My shafty build

[klausdenmark]

Are those homemade wheel weights? I made some from brass, it is heavier than both steel and stainless steel, and then it is easier to machine too and will not rust. Cant wait to see what this crawler will do.

[ROLANDROCKSHOP]

video is done...
just have to upload..should be up by tonite..
6+hrs of building compressed into 4 mins..

[mmatthews]

Originally Posted by klausdenmark

Are those homemade wheel weights? I made some from brass, it is heavier than both steel and stainless steel, and then it is easier to machine too and will not rust. Cant wait to see what this crawler will do.

Got the washers from WooPigSooie. I thought the rust added flavor. Really he was helping me out with some tires and wheels. I'll save up and a nice set of wheels down the road but, this will get me going for now.

[ninja turtle]

Originally Posted by mmatthews

I'll have to measure it and let you know.

cool thanks. i like how you guys mounted the upper shocks. does that make the chassi a little more rigded having the cross posts all the way out?

[mmatthews]

Originally Posted by ninja turtle

cool thanks. i like how you guys mounted the upper shocks. does that make the chassi a little more rigded having the cross posts all the way out?

By feel it seems that way. I've not ran it on the rocks yet to find out, plus I don't know what the hell I'm doing yet.

[EvilTwin v2]

Originally Posted by ninja turtle

cool thanks. i like how you guys mounted the upper shocks. does that make the chassi a little more rigded having the cross posts all the way out?

Mainly, what it does is allow you to keep the cross braces stationary, but move the shock mounts around. This is essential for somebody using a Gunner style body mount.

[Szczerba]

Glad it to see it put together Mike! Looks great.

On the rear upper links. It looks like they are a little long right now. The rear axle pinion angle is kicked up too much. The truck can do funky things with it like that. I know it's probably kicked up for clearance but making it flatter will help with the overall drivetrain system.

Might see if you can shorten the the rear uppers a little. Also, with the rod ends turned sideways, that might cause some binding when the truck tries to suck down. The rod end will be limited by the rod end ball. Looks like they are close to their down travel limit right now.
Shortening the rear uppers should help with this and the pinion angle.

But that's just me looking at the pictures.

[mmatthews]

Originally Posted by Szczerba

Glad it to see it put together Mike! Looks great.

On the rear upper links. It looks like they are a little long right now. The rear axle pinion angle is kicked up too much. The truck can do funky things with it like that. I know it's probably kicked up for clearance but making it flatter will help with the overall drivetrain system.

Might see if you can shorten the the rear uppers a little. Also, with the rod ends turned sideways, that might cause some binding when the truck tries to suck down. The rod end will be limited by the rod end ball. Looks like they are close to their down travel limit right now.
Shortening the rear uppers should help with this and the pinion angle.

But that's just me looking at the pictures.

We thought the rear links were too long as well. We decided to just keep moving and get it rolling, then I could go back and adjust some things. "rod ends turned sideways" I'll take a look at this and see what I can adjust.

[ninja turtle]

Originally Posted by mmatthews

By feel it seems that way. I've not ran it on the rocks yet to find out, plus I don't know what the hell I'm doing yet.

haha awesome.

Originally Posted by EvilTwin v2

Mainly, what it does is allow you to keep the cross braces stationary, but move the shock mounts around. This is essential for somebody using a Gunner style body mount.

ah that makes sense.

[Szczerba]

Originally Posted by mmatthews

We thought the rear links were too long as well. We decided to just keep moving and get it rolling, then I could go back and adjust some things. "rod ends turned sideways" I'll take a look at this and see what I can adjust.

When the rear uppers get shortened it will reduce the rod end/mounting angles on the rear 4 link mount.

...

[mmatthews]

Originally Posted by Szczerba

Glad it to see it put together Mike! Looks great.

On the rear upper links. It looks like they are a little long right now. The rear axle pinion angle is kicked up too much. The truck can do funky things with it like that. I know it's probably kicked up for clearance but making it flatter will help with the overall drivetrain system.

Might see if you can shorten the the rear uppers a little. Also, with the rod ends turned sideways, that might cause some binding when the truck tries to suck down. The rod end will be limited by the rod end ball. Looks like they are close to their down travel limit right now.
Shortening the rear uppers should help with this and the pinion angle.

But that's just me looking at the pictures.

Looking back at the pictures it seems the only way to be able to turn the upper ball ends front and rear would be with another mount of some type. Doesn't look like I can use that mount an turn the ball ends 90 degrees. I do understand what you are saying about reaching the rod end ball limits when sucked down. May just try shorting the upper links first and see what happens.

[Szczerba]

Originally Posted by mmatthews

Looking back at the pictures it seems the only way to be able to turn the upper ball ends front and rear would be with another mount of some type. Doesn't look like I can use that mount an turn the ball ends 90 degrees. I do understand what you are saying about reaching the rod end ball limits when sucked down. May just try shorting the upper links first and see what happens.

Yes, shortening the uppers will reduce what I am pointing to in the above picture.

[JeremyH]

What is your WB at? If it is slightly too short, then you might have those spacers at the rear axle link mount in the wrong spot. It might need to go: shock (inside of outer mount), spacer, link (inside of inner mount). That would slightly shorten your WB and rotate the pinion down some.

I looked, but I cant find any other builds with a closeup of the way the spacer sits....so I could be wrong.

[mmatthews]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

What is your WB at? If it is slightly too long, then you might have those spacers at the rear axle link mount in the wrong spot. It might need to go: shock, link, spacer. That would slightly shorten your WB and rotate the pinion down some.

I looked, but I cant find any other builds with a closeup of the way the spacer sits....so I could be wrong.

I'll get all the measurments posted up soon. It was late and Josh has an evil attack dog () so I was under pressure to get done.

[JeremyH]

I edited my post....read it again. I was typing faster than my brain was thinking...

[mmatthews]

I do know RTR weight was 4lb 7oz.

[ROLANDROCKSHOP]

we had to run the shocks on the outside because they were rubbing on the links..

michael,i think once you trim those uppers a few mm it should all be good
to go.

his wheelbase is at 12 1/4in when we were done building i checked..

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by ROLANDROCKSHOP

his wheelbase is at 12 1/4in when we were done building i checked..

Before you trim those links, I would try moving them to the inside of the mount and maybe just use a longer spacer to span the entire width between to the pieces of plastic that make up the amount. I bet that'd put your WB at a full 12.5" and flatten out that pinion angle nicely.

[mmatthews]

Originally Posted by Szczerba

Yes, shortening the uppers will reduce what I am pointing to in the above picture.

You can't rotate them without using a different mounting plate. I guess I could always make some type of angle mounting brackets to turn them....

[mmatthews]

Originally Posted by ninja turtle

cool thanks. i like how you guys mounted the upper shocks. does that make the chassi a little more rigded having the cross posts all the way out?

It was the best place for mounting the shocks for clearance. As for the post spanning across the chassis, I think you would want them even if you didn't use the Gunner style body mounts. It definitely stiffens the chassis up. Before installing the outer post you could easily squeeze the ends of the chassis quite a bit. Not a knock on the chassis but it's a good distance out there to the outer ends and you really couldn't expect not to have some flex without the cross post installed.