Soze's Element Enduro Gatekeeper build

[soze]

No fancy title, but yet another Enduro build! This time it's the Gatekeeper. I started this build immediately after the builder's kit build-up to slider status. I will get back to that build later, but this build will be finished first.

Follow this build on YouTube

Most of the links below are to eBay. As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase.

Kit:

Element Gatekeeper Builder's Kit - https://ebay.to/378kqAf (eBay)


Parts:

SSD Brass Knuckles for Element Enduro - https://ebay.to/3acSL3e (eBay)
SSD Aluminum C-Hubs for Element Enduro -https://ebay.to/2Zc6QHE (eBay)
Pro-Line 1.9 BFG Krawlers G8 Compound -https://ebay.to/3pe9qrt
Crawler Innovations Lil Nova Comp Cut /Medium Foam - https://ebay.to/2Z6lBfj
1.9 Beadlock wheels - https://ebay.to/2MVpocE
Samix 8mm Wheel Hexes - https://ebay.us/t5JGqL
Club5 Racing +3mm Brass Rhinohub - https://ebay.us/lFYuKe


Electronics:

Hobbywing Axe 2300kv Esc/Motor - https://ebay.to/2LJFRjN (eBay)
FlySky GT5 Radio - https://ebay.to/2Z7FSRx (eBay)
Armory RC Katana 500 Servo -


Tools/Supplies:

Versachem Brake Caliper Grease - https://ebay.to/3p8bIZ7
Noleen SF3 Grease (available on eBay) - https://ebay.to/3jN9vB9
Permatex Anti Seize Lubricant (ebay) - https://ebay.to/3qpTbsN
Associated 1656 FT 1/4 in Driver Handle - https://ebay.to/3d31t5O
Tamiya Side Cutter - https://ebay.to/371SAWb
DEWALT DCF610S2R 12V MAX Cordless Lithium-Ion 1/4 in. Hex Chuck Screwdriver Kit - https://ebay.to/3tQqXcr
MIP Metric Speed Tip Set MIP9512 - https://ebay.to/3qdBMTU
Bob Smith Industries Blue Thread Locker - https://ebay.to/3jDR8i9
ProTek RC Shock Pliers (available on eBay) - https://ebay.to/372Lscs
Duratrax Shock stand - https://ebay.to/2MOyJ6l
Hakko FX-888D Soldering Station - https://ebay.to/3aXFmLj
Multistar Rubber R/C Work mat - https://bit.ly/2T3F4Zo
IWISS Crimping Tool - https://ebay.to/3jGKZll
Universal Servo Cable Wire Connector Crimp Pin Kit - https://ebay.to/3tSAAaW
E6000 Adhesive - https://ebay.to/2MZwtZV


Paint:

Tamiya PS-58 Pearl Clear - https://ebay.to/2MYkdc3 (eBay)
Tamiya PS-30 Brilliant Blue - https://ebay.to/2MWGYgx (eBay)
Tamiya PS-12 Silver - https://ebay.to/2Z6SDfh (eBay)
Tamiya PS-5 Black - https://ebay.to/2Zbup3i (eBay)
Duratrax Metallic Black - https://ebay.to/3rKRrdQ (eBay)
Duratrax Base Cover Black - https://ebay.to/2Z9hW05 (eBay)
Tamiya TS-7 Aluminum Silver - https://ebay.to/2NnVT31 (eBay)
Tamiya TS-33 Dull Red - https://ebay.to/3pkglPW (eBay)

[soze]

Part 1: Chassis & Electronics Mounts

For this part, you'll need Bags 1 & 2




Chassis Section

Gate 1:

For gate 1, you'll need these parts.



Now there is a particular part that is used for the new panhard mount. A metal AND plastic one is provided. I've been told that the Gatekeeper is considered a "Factory Team" kit. So stuff like the metal part is included. The plastic one is what will be used on the RTRs. You can use either one, but I highly recommend you use the metal one.








Gate 2:





Gate 3:






Electronics Mounts Section

For the electronics mounts, you'll need bag 3




You'll also need some of your electronics. I'm going with the following for electronics.

Hobbywing AXE 2300kv
FlySky FS-BS6 Receiver
Armory RC Katana 500 Servo




Gate 1:



Flickr


Gate 2:

Gate 2 is basically mounting up some of the electronics. There's a real bonus with this Gatekeeper kit in that it gives you a metal servo horn! It's not clamping, but it's more than good enough!

[soze]

Part 2: Transmission/Gearbox

By now we all know the Stealth X transmission of the Element Enduro line. It's the heart and soul of the Element lineup, and a big part of why I like these rigs.

For the transmission you'll need bag 4




Gate 1:

The gears for the (rounded up) 6% and 12% overdrive are provided. I chose to go with the 12% gear setup.




I made an error in the picture above. There are only 2 bearings for this step, and the 3rd third should be a washer/spacer








Gate 2:








Gate 3:








Gate 4:

[soze]

Part 3: Axles

You'll need bags 5 & 6 for the axles




We've got the hard plastic parts for the axles. I'm not sure how I feel about the hard plastic. I've never had an issue with the regular ones, and I can see parts like the C-hubs being an issue with being stressed more easily because they're hard plastic. I'm just going to say that I actually prefer the regular plastic for the axles.


Front Axles:

Bag 5




Gate 1:








Gate 2:






Gate 3:






Rear Axle:


Gate 1:




Gate 2:




They finally wised up and updated the screws used to retain the bearings in the rear axle. Much better and less chance for these bearings to fall out now than with the older button head screws.






Axles finished!

[soze]

Part 4: Links & Driveshafts

Alright this step is going to probably drive you a little nuts. I mean people already hate building links. It's not an enjoyable part of the build at all. What can make this part worse? Well you can make the completed link illustration in the manual state the needed final length, BUT not be a 1:1 representation for you to compare your links with! You pretty much have to bust out your calipers after every link to measure. Would be nice if you could just quickly compare with the manual.

For this part you'll need Bag 7 (links) and 8 (driveshafts)




Links:


Gate 1:



You'll notice that I use my handy ProTek RC Shock pliers and the rod-end tool designed by our very own HumboldtEF of RCCrawler.com






Gate 2:








Gate 3:




Sorry this is the front upper link. I forgot to take a picture of it completed.


Gate 4:






Gate 5:

Nice thing about the Gatekeeper Builder's kit is that it comes with Factory Team parts like the high clearance links for the front lower links.








Gate 6:




Once again, forgot to take mounted picture. It'll be shown later anyway.


Gate 7:






Gate 8:






Gate 9:






Gate 10:




One thing to note and pay attention to here. The rear of the trailing arm is attached to the OUTSIDE of the link mount on the rear axle and not inside the link mount like a normal link. You can use the 7mm spacer provided in the spacer sprue to fill in the gap in the link mount area.






Driveshafts:

bag 8




Gate 1:






Gate 2 & 3:

[soze]

Part 5: Shocks

For the shocks, you'll need bag 9




You can see that they include the nice bronze bodies for the shocks. I wish they would also include the aluminum parts to replace the plastic parts on the shock too. The builder's kit comes with the blue aluminum pieces, and I gotta say, they actually make a difference in the way the shock movement feels. Well, These just come with the bronze bodies, but still with the plastic shock caps and spring retainers.


For this part of the build I use tools such as:

ProTek RC Shock Pliers
Noleen SF-3 Grease
Duratrax Shock Stand


Gate 1:

Be very careful here! There are 2 black o-ring sizes. 2! The smaller black o-rings are for the shock cap. The larger black o-rings are for the shock collar.






Gate 2:




Gate 3:






Gate 4:

Very cool adjustable shock mounts!








There is another ERROR IN THE MANUAL HERE!!! It states to use a m3x14 screw to mount the bottom of the shock into the trailing arm. The correct length of this screw should be m3x18mm just like the screw used to mount the sway bar into the trailing arm.






BTW, here's a tip. We know that the Larger battery tray does not fit inside the Gatekeeper cage.
If you chop it up to a smaller width, you can mount it on the rear brace so that you can use it as a ESC or Receiver mount.

[soze]

Part 6: Body Panels & Cage

Alright... we're down to the finish which means you need all this stuff. Basically the body panels and bag 10.




In the following steps, I'll show what body panels are needed for the steps, but I won't actually go through with attaching any of the body panels until the very end due to painting of the panels being required.


Gate 1:






Gate 2:






Gate 3:




ATTENTION! Another ERROR IN THE MANUAL!!! The manual states that you need 4 m3x10mm screws to attach the hood panel to the cage. This is wrong! If you do that you will end up with the following pictures below if you fully tighten 2 of the m3x10mm screws down!






Luckily the screw didn't bust all the way through but here is what I found. I found 2 m3x8mm screws left in the remaining hardware. Nowhere in the rest of the manual were these m3x8mm screws mentioned. These must've been the correct screws to use, and the manual was not updated. So for that particular step, you'll need 2x m3x8mm screws and 2x m3x10mm screws to connect that hood area of the cage to the supports below.




Gate 4:










Gate 5:








Gate 6:








Gate 7:










Now for the fun part the painted body panels!



Cut out a "Gozer Dog" mask for the side panels.




Going with the following Tamiya & Duratrax colors

Pearl Clear
Brilliant Blue
Gunmetal
Metallic Black (Duratrax)




I had some leftover SMT10 skull heads so I decided to use them for this build since it fit with my theme.










You'll also noticed I used some scrap lexan to create rear panels behind the cockpit. I think it looks much better with those panels there, and I wish it had been designed to have panels there.

[Yto1312]

Nice build soze. I bought this kit aswell. Going to follow this thread...
Those hard plastics looking good and rigid enough compared to the enduro kit.
Have you tried using samix brass upgrades for enduro? Been considering using samix or ssd for this gatekeeper.

[slowmethinks]

Excellent!!! I just cracked open my kit on Friday and started painting it. I'll be following you for tips and tricks.

[coffeeaddict17]

My kit just arrived this week. Really looking forward to the build! Nice work!

[soze]

While I'm waiting for my tires and foams to ship, I temporarily took the Pitbull Rockbeast XL's off of my RedCat Gen8

[smog]

looks great soze! Really like the paint job, the beast on there looks menacing.

[B-MOW71]

Sweet looking rig soze! Love the color combo!

Nice use of the skulls! They fit the look well!

Also agree on the rear side panels. They are definitely needed and helps complete the look!

As always, nice informative build thread! Looking forward to seeing the running vids out on the beautiful CDM rocks!

[RCBrutus]

I could read your build threads all day Soze! Nice work on the Gatekeeper, looking forward to seeing it out at CDM one of these days!

[Topher Builds]

Really like the scheme you landed on with this one. Looks great! I especially like the rear panels you came up with. Nice work, as always.

[soze]

Originally Posted by smog

looks great soze! Really like the paint job, the beast on there looks menacing.

Thanks man, and the Rock Beasts do look great on there.... but I haven't gotten them working yet. I keep hearing these take time to break in before hooking up, but I've only got 2 runs on these so far. How long are Rock Beasts supposed to take for break-in in order to perform? I've got another set of Pro-Line Krawlers in G8 on the way for this rig, and for my location... they start hooking up and performing immediately and get even better later on. I just don't know if I'm patient enough to wait for the Rock Beasts to start gripping. I might have to find some way to wear them in quicker so I can see how they do.

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

Sweet looking rig soze! Love the color combo!

Nice use of the skulls! They fit the look well!

Also agree on the rear side panels. They are definitely needed and helps complete the look!

As always, nice informative build thread! Looking forward to seeing the running vids out on the beautiful CDM rocks!

Thanks Brian! I did attempt to run it Sunday.... but these tires just weren't working for me so I didn't get much video. I'll go out again once I get my preferred tire in.

Originally Posted by RCBrutus

I could read your build threads all day Soze! Nice work on the Gatekeeper, looking forward to seeing it out at CDM one of these days!

Yeah, I'll bring it out most of the time now as I start tuning it.

Originally Posted by Topher Builds

Really like the scheme you landed on with this one. Looks great! I especially like the rear panels you came up with. Nice work, as always.

Thanks man! Now it's time to figure out how to get it performing like my Sendero! I know it'll behave differently because of the heavy cage, but when I drove out at CDM with John Schultz, his was doing some pretty good stuff out there, so I know it can do well even with the cage.

[twade984]

I’ve enjoyed all of your build threads, great detail. Also I really like the rear panels, it’s a great touch.

[djr01974]

Looks fantastic and even better in person. Great job as always 👍👍

[oldblue2010]

what gearing did you go with?

[soze]

Some backlogged updates.

Treating the Element Gatekeeper with my go-to standard upgrade for all my Element Enduro based rigs. I like the combination of the SSD Brass Knuckles and the SSD Aluminum C-Hubs.




C-Hubs first






Difference between stock C-Hub with limited angle and the SSD C-Hubs without the limiters.







Brass Knuckles next








Wanted to widen the trackwidth a little bit so I said why not and got these Samix 8mm wheel hexes.








Also decided to add Club 5 Racing 3mm brass hub weights to the front.