Axial Universals.... Mysteriously breaking....

[blackfox93]

I keep breaking the short side Universal at the universal joint... I have no idea how it keeps happening. Ive checked end point adjustments and have my steering turned down to about 75% on my 4PLS to where its steering just enough to creep left/right. This is the 3rd one Ive broken in a lil over a MONTH! I have NEVER broken the long side. Im breaking the flanges at the Universal joint that hold the U-joint in. (Ill post a pic when I get to my phone on Tapatalk). My rig isnt overpowered I run Holmes TM Expert 27T on 3s but Im a slow guy and very rarely mash on it unless Im climbing loose dirt hills and banks. Saturday I went for a run and heard it when it broke for the first time... I was about 35% Throttle Input climbing a solid flat concrete slab on a man-made course Hardly any Wheelspin at all and the wheels were perfectly straight... Im at a serious loss. I have friends with HUGE Brushless Systems and Crazy wheel weights (I dont run any weight) that have NEVER broken an Axial Universal and here I am about to order my fourth set.... PLEASE HELP!!!

My front axle broken down has VP Stage 1 Kit, VP Steering Links, Beef Tubes, Stock Gear, Stock Locker and HITEC 7955TG with Metal Servo Horn. I also run stock driveshafts so I can have weak point before the Universals....WRONG

Thanks guys

[o0wiz0o]

If you lift the rig and put the power on is there any excessive wobble or balance on that corner? I'd be expecting a unnatural rotation somewhere on that axle. I'd strip and rebuild it.

[blackfox93]

No wobble at all.... Smooth as butter... I don't have a pic of the universal I thought I did. I'll post one when I get home

[blackfox93]

This is where I broke.... As you can see nothing technical at all....

[o0wiz0o]

Could it be a bad batch? Were they from the same store?

[blackfox93]

Nope 3 different places.... The Kit (build hasnt been done long), RPP Hobby, and this one came from Amazon....

[o0wiz0o]

Got to be something in that axle. Maybe shim it all so there is Zero slop. Put the stock knuckles/C-hubs back on? Maybe the VP kits is just putting a little stress on that axle.

[blackfox93]

Ive tore it down twice...Everything spins freely no binding what so ever. Ive checked everything possible on the bench... My locker does have some slop in it and Ive been thinking of ordering an FI spool to replace it... thats the only "slop" I can find and maybe that is whats causing it everything else is tight.... Everything is you might as well say new I have maybe 10 2200mah packs on the whole build if that many....

[o0wiz0o]

I work as a Techie for the internet service. It IMO is as with any fault that cannot be pinned down easily. Trial and error replacing different bits. I'd go back to the stock hubs/knuckle and see if they are better which I suspect they will be as they have give in them. If they are - then to me that says there is some sort of warping issue and the VP kits or bearing are restricting the shaft movement and causing stress to the point where it gives. The tolerances here must be so slight they are not noticeable easily.

.....I could also be talking absolute poop and other may have a better idea!

[blackfox93]

Thanks Wiz! Im gonna hold out and see what others say. Hopefully somebody has had the same problem as me

[Neanderthall]

I had the same problem with my kit U-joints, short side also. I have a ROC 412 with MMP but I have it geared very slow and I was just doing some pretty intensive crawling up the face of some big rocks when it snapped. My son's Wraith had the stock non kit joints and was doing the same crawling I was and his is fine. I replaced the u-joint with one I bought on from amazon and it has done ok for now with very light crawling, we'll see after this coming weekend if the new u-joints will hold up to some good heavy crawling.
Sounds like Axial has a bad batch out there.....

[maslin]

Guy at work snapped the ear off a brand new short side too. Swapped in a spare I had laying around for a few months and it's been fine.

Sounds like they have a problem....

[o0ben0o]

I snapped a short side uni 2 minutes in to their first run two days ago. Kit version.

[blackfox93]

Originally Posted by maslin

Guy at work snapped the ear off a brand new short side too. Swapped in a spare I had laying around for a few months and it's been fine.

Sounds like they have a problem....

Ive been kind of pondering the same thing.... maybe they're changing the casting and they're not as strong as they once were....

Originally Posted by o0ben0o

I snapped a short side uni 2 minutes in to their first run two days ago. Kit version.

Where did yours break??? mine is breaking right at the ear and its only breaking one ear off.... Pic to come as soon as I get home

[maslin]

Originally Posted by blackfox93

Where did yours break??? mine is breaking right at the ear and its only breaking one ear off.... Pic to come as soon as I get home

His broke one ear clean off from the axle side. Not bent/twisted, just snapped off clean.

[blackfox93]

Originally Posted by maslin

His broke one ear clean off from the axle side. Not bent/twisted, just snapped off clean.

Exact same all of mine did... right where the "ear" bends and meets the shaft

[o0ben0o]

Same place by the sound of it... Nothing else is bent or damaged. This happened after maybe 2 minutes on the maiden voyage.

[blackfox93]

Yep that's it but mine is only breaking one side off.... It will still pull but it makes it very sloppy

[Erik D_lux]

IMO, there is definitely a casting issue going on. I modify the shafts for more steering and some of my customers have broken the shafts immediately. Even worse, I have broken a handful not even running them but only taking them apart for grinding.

The reason I think its a casting issues is because I can take the broken off part of any given shaft and it will match up perfectly to any of the many broken ones I have here. Imagine that you could super glue the broken off part to any of the shafts that have broken, not just its original match.

[sam63]

Wow, I hope Axial gets this squared away soon. I have always been surprised how well they hold up but this is obviously a new manufacturing or materials issue.