Just got a SCX10 Jeep,What to do first?

[ProfitOfDoom]

First impression is that it looks very nice and scale looking. Didnt do much with it but drive it around my house after I soldered some deans on there. But I have to say Lots of Plastic :( I think they could have at least sprung for aluminum links! But what are ya gonna do.
So I did get the RTR, Im going to relocate the battery tray up front first, I know I could benefit from a new radio,and servo but im going to have to stick with these for a while. But for the people who have and really drove them what is the best upgrade I should do first. I was going with links but Im guessing the plastic will do just fine for now "Although I really want aluminum" So what parts might break often,or what optional upgrades will make it crawl better etc. I dont have a ton of money to sink into right away,so what are the Must Change parts?

[Debonair]

There are lots of "what first" threads so you may find more info by reading up the from the responses you get. Alo the tips and tricks thread is great read.

I got my son the RTR Jeep. After one drive we replaced the plastic steering linkage with homemade metal ones. Way too much flex in the stock plastic when the front tires met an obstacle.

[o0wiz0o]

Move the battery tray up front and remove the bump stops off the shocks for better articulation and you are done. This is what I have done and it becomes a great crawler with these free Mods. Now you only have to spend money if you WANT to you don't need too.

[ProfitOfDoom]

I just put the battery up front... I was wondering about water proofing the esc,Most say just put it in a balloon. I ran it around my house a couple of full speed stretched and mostly real slow crawling "Which Is what its made for anyway" but any danger of getting that esc to hot in the balloon? I was running a 2s lipo and I wouldnt call it hot but it felt warm.

[o0wiz0o]

My pal is going to Plasti-dip his. If he is successful I will too. If not they I'll probably try the balloon trick. I never did anything to it when it was in the Wraith but it seems a bit more exposed in the SCX.

[ProfitOfDoom]

Thanks for the bump stop tip,Im doing that now. How well do these shocks hold up,For the price of this truck they should be ashamed to put these cheap plastic shocks on!

[o0wiz0o]

Yeah they are cheap and nasty. One of the caps fell off mine after a quick run in the garden and two more leaked. I have since re-filled and tightened the caps and they do function well....just look like something out of a Christmas cracker with the cheap look and build quality.

[boohoo]

Originally Posted by o0wiz0o

My pal is going to Plasti-dip his. If he is successful I will too. If not they I'll probably try the balloon trick. I never did anything to it when it was in the Wraith but it seems a bit more exposed in the SCX.

if your going to plast-dip your esc dont put it back in the casing as one of the guys i run with done his and now it acts funny it looks like he has dislodged one of the wires when he tried to put it back in so he will have to fix it and if you do dip it try the spray on stuff crawler-ted on youtube done a vid showing you how to do it and its less messy than the tub you can get.

3.40 min on of this vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnFnlfVKIfM

[ProfitOfDoom]

Just picked up some di-electric grease and some silicone. I have the liquid spray tape "forms like a rubberized electrical tape like stuff" Does anyone know if this is the same as plastidip spray?

[Jus]

Replace the coarse thread screws on the knuckles, chubs, and rear lockouts with fine thread 3mm bolts immediately. Everything will stay tight much better and won't strip out.

If I was on a budget that's all I would do. Just drive it 'till you break it then see if an upgraded part would be worth your $ or if it was a freak accident replace with stock part. All of the bullet proof builds out there are nothing but money pits sometimes. Not everything HAS to be replaced to make a reliable truck.

Moving the battery to the front is also an excellent idea.

You might find that the steering tie rod is too flexible and that would annoy the crap out of me. That'd be a good idea to replace with aluminum or make yourself with threaded rod. While I'm on the subject of steering, the plastic knuckles do tend to break if you bind it up often or run a powerful servo with extra wheel weights. On the other hand, my wife has had an scx10 for 3 years and still has original plastic knuckles. For the $25-$30 for aluminum knuckles that has been one of my *peace of mind* upgrades I do go with early on.

[Intashu]

First thing is to go drive it, upgrade after you get the feel for stock. and appreciate the upgrades to the fullest.

[TriggerMan]

Thanks for posting this up. I just purchased my first SCX10 last weekend (JKU to sort of match my 1:1). I have been reading through all the historical threads and loosing my mind...lol I was planning to wait until payday to buy a star so I could start a new thread asking the same basic question.

[ProfitOfDoom]

Been doing the free mods,I put the battery up front,took off the shock bumps,raised the body posts a couple of holes to make room for the extra articulation from removing the bumps. I water proofed the the servo "well hopefully" But I put in the Di-electric grease,I read and seen videos where they say just gum it up in there over all the gears and just press it back together. I did that put it all together and put 1 coat of plastidip on it,then thought well I better try this thing before I complete it,I did and it hardly moved! I had to re-open it and remove some grease,so I wiped a good amount out and just really stacked it up around the spline,I also put a bunch on the lower half around the circuit board and plug where the wires go out. The put about 4-5 coats of plastidip on it,and greased up a O-ring and slid that on before my horn. Think that should do it? As for the RX and ESC They just got the Balloon treatment. I also had some Leds laying around so I made a set to go into the bumpers.

Its been raining like hell here and I have a muddy ditch and a swamped out front yard,So I guess we'll find out if its water proof or not! Thats good advice,I'll run it and see what happenes with it to see what upgrades it needs as I go. But I think right off the bat I dont like the gearing and or motor,Its pretty quick. Think I could just gear this down "What pinion is on it now?" or think maybe go to a 45t integy motor?

I just couldnt resist! It was looking to clean and I was dying to find out if the waterproofing held up. So I went out and ran it through about 7" of water in the ditch. lol, Its still working! and looked very cool going through the water! Sorry I know no one really cares but im just having a blast with this thing! Cant wait to take it to a proper trail

[Jus]

Originally Posted by ProfitOfDoom

I just couldnt resist! It was looking to clean and I was dying to find out if the waterproofing held up. So I went out and ran it through about 7" of water in the ditch. lol, Its still working! and looked very cool going through the water! Sorry I know no one really cares but im just having a blast with this thing! Cant wait to take it to a proper trail

You are braver than I. I'd be paranoid as hell to fry my electronics. That's why I just don't play in water anymore. Too much maintenance with bearings and things rusting too. Don't say no one cares either, I love to read about people having fun with these things. I look forward to every single time I get to go out with mine.

I thiiink the stock motor is still the 27T.. Green and silver sticker on the can right? I like them a lot, especially considering how cheap they are. 3 of my trucks are currently running them. I don't have the new jeep so if it's changed someone else will have to chime in but I figure it's probably got the 20t pinion. You can drop all the way down to a 12t if you want. It'd start with a 16t and see if it's more what you are looking for. Motor will last longer too. One of the things I love most about these motors is they are sooo smooth at start up and at a low RPM. On the flip side, it also gives them a weaker drag brake but on a scale type truck I've never wished the brake was stronger.

[nightster]

I recently got one too, probably gonna move the battery forward, weight the wheels, and cut the foams. Leave it like that for a while, once I get the hang of it might do some suspension components. Good luck!

[Arctic Fire]

Originally Posted by o0wiz0o

Yeah they are cheap and nasty. One of the caps fell off mine after a quick run in the garden and two more leaked. I have since re-filled and tightened the caps and they do function well....just look like something out of a Christmas cracker with the cheap look and build quality.

Strange, I thought that the general concensus among most people on this site is that the stock shocks are fantastic, and should be one of the last things to upgrade. i've never had a problem with mine, just need to be assembled properly. If you browse alot of the higher end builds you'll see aloot of stock scx-10 shocks.

[thisdougsforu]

Originally Posted by Arctic Fire

Strange, I thought that the general concensus among most people on this site is that the stock shocks are fantastic, and should be one of the last things to upgrade. i've never had a problem with mine, just need to be assembled properly. If you browse alot of the higher end builds you'll see aloot of stock scx-10 shocks.

I currently own 2 scx10's (I also used to a gen 1) and I while I never had a complaint really on my older trucks, now that I have the new ICON's they feel like a big upgrade. The shock is extremely plush and smooth. I love the new JK kit!

[ProfitOfDoom]

The shocks work well,Im just saying it wouldnt have killed them to give you aluminum.
I think my next upgrade will have to be a Driver! I think it would be much cooler if someone was driving in the jeep. Looks like most people use wrestlers and just cut them in half? How do they stay put inside,double sided mounting tape or is there another method?
I took it out today to test the water proofing it did pretty well! Here is a vid I took while driving it,Sorry about the quality of the vid and not sure why it took it in a long view "took it on a iphone 5,is there a setting I need to change,if anyone knows about these things?" Axial SCX10 Wrangler Jeep - YouTube It seem to keep the water out and I dont plan on running it in water like that all the time,but just want to know if I roll down a hill in a creek or something it will be ok. lol,I also made good use of the roll cage!

[halfcab]

Originally Posted by ProfitOfDoom

The shocks work well,Im just saying it wouldnt have killed them to give you aluminum.
I think my next upgrade will have to be a Driver! I think it would be much cooler if someone was driving in the jeep. Looks like most people use wrestlers and just cut them in half? How do they stay put inside,double sided mounting tape or is there another method?
I took it out today to test the water proofing it did pretty well! Here is a vid I took while driving it,Sorry about the quality of the vid and not sure why it took it in a long view "took it on a iphone 5,is there a setting I need to change,if anyone knows about these things?" Axial SCX10 Wrangler Jeep - YouTube It seem to keep the water out and I dont plan on running it in water like that all the time,but just want to know if I roll down a hill in a creek or something it will be ok. lol,I also made good use of the roll cage!

Turn the phone sideways and video in landscape mode, when you hold the phone upright it films in the wrong format....learned the hard way getting video of badgers jk doing donuts, he told me about the video format thing

[SCX10Crazy!]

The first thing you do is this!