tooling on it and other R/C's need my attention. I have a prototype T-Maxx electric conversion kit that I want to install so that will be my next small adventure.

 

[jared86]

honestly the idea of adding a plate for strength would be a good idea. r u planning on just doubling up the plates in the back? if so id put the plate on the top side of the chassis so it doesn't catch on anything. go with a piece of 1/8" aluminum. match drill the holes so they line up good. u could tap the holes but remember its aluminum so itll strip out easily so id go with like 3 or 4mm dia bolts and lock nuts. as fo bonding them id take like 60 grit sand paper and sand the underside of the plate ur adding to the top side of the chassis and the top side of the stock chassis plate and spread on some jb weld. sanding the plates will give the jb weld something to grip and the jb weld will deffinately make it all stronger. itll still b lightweight but itll also b strong as steel if not stronger being 2 plates stacked you wont hav flex anymore and ive seen jb weld used to hold car engine blocks together. thats the route i plan to go if i ever hav this problem. the best way to bond both plates would be to tig weld the 2 plates together but then u hav the risk of warping but itd be cleaner looking providing you know some1 that can weld nice. lol. good luck with whichever way u go and keep us posted.

 

[nitrohobbiest]

You might want to read this from page one because that phase of the project is long done. I've got it back together and test driven already. You'll see what I chose to do.

I will say about your ideas two things. First, if you put the added plate on top, you alter everything that gets mounted to the chassis. If you add to the back, you have to add to the front or things won't be on the same plane. Secondly, 1/8th inch plate would be ok but you would be forced to screw and nut everything. Neither the 1/8th inch plate or the chassis will tap and hold a screw for very long. You will see I went with 1/4 inch plate added to the bottom and glued and screwed with Locktite. It took some serious beatings today with zero problems related to the chassis. Read back through the thread. I did a bunch of other mods as well.

 

[big JC]

Hey nitrohobbiest,

been following your thread with much enthusiasm as the outcome may sway me to purchase an x series or not. Glad to hear you had no repeat problems but you seem to perhaps have the wind taken out of your sails on further problems. Any overall thoughts on the platform? Worth the time, money, and effort?

 

[nitrohobbiest]

Uhm, hmm. Well, I am tired of working on it but I can't blame the truck for everything. I've had a long battle with steering servos but that not the truck's fault. But it does add to the frustration. But then I watch as the "Baja" guys snap wheel hub pins, pinion bolts, and some other common faults and I think, "Am I really worse off?" Its hard to say. I put a lot of work into this truck to make it the way it should have been in the first place. but i said before, its not even $600 brand new rtr. Even a basic Baja 2wd buggy is over a grand rtr and its not 4 wheel drive. I don't know what to say. If I could do it all again, I think I would have saved up and bought a used Baja instead. All of the problem areas have a fix you can buy from a number of companies. Redcat has no fix for what I did to it so I had to do it myself. It was rewarding and yet it was time spent that I didn't really have.

Right now the truck is sitting pretty well with just a bum gas cap and a shock that needs a rebuild. That's absolutely no worse than a Baja or any other truck. I'd say if there was more promise of future product support, I would feel more at ease with this XT. But until then, I have to grin and bear it. I now have the whole winter to attack the shocks and take a look at the front steering linkage mods that I have been hearing about. By next spring, my Baja buddies will be driving the even more expensive Losi 5ive's so I got to have my game ready.

Sorry, I know I didn't answer your question. I honestly haven't fully decided if I did good with this truck. I'm disappointed that it takes so much work to enjoy this truck. But I'm not the only one working on a 5th scale so I guess I'm not really worse off.

 

[big JC]

Uhm, hmm. Well, I am tired of working on it but I can't blame the truck for everything. I've had a long battle with steering servos but that not the truck's fault. But it does add to the frustration. But then I watch as the "Baja" guys snap wheel hub pins, pinion bolts, and some other common faults and I think, "Am I really worse off?" Its hard to say. I put a lot of work into this truck to make it the way it should have been in the first place. but i said before, its not even $600 brand new rtr. Even a basic Baja 2wd buggy is over a grand rtr and its not 4 wheel drive. I don't know what to say. If I could do it all again, I think I would have saved up and bought a used Baja instead. All of the problem areas have a fix you can buy from a number of companies. Redcat has no fix for what I did to it so I had to do it myself. It was rewarding and yet it was time spent that I didn't really have. Right now the truck is sitting pretty well with just a bum gas cap and a shock that needs a rebuild. That's absolutely no worse than a Baja or any other truck. I'd say if there was more promise of future product support, I would feel more at ease with this XT. But until then, I have to grin and bear it. I now have the whole winter to attack the shocks and take a look at the front steering linkage mods that I have been hearing about. By next spring, my Baja buddies will be driving the even more expensive Losi 5ive's so I got to have my game ready.

Sorry, I know I didn't answer your question. I honestly haven't fully decided if I did good with this truck. I'm disappointed that it takes so much work to enjoy this truck. But I'm not the only one working on a 5th scale so I guess I'm not really worse off.

Fair enough and that makes a lot of sense. A big thanks for the reply.

 

[cordy]

A lot of us are doing the same thing.We race here in chicago, we have redcats,mcd`s,neutech`s,fg`s. The rigors of raceing take a toll on all the platforms.Rember the redcats are entry level platforms. The easy but probably a little pricy woud be to strip the xb down and take the chassis to a machine shop and have the cut out pieces welded back in. I am buying myself a neutech tb3 buggy for x mas. A serch of thier forum produces not one thread of anything about chassis flex causing a problem. I have a neutech sandstorm and it`s holding up so far. The redcat will always have a place in my garage.The price of the redcats cant be beat for just having fun.

 

[LightForce]

Wow Lot of time spent on this XT project. I added chassis plate like this to my second XB and beefed up the drivetrain and housing a bit. Let me find a pics so I`ll post it in next thread...

 

[LightForce]

I did this to both MT and XB plus way more . Results were almost bullet proof besides during the 20 minutes race only front housing on XB and diff cups on MT gave up but still happy with the home made upgrades .

http://www.redcatrampageforum.com/showthread.php?t=6758

 

[nitrohobbiest]

I did this to both MT and XB plus way more . Results were almost bullet proof besides during the 20 minutes race only front housing on XB and diff cups on MT gave up but still happy with the home made upgrades . Wish I could see the rods you were talking about. I couldn't do a plate that I couldn't countersink though. Its bad enough the plate sticks out but then the screws do also? For all the work you went through that extra step would have really made it sweet. That full length plate for the MT came out good. I am surprised you've seen a countersunk aluminum plate crack. I've never seen any chassis crack at a screw hole and most holes are countersunk in thinner material. Maybe if the plate were cast making it more brittle but being that its sandwiched to another member, I don't see a problem there. An adhesive layer would go a long way in making it stable, too.

Find pics of those rods. I'm doing steel tubing for the rollcage but if the rods are working out, that's less welding for me to do, lol! My cage only goes half way. I need to make one that connects the front tower to the rear one and some support in between.

 

[LightForce]

here is link to delrin rods they still a bit flexible but you can always use 1/2" http://www.mcmaster.com/#order-history/=f4fvj3

And on MT 1/2" http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/117/3555/=f4fyf9

No coutersunk screws for me they don`t bother me .I went with bigger Hex size plus I used 1 1/2" flat washers to squeeze plate stronger to the chassis. Screws only rubbin when Jumping/landing atleast 3 feet high.

Here is XB with rods , chassis plate and epoxied gears plate and rear housing,bigger rear MT hubs and front 7075Rc. I ran a 20 min+ race with 6 other buggies at the very end I cracked front left CVD here is the prerace warmup http://www.redcatrampageforum.com/showthread.php?t=5552&page=8

 

[nitrohobbiest]

I have my work cut out for me. There is already two Losi 5ives waiting for the next run day at my local track and 2 more guys are gonna pull the trigger as soon as they become available again. I watched one run very consistent laps last night. It is amazing to say the least. And its huge. There is a ton of room behind the engine. Very well laid out. Center diff. Individually adjustable disc brakes for front and rear. Huge tank. Great tires. Its a real nice truck. I will be keeping my eyes out for one next year but this year I need to make mine a competitor. My major issue is my ability to crank around turns. Not sure if its my driving, the lack of center diff, or not enough servo power. I may need to lighten the front diff fluid. I wonder if that would do the trick.

 

[cordy]

Ok here is my plate. I got my plate from grainger part # 2eyv2. 4 inches wide x 3ft long x 1/8 thick. Enough to do 3 platforms,or to braze gussetes in the chassis where redcat cut them out to save weight.You can use hts-2000 alum rods available from the uk,or dura fix here in the states. However I bought alum brazeing rods from harbor freight. Being 68 you can see in the picture I cant cut straight. On the track no body will notice. This should stop the rear diff.nonsense.I used button head screws 5mm x 20 a little longer to make up for the thickness of the plate and washers. The weight of the xb with a jetproside pipe,hpi bulldog wheels,and chassis plate= 27 lbs.

 

[big JC]

I am by no means an expert but if you weld aluminum (especially in the 4-5mm range) it will need to be heat treated to regain it's former strength. I haven't read up on it in a while but if memory serves welding knocks it down 3 series. Again don't quote me on that and I'm to lazy to post a good link on the subject.

 

[cordy]

Brazeing is not welding,to weld aluminum you need argon gas. You are correct I believe on the heat treatin . Brazeing is like flow soldering.

 

[big JC]

Brazeing is not welding,to weld aluminum you need argon gas. You are correct I believe on the heat treatin . Brazeing is like flow soldering.

Ahh I see. Other people have mentioned welding. Do you think brazing would hold up...sure would be prettier than screws & bolts

 

[cordy]

OK watch the video of hts-2000 .You will find it very inlightening. Very strong,the rods are available from the uk,dura fix is available here staeside in ohio.I bought 8 aluminum rods from harbor freight for $14. All you need is a propane torch. Put hts-2000 in your search bar you can find it from there.

 

[nitrohobbiest]

OK watch the video of hts-2000 .You will find it very inlightening. Very strong,the rods are available from the uk,dura fix is available here staeside in ohio.I bought 8 aluminum rods from harbor freight for $14. All you need is a propane torch. Put hts-2000 in your search bar you can find it from there.

When you say you bought aluminum rods from Harbor Freight, are you referring to similar brazing rods to the HTS-2000? Have you tried them yet? Its very intriguing to say the least. I might have done things differently had I known. Not to say mine didn't come out strong but brazing might have been even better.

 

[cordy]

Well I havent tried them yet.They may be dura fix rods made in ohio. The only differance between the two is the hts-2000 has nine elements and the dura fix has a few less.The harbor freight ones say all you need is a propane torch. The uk sells the hts-2000 rods by the pound,likewise for dura fix. Ithink dura fix get about $32 for a pound,then I checked h freight and they wanted $14 for 8 rods.Yes brazed gussets would look a lot nicer.Thier video it looks very strong the guy brazed a verticle plate beat it with a hamer it bended but it didnt break and the chassis flex is no where near that.Well yours looks fantastic,mine looks ugly, but I just did mine from the bottom cuz at 68 I`m lazy.