Losi S.S. straight axles....

[swisherteets]

I am writing this to stress to people that these lockouts should not be gotten for their crawler until the problems with them get fixed. It is not a matter of if they bend but when will they bend and its a safe bet very very soon after you buy them. I didnt even use the truck yet and they bent. I sropped the truck on four wheels from about a foot and a half (not uncome when you go to set your truck on the ground i do it all the time with every other truck i own) and both rears bent.
This comes from two reasons the smaller of the reasons is that the aluminum lockouts do not fit tightly around the plastic axle cases. There are gaps around the top and bottom that allow them to flex/bend up and down and believe me these things FLEX. This alows the shafts to be bent.
this alone woudl probably not be a problem however...
The stainless steel axles are extremely soft seriously EXTREMELY soft. You can literally bend them severely with your hands. And this is a huge problem...obviously
I really want to stress that I am not on a witch hunt here. I am not hating on Losi I love their products its great stuff and i will continue to buy it but these issues dhould be addressed. I am fairly forgiving for the most part when parts are not up to par with what they should be but these things are flawed beyond use.
I feel that this should really be looked into by losi. Trucks roll over its a fact but with these your truck simply cannot. I have even heard from some that their truck doesnt even fall or roll over and they find their shafts bent.

[CarterFab]

i have heard of some other people having some trouble with theirs bending. i for one, must be lucky. my truck violently rolled down my rock garden today and it was not the first time. each flip the truck took it bounced in the air. i think the problem from what you have described is the axle tubes maybe. i tried to take some pics to show mine and they are snug as a bug. i have probably just jinxed myself by saying this. if mine do bend. i will start machining some out of 4340 steel or drill rod. we build piston rods out of this at work and it is very tough material.

[crawler killer]

I have beat the crap out of my mini with them on it and no problems the lockouts even fit snug

[LIKES2CRAWL]

Swisher can you post pics of yours so we can see how sloppy they are?

[Big Bill]

I also have had problems with the SS axles bending very easily. My lockouts do fit the housing very well but have bent two at two different comps. Thinking back I dont recall falling on either rear wheel or taking a hard hit to the rear wheels. Anyway, I purchased a replacement set of SS axles(that should have been a tip-off), and when they bend I will probaly go back to the stock set-up. Iam not bashing Losi, but this upgrade is not up to their standards.

[Rich Trujillo]

I'm sorry to hear about your issues. It seems to be hit and miss. I've seen a few complaints here but none that I'm aware of from our customer service dept. I'm not trying to discount your problem, just want to be fair in that this may not be as common as you would suggest.
I'm going to talk to our vendor to see what or why this is happening. In the mean time, please email me direct with pictures of the axles and lock outs with the issues your having and let's try and get this resolved.


Thanks Rich

rtrujillo@losi.com

[Joat]

Originally Posted by Rich Trujillo

I'm sorry to hear about your issues. It seems to be hit and miss. I've seen a few complaints here but none that I'm aware of from our customer service dept. I'm not trying to discount your problem, just want to be fair in that this may not be as common as you would suggest.
I'm going to talk to our vendor to see what or why this is happening. In the mean time, please email me direct with pictures of the axles and lock outs with the issues your having and let's try and get this resolved.


Thanks Rich

rtrujillo@losi.com

That right there is why LOSI is tops in customer service !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[swisherteets]

yea Joat I definately wasnt worried about losi handling it like I said not on a witch hunt . Thanks for your concern rich I bought another set of axle cases and i am gonna check and see if the lockouts fit more tightly on those I also just went out and bought another set of the ss axles It if it happens again I will let ya know. Like I said definately wasnt hating or bashing just a little frustrated

[binaryterror]

Mine fit well and were not bent before their first run.

I did bend one in a freak fall from about 30" or so. It did land on its wheels, but hard on the right rear. I re-bent it back with a nut driver and good to go.

SS is a weak material for bending. Even highly treated SS will often bend. I'd rather have a bent axle causing a wobbly wheel than a snapped axle and ending my day.

[swisherteets]

i prefer they jsut wouldnt fail at all... ah a perfect world
we shall se how these new ones do.

[Big Bill]

Thanks for your concern Rich, as stated above this is why Losi is an icon in the RC field. Customer service and support are great. I have been a loyal Losi fan since my on-road XXX-s days and will continue to be.

[Rubbaneck]

It's definitely hit or miss, I took mine apart last night after reading this thread and mine are very straight. I've ran about 6 packs through it using a stump puller and no signs of anything bending.

[swisherteets]

yea it seems like there might be some bad batches cause like Rich said its not a total failure on parts. but its definately a chance thing
I'm an engineer so I definately understand how it goes

[CarterFab]

well as i said when i posted in here earlier i would jinx myself, and what do you know. today while getting some pics of the truck finally getting used i bent one of my rear axles. i will say it was getting hammered on and i think i know when it happened. took a bad spill and slapped right into a rock. i will take it took tomorrow and check the rockwell hardness on both the ss and the originals. i think it happened at the end of the video when it rolls to the bottom. i also broke the windshield off.

[swisherteets]

I am really sorry to hear that the things will not do very well on the rockwell test I am quite sure of it

edit:
watched the film and even with that spill at the end they should not bend. I am very sorry to see yet another pair have this happen. when my next set bend i am just tossin the stock ones back in

[Sinagua]

Well, that little tumble at the end should definitely not have bent the axles. My truck has taken greater tumbles from picking a stupid line.

Glad to see that Rich and Losi are standing behind their great product and trying to figure out what is going on with the axles. You can sample so many products before making an itm unprofitable. They have done their work elsewhere with the MRC and this had to be just a bad batch of axles. Way to go Rich/Losi.

[twistedone]

A small tumble tonight and mine bent also will call losi in the morning

[CarterFab]

could you guys please tell where yours are bending at. mine seemed to have bent right where the drive pin is and where the flange is. taking a look at the lock outs, there is not any support between the bearings. i am going to machine some bushings to press in between the bearings so as not to allow any deflection. should really help.

[swisherteets]

mine bent right were the the inside bearing is on the plastic axle cases like i said befor though this is because my lockouts are not a good fit on the axles they have to much freeplay

[RcBro]

I hope to start selling some straight axles soon, with a replacement warranty if indeed anything ever happens