wanting a winner... xj build thread

[winnerone23]

The ole XJ is in need of some upgrading and parts.

First a small problem.. The mechanic done stole most of the front end!



Luckily, he finally got a panhard bar on, to go with the cms setup.. Instead of leaving it 4 linked with cms..



This was before he used the front end of the trail rig, for the build up of his "street" truck!





But luckily.. I new, Beefier, front axle is coming!

[winnerone23]

New axle showed up today!

BDN of BmachineRC did an Incredible job executing this axle setup!

When I did the rear steer on this rig, I realized that the narrow XR mod still left a gain in track width.
So when I saw the True width "repair" tubes from BND, I wanted to go for it!

Then when the wheels started turning on the TF2 mod, which took my XJ front end, it was a perfect time to incorporate these tubes into my build.

I sent a Dlux modded scx housing and a VP wraith C's to Bruce and let him do his work.

I feel a dremel and some time, could make this a in house project. With Motorama coming up, time is thin.

I used as many vendor parts as I could.. Dlux modded scx housing, BmachineRC "repair" tubes, a HH torquemaster spool, and CW crawler's steering arms.
Added in a axial OD gear and the rest is VP.





More on it, soon....

[winnerone23]

I went straight to the shop on this one..

First was getting the OD gear loctite'd on the HH spool. Give it time to dry before getting lubed with Black-n-Tacky.



Then working on the vvd's.. Slid them in and marked them for a cut.



With cutting the tangs down and the press fit of the HH torquemaster spool, I had to make the tangs longer and message the tangs to fit. All together and zero slop!





Bolted together and ready for the rig!

[winnerone23]

After I got the axle built, I went straight to mounting the axle. (Not that the thread shows it) lol..
I was slowed down by the Acton of the mounted axle. Or by the panhard/3rd link setup..
The axle is centered at ride height but moves to the driver side during extension and towards the passenger side with compression.
Is this normal? I don't know.. Anyone?
I went thru this with the drag link off/on, 3rd link off/on, panhard bar lengthened/shortened, and about anything else I could think of to try.

Maybe it is what it is and just the nature of it?
So here's what I got.. Which isn't done and only mached up..





I'm going to turn my servo 180° and see how that setup feels. Ti tie rod will be added/made as well.



Steering has me wanting more! ... But that cause of the vvd's bottoming out. I have uni's to replace them with.
I mean, I'm not even hitting the steering stops, links, or shocks. :/

So today, with having a extra housing, I pulled the rear axle to swap out the housing for the Dlux modded housing that was originally on the front.
I really wouldn't have, but why not!? That and the 4 holes for the rear truss where stripped out from a bad wreck/roll at a comp a few month's ago. It got a quick on course repair with zip ties and had been like that since.

I cleaned it all up, new lockout bearings, and cut the servo mount posts off.



The Jeep in all its repairing glory! Lol



More to come yet.. New link ends all around, fresh bearings in the tranny, and a new proto HH Trailmaster BL to test! 8o

[winnerone23]

Was sitting here looking at this poor thing..



And decided it was time for a freshening up..

Toothbrushed it clean, pulled apart, new bearings, fresh Black-n-Tacky, and rebuilt.



Should be good for a couple more seasons, right!? Lol..



Going to get a couple packs on the OG HH Trailmaster BL before dropping the new proto in for testing..

Looking more trail ready already!

[winnerone23]

Closer and closer we go!

Got lucky in the for sale section.. Picked up some ti links and a thought on a new direction for steering..



Well.. The knuckles are a no go.. :(

But I found a ti link for the tie rod that's perfect!

I also rotated the servo and everything is working Great together!



Uni's will be my next step.. Now just to mod them for full 70° steering and turn the epa's up..

[winnerone23]

Started into wiring.. It was a little messy.. Who cares, you can't see them, right!? Wrong!!! I know what they look like under the interior.. Lol



Moving towards clean up..



Had to get the winch controller in there first..



Battery plate and battery.. 1300mah 4s.. I have zero complaints about forward bias or the height of where the pack sits..





Wheels remounted.. Found some, almost, 2oz weights.. Can't have knuckle weights and the Dlux knuckles didn't fit, so these should do just fine. They just barely fit on the offset, so they actually should just spin on the offset and not add any drag to the drive train.
Kinda look like disc brakes.. Lol..



Now for required/highly recommended figure, for motorama..



Also, a "rear view mirror".. It was part of a parts tree.. Works perfect!



Had her out running today.. Love this rig!

[Billy D]

Looks great. I did the narrow xr10 mod but yours seems to be a little more scale with the size. I think I am gonna have to try that next.

[Billy D]

Sorry just read the whole thing. I am so interested in different ideas to get max steering out of these. It's not the MOA pro so it is a little different for me. I actually run the full width xr mod on my comp 1.9 rig. It's widder but so much more stable as a lot of our comps are on the rocks. I have another with the narrow xr mod that I use for trails but I really like your setup.

[winnerone23]

Stay tuned Billy D, I'm going to mod some uni's, post pics, and get steering like my 1.9 Comp rig.
I get more steering out of this then the Sporty and the Berg!



So, I'm goin to see what I can pull out of this setup and get the xj steering! : thumbsup

[winnerone23]

I'm no fan of blue, not even the little that the bec comes wrapped in!



Which luckily serves a double purpose this time..



While coat one is drying, I pulled the rear axle apart for a HH torquemaster spool..





Then while coat two is drying, I mounted the wheel wells back on..



And mounted a spare tire.. Matching limited edition mesh wheel, CI 4.5" Lil Nova foam, and of course, wrapped in a Pitbull rock beast. Now, where to put it..


Kinda fits nice here.. Kinda...



Inspiration photo..



Play time..

[mhflies]

looking good troy! I just picked up a scx10 the other day got any spare parts? lol

[winnerone23]

Thanks Mitch! Who me? Spare parts.. Nah......

[winnerone23]

I had to do some mall-crawler type of "stuff" that I really, am not happy about! As we have limited room.. Have to do it.


But it will never be known! Lol..


Just had to get that out..

[winnerone23]

Took this to ECC for trail class.. Nothing spectacular but not last! Lol..

I noticed something was wrong while driving, amongst other things.

I had switched to a panhard setup, over 4 link.. Mistake!
While the setup was good, it didn't perform as nice as the 4 link.

Drive train wasn't smooth either, nothing to do with panhard..

So after a well deserved whoopin! I put it on the bench to be worked on..

I started at the rear and worked my way forward..
In the rear axle, once I got into it, (the rear shaft's where "snuggly" held in the HH spool) I realized, the loctite didn't hold and one of the ring gear screw's was backed out, causing some binding on the axle housing..
All back together, smoooothhh now..

I moved to the tranny..
With a proto HH trailmaster, I left the gearing the same as the OG trailmaster.. The proto was less torquey but smoother start up and better mid range and top end..
So I geared it from 56/11(5.1:1) to 60/10(6:1)..

Pulled the tranny apart to inspect..
All back together and good..

Then I got to the front axle..
Having the "repair" tubes from BmachineRC, which are scx true width XR steering, I was lacking steering, with vvd's..
So I got to work on some uni's.. Modded them like all my comp rigs run..

And started putting it back together..

I have some tweaking to do with the servo/drag link setup, but other then that, I now have a little bit of steering..


Even with the mass amount of steering, I'm just getting to the lower links at full steer..

All 4 linked and feeling good on the rocks!
Just a few more tweaks and she'll be ready for the next few Rausch events, leading up to the NENC and World's..

[sawhead]

The daughters

[sawhead]

With a set of wheels that my daughter likes better since it's hers now

[BoilerUp]

Great thread and a very nice build! My 1:1 off-road toy is a 98' XJ Classic so the scale XJ builds hit home for me. I really enjoyed reading the thread and following the build along through the different changes and performance upgrades as well as your experience with them. Good work! It definitely has given me ideas of how I want to execute my build.

On another topic, I just installed the CMS/Panhard/3-link front end from VP on my rig. While I haven't thoroughly tested it, I wonder now if the true 4 link and CMS is the way to go after seeing you change back to the 4-link. May have to pick up a four-link mount for the front axle and test that setup. I'm just not sure if I care for the way the suspension cycles with the 3-link.

[winnerone23]

Originally Posted by BoilerUp

Great thread and a very nice build! My 1:1 off-road toy is a 98' XJ Classic so the scale XJ builds hit home for me. I really enjoyed reading the thread and following the build along through the different changes and performance upgrades as well as your experience with them. Good work! It definitely has given me ideas of how I want to execute my build.

On another topic, I just installed the CMS/Panhard/3-link front end from VP on my rig. While I haven't thoroughly tested it, I wonder now if the true 4 link and CMS is the way to go after seeing you change back to the 4-link. May have to pick up a four-link mount for the front axle and test that setup. I'm just not sure if I care for the way the suspension cycles with the 3-link.

Thanks BoilerUp! I appreciate your appreciation! ;).

If you have any questions, comments, or idea's.. Post em up.. I'm always in for help/helping..

Personally... Cms and 4-link, is the best setup.. Atleast for me, my performance Wants, and it just "feels" good during drive time..

The Extreme steering out of the, BmachineRC, "true width" repair tubes, has caused some mods..

I had to take 3/8", or so, off the front bumper ends..
It turned out Great!




The HH Trailmaster BL Pro (3500kv) motor has been Amazing!

Smooth start-up, nasty torque, and wicked speed, are just a small mention of what this setup is worth!

Buuuuuttttttttt....... My son (10yrs old) is Finally getting into crawling and has a 2.2s and using My XJ for C2..
It's a little much for him, even in 3s.. Tho, he seemed to run it smoother on 4s!
For parts replacement sake, I'm going to pull it out, for now..

I'm going to replace it with a HH WP BRXL and a HH 16t Crawlmaster Pro.
It's the setup I ran before brushless and I still think about how awesome it worked for me..

It will be a simple setup w/smooth, controlled, crawlability and wheel speed for him on 3s.
And all I need, on 4s.. (I better get some brushes). Lol..

[BoilerUp]

Hows your 4 link and frame mounted servo setup working? Hows the bump steer? I dont want a 3 link on my next build but I do want a frame mounted servo with 4 link minus panhard. Would love to get my hands on a hand bros CMS bracket...

I just put a HH trailmaster pro ESC and CC BEC with a 20T crawlmaster in my rig. Soooo smooth! Love all the torque it provides and its been perfect for crawling the rock sections I have to wheel. Its def too slow for a comp motor as it doesnt offer a whole lot of wheel speed. If I go brushed again on my next build I would like to try a 16T. You cant beat Holmes!!!! Keep the rubber side down!