AS-3 Bearing mod

[Kaptain]

The plastic bushing in the stock AS-3 servo seems to wear quickly which causes a bunch of slop at the servo horn... especially when running 2.2 wheels. If there's too much slop there's potential that the metal gears will start to deflect which is never a good thing.

I've seen this mod come up briefly in the past but with little additional information, so here you go.

Bearing Size > 10 x 6 x 3 (Part number 58043)

Here's where I got this bearing from (only comes in a pack of 6 - which was under 7 bucks + $5 for shipping > RCHelicopterShop 58043 Ball Bearing (10 x 6 x 3)

Servo taken apart - only 4 long screws hold it together (servo horn needs to come off as well)



Here's the stock plastic bushing



Bearing and bushing side by side and the bearing in place. This bearing is a perfect fit.



All back together - no slop whatsoever now.

[Devil Inc]

Nice write-up, very much the same as the bearing mod for the AS-2 servos. Here's a little cheaper solution for the bearings. A Traxxas rebuild kit for the 2075 servo, is only $4 from my LHS. It has the 2 bearings and plastic gears, I just pitch the gears as you don't need them. Works awesome in a pinch, most LHS should have the rebuild kit in stock.

[mitchr97]

Would that mod work with a hi tec HS 5646 wp water proof servo?

[Devil Inc]

Originally Posted by FORDROX97

Would that mod work with a hi tec HS 5646 wp water proof servo?

That should have 2 bearings in it already, if you ever need to service/replace them, I would think that this would work. You'd need to verify the size of the bearing required.

[Kaptain]

Originally Posted by Devil Inc

Nice write-up, very much the same as the bearing mod for the AS-2 servos. Here's a little cheaper solution for the bearings. A Traxxas rebuild kit for the 2075 servo, is only $4 from my LHS. It has the 2 bearings and plastic gears, I just pitch the gears as you don't need them. Works awesome in a pinch, most LHS should have the rebuild kit in stock.

Thanks - good to know. Here's a link to the this rebuild kit from Tower Hobbies > TowerHobbies.com | TRA2072 2072 Traxxas Gear Set 2070 & 2075 Servos

[tnt-salvage]

last night I went threw some boxes of old hobby stuff from years ago. found a handful of servos hpi futaba airtronics ect . there was this one servo that had a sticker on it saying ems bearing conversion kit. never seen it before so I opened it up and what do you know? the bearing works great on the as-3.

[TacoCrawler]

This is really nice to know...
appreciate the heads up

I've been on the phone with Axial (Hobbico)
in regards to the very same issue.

The Axial (Hobbico) rep chose to warranty the two that I have...
So I'm waiting for those to arrive.

The Axial (Hobbico) rep didn't tell me what servos they would be sending
as replacements...
But assured me they would not fail so easily.
Possibly they offer bearings in the later released AS-3 servos ?
Hmmm... or maybe they sell upgrade bearing kits for the AS-3 ?

Oddly the rep didn't seem to know what was causing the slop
I have at the output shaft on both my AS-3's.

He wasn't even sure if the AS-3's were fully metal geared !?
The rep also said that he hadn't personally received any complaint
regarding the failure/slop at the output shaft of the AS-3's

But it looks to me as if the AS-3's are full metal geared !?
and the bushing's are what is actually at fault.

Possibly Axial (Hobbico) offers a premium AS-3 W bearings ? :dunno:

They didn't want the fubar'd AS-3's returned...
so maybe I'll pull those apart and see if replacing the bushings W bearings
will correct the output shaft slop on mine.

I don't believe the gears are stripped yet...
so maybe I'll get lucky and the bearings will correct the issue.

[Crawl Space]

I wish I'd found this thread a few days ago...

[DudeWalker]

I posted about this in the Wraith beginners thread. If you've got old broken servos in your bag, open them up and see if the outputs are supported by bearings. In my case, dead Futaba s9351. Bearings fit perfectly. Another guy posted in same thread that he used Airtronics bearings that fit perfectly. No slop no play in the Axial servo now. Free mod if you've got a dead servo w/ the right sized bearings. My Axial servo is doing just fine in my Wraith. I did the mod before too many packs went through the truck - servo was basically brand-new. It's working great on 6v BEC. On the BEC it's faster and stronger than I would have expected. Good Post!!

[TacoCrawler]

Thought I used some old Traxxas servo bearings...

tho' weren't a week later...
I fried the very same servo with water intrusion

Tho' these bearings will help the A-3 last survive somewhat longer...
IMO... this servo is still too weak for moving big tires.

[Crawl Space]

Originally Posted by TacoCrawler

Thought I used some old Traxxas servo bearings...

tho' weren't a week later...
I fried the very same servo with water intrusion

Tho' these bearings will help the A-3 last survive somewhat longer...
IMO... this servo is still too weak for moving big tires.

Doh! True, but this will help scx10 RTR owners who don't want to shell out another $50 for a decent upgrade servo. My dad and I are going to do this mod to his Rubicon next time I visit.

[6.2blazer]

To add to the collection of information, I had a dead Hitec 645 laying around and swapped out the bearings from it for a perfect fit in the AS-3 servo

[6sharky9]

you can also buy the servo rebuild kit for the traxxas 2075 and just use the bearings it comes with..think its like $3 or $4 dollars for the kit...ebay is getting just over $6 shipped.

Hard to beat 6 bearings for $6.00 though like the op mentioned.

[TacoCrawler]

Originally Posted by Crawl Space

Doh! True, but this will help scx10 RTR owners who don't want to shell out another $50 for a decent upgrade servo. My dad and I are going to do this mod to his Rubicon next time I visit.

I thought the same...
but there are inexpensive options...

I recently purchased two Solar 772's...
were only $ 17.50 each
Haven't installed them yet
but they seem to get good review

Solar Servo D772 High Voltage 0.17sec@7.4v 64g Digital Metal Gear

* would be wise to run a BEC with this servo.

[chattinfarms]

You should be able to turn that gear as to where those teeth aren't used if I remember correctly

[Crawl Space]

Originally Posted by TacoCrawler

I thought the same...
but there are inexpensive options...

I recently purchased two Solar 772's...
were only $ 17.50 each
Haven't installed them yet
but they seem to get good review

Solar Servo D772 High Voltage 0.17sec@7.4v 64g Digital Metal Gear

* would be wise to run a BEC with this servo.

Yup. You should check out my Wraith upgrade thread


@ chattinfarms - There's a stop built in to the output gear that prevents you from just turning it around. I definitely needed more torque, however, so an upgrade is welcomed on my wraith

[RubikonKid]

Sorry to bring this thread back up but I'm in the process of doing this upgrade now and can't get my steering servo apart. Any advice?

Edit: nevermind, I got it

[TacoCrawler]

Originally Posted by RubikonKid

Sorry to bring this thread back up but I'm in the process of doing this upgrade now and can't get my steering servo apart. Any advice?

Edit: nevermind, I got it

be sure you dunk the body of that servo in plastic dip...
they're not water proofed nor even water resistant.
Axial servos use a multitude of plates for the case assembly.
And there are no rubber seals (O-rings) between those.

I also recommend packing the output shaft with grease...
and installing a rubber O-ring on the end of the output shaft.
* sandwiched between the OP shaft and the servo horn
(^ add a coating of grease to that O-ring as well !)

I did the same bearing mod...
only to have moisture penetrate and kill the servo.
Was a waste of time in my case.

[RubikonKid]

Originally Posted by TacoCrawler

be sure you dunk the body of that servo in plastic dip...
they're not water proofed nor even water resistant.
Axial servos use a multitude of plates for the case assembly.
And there are no rubber seals (O-rings) between those.

I also recommend packing the output shaft with grease...
and installing a rubber O-ring on the end of the output shaft.
* sandwiched between the OP shaft and the servo horn
(^ add a coating of grease to that O-ring as well !)

I did the same bearing mod...
only to have moisture penetrate and kill the servo.
Was a waste of time in my case.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not interested in waterproofing my rig just yet, but it will happen one day. I need to go out and get some grease to coat the bearing with

[canadianbacon]

I never did any waterproofing on my AS-2 before, or after, switching to the bearings and it's still running and it's been completely submerged numerous times. So if it fails, it's either a case by case basis, or user error.