Dez went Marlin fishing!

[dezfan]

And I caught a beauty!🤣

Seriously this thing is gorgeous.

My wife asked me what wanted for my birthday, I told her I wanted a TF2 Marlin Crawler. She laughed, I laughed, and I kind of forgot about it.

Well 3 days after my birthday, the big brown truck pulls up in front of our house and he’s got a good sized box in his hands?

As soon as I opened the door, I saw the RC4WD tape on the box and I knew I’d been had! I was really excited though as I really like the TF2 platform.

I had bought a new TF2 when they came out in 2012 but I ended up in ICU for a month and shortly after getting out of the hospital, I was feeling burned out on Crawlers and sold it.

Never even drove it.

So now I have the Marlin, I have to say, this thing is way cooler than the TF2 I had so long ago!

The tires and wheels are both good looking and these have to be the softest and stickiest RTR tires I’d ever experienced.

The front bumper is metal and kind of s cool design, not sure if I’ll keep it, but it does look cool.

The body has the comp cut front and bobbed bed which will save me the time of having to do it, and the axles look a little different(?).

Been doing lots of reading and I’ve already stared making mods.

“Upgrades” so far :

Springs removed from shocks.
Shocks filled with 4000 weight diff fluid.
Hardware replaced with stainless.
Tires disassembled and 113 grams of weight added.
Bottom helper spring removed.
Transfer case disassembled and marine grease applied to the gears.

Still need to:

Chino mod the ends of the springs.
Disassemble, grease and shim the diffs.
Disassemble, and grease the transmission.
Install A&M Garage shackle reversal kit.
Replace the factory transfer case skid (Not sure which one to get A&M Garage, Bow House, N2R, etc...

Any suggestions?

Plan on updating all of the electronics too.

Anyways, an obligatory pic for the masses! 🤣

[high plains drifter]

Congrats on the MC! I think I'd go A&M skid. That's what I'm planning on anyway. Love the design, quality appearance, and profile of it. Grab a set of MIP HD shafty's too and just apply that "early Christmas gift" credit!

[dezfan]

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

Congrats on the MC! I think I'd go A&M skid. That's what I'm planning on anyway. Love the design, quality appearance, and profile of it. Grab a set of MIP HD shafty's too and just apply that "early Christmas gift" credit!

Are these drive shafts on the Marlin any better than the OGs?

From what I remember, they where pretty crappy.

I know when I install a raised skid, I’ll need the additional length, but I was wondering if they are ok to use for now?

[B-MOW71]

Congrats on catching a Marlin! I recently purchased one and it is a blast to drive.

I’d recommend the A&M skid as well. I just installed one in mine. It tucks the t-case up into the chassis nicely.

Here is a side view:


The only problem I had after installing the skid was the front driveshaft was a little too short. It would occasionally pop apart. I ended up buying the Super Shafty MIP HD shafts designed for the A&M skid.

Subscribed and looking forward to seeing the direction you take this.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[dezfan]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

Congrats on catching a Marlin! I recently purchased one and it is a blast to drive.

I’d recommend the A&M skid as well. I just installed one in mine. It tucks the t-case up into the chassis nicely.

Here is a side view:


The only problem I had after installing the skid was the front driveshaft was a little too short. It would occasionally pop apart. I ended up buying the Super Shafty MIP HD shafts designed for the A&M skid.

Subscribed and looking forward to seeing the direction you take this.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

After installing the A&M skid, does the solid drive shaft from the tranny to transfer case still line up?

Do you have any pics?

[B-MOW71]

Originally Posted by dezfan

After installing the A&M skid, does the solid drive shaft from the tranny to transfer case still line up?



Do you have any pics?

Yes, it stays in the same place. I had to open t-case and move the input shaft to the other side of case.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[dezfan]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

Yes, it stays in the same place. I had to open t-case and move the input shaft to the other side of case.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I see, so the A&M skid flips the transfer case and the top bracket is the attachment point for the transfer case.

Awesome! That helps tremendously!

Thank you!👍🏼

[B-MOW71]

Originally Posted by dezfan

I see, so the A&M skid flips the transfer case and the top bracket is the attachment point for the transfer case.



Awesome! That helps tremendously!



Thank you!

No problem! It also gives you the option to overdrive the front axle if you want.

I just started a new thread for my Marlin a few weeks ago. If you want, check it out. I’ve been posting all of the pics of the upgrades I’ve been doing to mine.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[dezfan]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

No problem! It also gives you the option to overdrive the front axle if you want.

I just started a new thread for my Marlin a few weeks ago. If you want, check it out. I’ve been posting all of the pics of the upgrades I’ve been doing to mine.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I will indeed.👍🏼

[dezfan]

So after finishing up some work around the house, I had a few hours free to work on my Marlin.

Starting with rear of the truck, I removed the rear axle and removed all 10 of the bolts that hold the diff together.

My Marlin must have been assembled on a Wednesday as so far everything (but my wheel hex’s, all 4 fell off as soon as the wheels where removed) has been tight, the diffs where shimmed correctly, there was an ample about of grease applied, and everything spins freely.

I reassembled the rear axle and replaced the stock hardware with some stainless hardware I had.



Next I removed the cap from the rear shocks, used some paper towels to remove the minuscule amount of oil from the factory and then filled them with 7000 weight diff fluid. Had to play with them a bit to get them to rebound the same, but they feel very smooth and so far no leaks!



Next up I removed the rear springs and Chino modded them. Used a couple Dremel sanding drums, on the lowest setting, going slow, and keeping a small container of water near by to dip the springs into often to keep the heat from building up, getting to hot, and ruining them.

I hit the edges with a Sharpie to cover the areas that where ground on. If I see rust becomes an issue, I’ll disassemble them and hit them with some spray paint.

I guess they turned out ok for my first time. I’m sure the fronts will turn out even better.



Got it all reassembled and everything feels and looks good so far. 👍🏼



I’ll tackle the front next, get some parts and electronics ordered and hope to have it out for a run in the next week or two if my schedule and the weather cooperates.

[dezfan]

Any of you guys using the RC4WD Superlift alignment shim blocks to improve the pinion angle?



Positive or negative experiences?

Help me Obiwan, you’re my only hope!��

[B-MOW71]

Looking good Dez! Glad to hear yours was possibly built on a Wednesday. Not sure if mine was built on Friday or Monday, cause most of my bolts were loose and there was not a drop of loctite on any bolt.

I haven't tried the shim blocks yet. I was thinking about using a couple on the rear axle though. I wasn't to sure how they would work on the front axle. I was afraid that it would put the tires at too much of an angle forward when they were steered lock to lock. (I believe there is a term for that, but I can't think of it right now - too many beers!)

Anyways, looking good and looking forward to seeing more!

[dezfan]

So what do you do when it’s snowing...in late May...again!😐



You work on your crawler between bouts of sitting in front of the fire to warm up. 🤣

Insane weather the last week or so!🥴

I checked to be sure the front diffs where shimmed correctly, amply lubed, and turning freely. I Chino modded the front springs, finished replacing most of the factory hardware with stainless and being sure to use thread lock on everything.

Got it all reassembled.

Then I ordered the A&M Garage skid and the front shackle relocation kit as well as a set of TRX4 drive shafts.

No pics are they would essentially be the same as my post above.😝

Now I wait on parts and for our warm weather to make a comeback.

Back to the fire, I’m freezing! 🔥

[toka100]

This weather has been crazy the last couple of weeks. Barely missed being hit by a tornado one day in Nebraska. Drove through snow in Colorado. Then on my way back from Colorado I followed a storm dropping this the whole way.



Looking forward to seeing what you do with the new fish. How much diff fluid did you add to the shocks? Right now I filled mine up with 10 drops of 25w shock oil just to lube them up.




Sent from my iPhone X using Tapatalk

[dezfan]

Yup, know all about the crazy ass Spring weather in the Mid West. Lived in the KC metro area for over a decade.

Not miss it. 🤣

I filled the shock to just below the threads and then adjusted until the shock rebounded the same distance after being compressed.

[toka100]

Originally Posted by dezfan

Yup, know all about the crazy ass Spring weather in the Mid West. Lived in the KC metro area for over a decade.

Not miss it. 🤣

I filled the shock to just below the threads and then adjusted until the shock rebounded the same distance after being compressed.

so just like with shock oil. hmm I ,might try that real quick. I just figured that would be too thick. I guess with the springs gone it would be different.

[dezfan]

Originally Posted by toka100

so just like with shock oil. hmm I ,might try that real quick. I just figured that would be too thick. I guess with the springs gone it would be different.

I used a small syringe that I used to add remove fluid until I got them to rebound similarly. 👍🏼

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by dezfan

Any of you guys using the RC4WD Superlift alignment shim blocks to improve the pinion angle?

Positive or negative experiences?

I tried them out, they are nicely machined little bits that can solve alignment problems much better than tiny washers. One caveat is to buy double what you need, that way one shim goes between axle housing and leaf spring, then the same degree shim goes on top of spring (flipped around 180*) next to screw head so that it gives a nice perpendicular surface for screw head to tighten against. Hope that makes sense.

Originally Posted by toka100

so just like with shock oil. hmm I ,might try that real quick. I just figured that would be too thick...

Yep, I used 3000wt diff fluid and stood the rear shocks up to the outermost holes on frame crossmember, works great! Might go little thicker next time, just dribbled it out of the AE bottle one drop at a time to about where Dezfan did (bottom of threads or a bit less, and tested all four for equal rebound as he did.

[dezfan]

Originally Posted by Natedog

I tried them out, they are nicely machined little bits that can solve alignment problems much better than tiny washers. One caveat is to buy double what you need, that way one shim goes between axle housing and leaf spring, then the same degree shim goes on top of spring (flipped around 180*) next to screw head so that it gives a nice perpendicular surface for screw head to tighten against. Hope that makes sense.



Yep, I used 3000wt diff fluid and stood the rear shocks up to the outermost holes on frame crossmember, works great! Might go little thicker next time, just dribbled it out of the AE bottle one drop at a time to about where Dezfan did (bottom of threads or a bit less, and tested all four for equal rebound as he did.

Thanks for the reply Nate.

Great idea on doubling up the wedges.👍🏼

I too stood my shocks up, If the bed comes off at some point in the future, I’ll definitely add a set of shock hoops to the rear.

I used 7000 because it’s what I had. 🤣

I may need to go lighter, time will tell, still waiting on some parts to arrive so that so I can get it out on the rocks for testing.

[Levi]

Wow what a great wife you have getting you a mc, lol. That's for sure a great gift. I've got the shims on my axles and it does help with the angle like it should. Depending on the build worth grabbing and play with adjustments.