TF2 knuckle bearing mod: Tutorial

[Jeepfixer1]

I could be misremembering this but I almost swear I ran dlux wraith,xr10 knuckle bushings in my tf2. They worked great. Very little play and smooth steering. Here's a link.
XR - Wraith NO SLOP king pin bushings

[scxscaler]

Update!!!!!!!

To fix some issues with getting the knuckles lined up and working freely. I have found a fix for it thanks to some guys on the good ole Facebook for the idea with some slight changes.

All you will need is:
5.5 x 2 x 3 spacer - x4

All you do is simply put one between the bearing and housing. With this you can tighten your screws all the way up with no issues.

To make this an easy install what I did was put the bottom bearing in and the spacer in the knuckle. Put that on and the bottom screw then put the bearing and spacer on your other screw and into the top of the knuckle.








If you can't find a spacer that is 5.5mm in diameter. You can take a axial 6mm one and sand it down. I used a long bolt and the stock bushings to make this easier. Put it in a cordless drill and used a Dremel. Took maybe a min and you could do all 4 at once.




Sent from ... Wait where am I ????

[Natedog]

Awesome mods, thanks for all the details and great pictures! Been modding my TF2 knuckle bushings, need to check if my holes are getting wallowed out, might do this modification next.

[Natedog]

Bearings ordered, just in case!

[NEW YORK BOY]

Bump for a good thread

[scxscaler]

Just a bump for this must do mod if plan to keep the stock axles


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1.55Yota]

FYI - This mod is Not for Yota II axles, just the original Yota axles.

[80Yota]

Originally Posted by 1.55Yota

FYI - This mod is Not for Yota II axles, just the original Yota axles.

Is it not needed for the II or the described method won’t work? I will be getting a Marlin in the next month and was looking to do this mod....

[1SLWMoFo]

** For Yota 2 Axles **

This is my take at this mod for the Yota 2’s with the XVD (as they should come from factory on the Marlin and Gelande 2).

I can attest to this mod’s functionality and durability. Been to three comps with my Marlin with front Yota 2 modded, crawled the crap out of it, and still no issues with knuckles coming loose, no side play at all, no... no nothing! The only issue related to knuckles was a sheared arm due to bad steering techniques (still learning on my first comp after mod), yet nothing negative to report. Steering has become so much more responsive and positive, and the knuckle travel is so smooth and effortless (when moving by hand without having the servo connected. For me, the mod is like a must have on any truck. Also, the mod will handle a strong servo as well. I had a Savox 1230 installed (just changed it to a HH SHV500v2) during all three events and no issues. Obviously like with any servo, you need to have your endpoints very well programmed or you will definitely end up breaking stuff from left to right.

Some of the things I have done to my rig that involve the front axle are:
- 3 link/panhard and coil overs shocks (RRD’s 90mm all around)
- mounted shock bottoms on lower link mount (Gelande-style) which forces me to do modify the knuckle even more by cutting off one of the arms to clear out the shocks at full steer
- shimmed my gear and pinion to have the least posible slop (this may or may not help) and did a FOA steering (this is just personal preference)

These are the steps I took to make this mod. I have to stress that you will need to be very careful when modding the knuckles as Yota 2’s have less meat at the bushing mount than the Yota 1’s. So be patient and go slow, it will pay off at the end.

1. Using the same drill bits and bearings as described by the OP (btw, big thanks on this!!!), drill out your bushing holes. I went easy with both bits and left a step inside the hole that will help me a lot later on. I drilled far enough that the bearing’s flange would sit flush on the top surface of the knuckle, so that I leave some meat and not debilitate that area. Do not be scared of this, cause once the bearing is mounted, the majority of the load will be taken by the bearing and the rest will be dispersed throughout the larger surrounding area of the knuckle. Just as long as you leave that “bridge” on that edge, you are good.




2. I then placed the bearings and used the bushing that would originally be installed on the button of the knuckle and placed it on the top hole. It is the perfect size with the bearing in place, and when the knuckle is fully assembled and mounted in the axle, it creates the perfect clearance needed for a bind-free operation. The bushing that originally goes up top, I cut down with a rotary tool and cut-off wheel to the size needed and fitted it in the bottom. You will have to go easy here. Make an initial cut, leaving more material than needed and then grind off the excess slowly until you have the perfect fit. You want to have the bushing sit almost flush, but not completely as you need the bushing to make contact with the bearing internally, as this will prevent binding. I ended up with 1.71mm of total length, but this will vary from knuckle to knuckle.




On this one you can see how the bushings sit almost flush to the inside surface of the knuckle. As I said, this needs to be like this to prevent binding.


3. I grabbed two M3x9 screws (which really measured out to 9.57mm), two M3x8 screws (this ones measured 7.84mm), and two M3x1mmx5.5mm spacers (RC4WD part# Z-S0809) and used these to screw down the knuckle onto the axle. I selected these spacers as they create the needed space so that the screw clears out the XVD union inside. If not, you will end up binding and damaging the XVD keeper ring completely and rendering them useless. Blue locktite is a must here. I apply just a drop to a clean screw, then screw it down and test for binding. Do not go crazy tightening down the screws! Yota 2’s have very weak threads here and can be easily damaged. When I feel the least restriction, without any up/down play of the knuckle, I leave the screws there and let them set overnight. Never had a issue of them loosening out on me, just make sure the screws are clean and there is no grease inside the bushings. If there is any grease, it will end up on your screws as you pass them through While installing your knuckles, this preventing the locktite from adhering to a clean surface.
Left is bottom, right is top


If you look close, you can see the very small gap between the bushing’s flanges and the inside surface of the knuckle I talked about on step 2.


How the screw protrudes inside. This does not interfere with the XVD.


Make sure you set up your servo endpoints properly as this is very essential for the longevity of you knuckles. Remember to clean the thread on your screws and let the locktite set overnight. I just lay my rig wheel up to eliminate any load on those screws and let set.

I hope this helps out answering any questions regarding this mod on Yota 2’s. Anything that you see that could be done differently that would improve on this, please post up.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by 1SLWMoFo

** For Yota 2 Axles **

This is my take at this mod for the Yota 2’s with the XVD (as they should come from factory on the Marlin and Gelande 2).

I can attest to this mod’s functionality and durability. Been to three comps with my Marlin with front Yota 2 modded, crawled the crap out of it, and still no issues with knuckles coming loose, no side play at all, no... no nothing! The only issue related to knuckles was a sheared arm due to bad steering techniques (still learning on my first comp after mod), yet nothing negative to report. Steering has become so much more responsive and positive, and the knuckle travel is so smooth and effortless (when moving by hand without having the servo connected. For me, the mod is like a must have on any truck. Also, the mod will handle a strong servo as well. I had a Savox 1230 installed (just changed it to a HH SHV500v2) during all three events and no issues. Obviously like with any servo, you need to have your endpoints very well programmed or you will definitely end up breaking stuff from left to right.

Some of the things I have done to my rig that involve the front axle are:
- 3 link/panhard and coil overs shocks (RRD’s 90mm all around)
- mounted shock bottoms on lower link mount (Gelande-style) which forces me to do modify the knuckle even more by cutting off one of the arms to clear out the shocks at full steer
- shimmed my gear and pinion to have the least posible slop (this may or may not help) and did a FOA steering (this is just personal preference)

These are the steps I took to make this mod. I have to stress that you will need to be very careful when modding the knuckles as Yota 2’s have less meat at the bushing mount than the Yota 1’s. So be patient and go slow, it will pay off at the end.

1. Using the same drill bits and bearings as described by the OP (btw, big thanks on this!!!), drill out your bushing holes. I went easy with both bits and left a step inside the hole that will help me a lot later on. I drilled far enough that the bearing’s flange would sit flush on the top surface of the knuckle, so that I leave some meat and not debilitate that area. Do not be scared of this, cause once the bearing is mounted, the majority of the load will be taken by the bearing and the rest will be dispersed throughout the larger surrounding area of the knuckle. Just as long as you leave that “bridge” on that edge, you are good.

2. I then placed the bearings and used the bushing that would originally be installed on the button of the knuckle and placed it on the top hole. It is the perfect size with the bearing in place, and when the knuckle is fully assembled and mounted in the axle, it creates the perfect clearance needed for a bind-free operation. The bushing that originally goes up top, I cut down with a rotary tool and cut-off wheel to the size needed and fitted it in the bottom. You will have to go easy here. Make an initial cut, leaving more material than needed and then grind off the excess slowly until you have the perfect fit. You want to have the bushing sit almost flush, but not completely as you need the bushing to make contact with the bearing internally, as this will prevent binding. I ended up with 1.71mm of total length, but this will vary from knuckle to knuckle.

On this one you can see how the bushings sit almost flush to the inside surface of the knuckle. As I said, this needs to be like this to prevent binding.

3. I grabbed two M3x9 screws (which really measured out to 9.57mm), two M3x8 screws (this ones measured 7.84mm), and two M3x1mmx5.5mm spacers (RC4WD part# Z-S0809) and used these to screw down the knuckle onto the axle. I selected these spacers as they create the needed space so that the screw clears out the XVD union inside. If not, you will end up binding and damaging the XVD keeper ring completely and rendering them useless. Blue locktite is a must here. I apply just a drop to a clean screw, then screw it down and test for binding. Do not go crazy tightening down the screws! Yota 2’s have very weak threads here and can be easily damaged. When I feel the least restriction, without any up/down play of the knuckle, I leave the screws there and let them set overnight. Never had a issue of them loosening out on me, just make sure the screws are clean and there is no grease inside the bushings. If there is any grease, it will end up on your screws as you pass them through While installing your knuckles, this preventing the locktite from adhering to a clean surface.
Left is bottom, right is top

If you look close, you can see the very small gap between the bushing’s flanges and the inside surface of the knuckle I talked about on step 2.

How the screw protrudes inside. This does not interfere with the XVD.

Make sure you set up your servo endpoints properly as this is very essential for the longevity of you knuckles. Remember to clean the thread on your screws and let the locktite set overnight. I just lay my rig wheel up to eliminate any load on those screws and let set.

I hope this helps out answering any questions regarding this mod on Yota 2’s. Anything that you see that could be done differently that would improve on this, please post up.

Awesome write up and exactly how it should be done! I've bought bearings but not done this mod yet on my Yota1 axles (I know different than this Yota2 setup), only thing I'd add is that I modded my bushings (for now) by very slowly and carefully grinding them how you did and using shorter buttonhead screws to increase ground clearance under the knuckle screws by couple millimeters. This did make a difference how often the screw heads scrape rocks and I did as you checking inside the axle to not rub/crush the aluminum XVD pin retention rings. Thank you for taking the time to document and post all this with measurements!!!

[1SLWMoFo]

You’re welcome Nate.
I’ve learned boatloads from RCC, and the least one can do is show back what has been learnt.
I’m working on an XVD mod at the moment. I think I have found a way to minimize the slop that is generated at the axles. The original set that came with my Yota 2’s I found that had a wallowed out the cup at the pin hole, and the pins had also grounded down. This opened the door for massive amounts of slop at the front wheels and causes my rig to be inconsistent while going over obstacles. I’m soon to start the testing phase and have a second set of XVD’s in the mail. If the test goes well, I’ll be doing a final mod on the new set and test that one as well. I’ll post Up once everything is done.

[scxscaler]

Nice to see this thread still helping people out and the mod evolving so to speak. This needs to be a sticky to keep it from getting lost forever again lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[B-MOW71]

I'm glad this thread popped up! I have been trying to figure out what to do with my sloppy steering on my new Marlin. I have only had it out on the trail twice and there is just too much slop for my taste.

Big thanks to who ever started this mod. I will be giving this a try.