Slop free, Fat rock C-hubs mod
 

Fat rock hubs are great, but over time they get a lot of slop. It is to be expected, two dissimilar metals rubbing together without lube. We all no what happens when you don't use lube. My screws or pivot pins were even knurled so I had a file like effect going on with every turn. It was getting worse and worse and worse till I thought it was effecting the way the truck was handling off camber sections. Reminded me of how bad my Bruiser knuckles slop around. Anyways, being tired as hell for some reason I woke up today with a solution.

Bearing supported steering."thumbsup"

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...e/DSC02389.jpg

Before
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...e/DSC02392.jpg

Step 1. Remove the knuckle
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...e/DSC02393.jpg

Step 2. Put your safety glasses on then find a 7mm drill bit and drill. Size of the drill bit doesn't really matter as long as it is not larger then 5/16. In soft metal like this I would use high speeds and low pressure to avoid ripping through the metal. The idea here is to make the final cut centered clean and easy.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...e/DSC02399.jpg

Step 3. No turning back now, find a 5/16 drill bit and drill the holes. Be very careful to keep the drill upright and level.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...e/DSC02400.jpg

Step 4. Raid your TLT parts boxes for those bearings that came with the TLT kit that you no longer use. As you can see mine were at the bottom of my parts box rolling in the dirty corner for a long time. Clean them up and use them, if you don't have them I belive the size is 5x8x2.5 width doesn't matter much if you can't find that size.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...e/DSC02403.jpg

Step 5. Press the bearings into the holes with needle nose pliers.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...e/DSC02408.jpg

Step 6. Hunt for some 3mm flat head screws, or you can use traxxas shoulder screws if you desire more strength at the sacrifice of ground clearance.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...e/DSC02411.jpg

Step 7. Bolt it all up and enjoy your zero slop, bind free steering.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...e/DSC02413.jpg

nice job...great idea...does the axle C still hold up with the smaller wall around the screws...

Looks good!"thumbsup" I might have to try it.

Have not really had time to give them the old durability test just yet. But, the c's are only loaded on top to bottom meaning their only job is to keep the tire from tilting sideways. The cvd's or driveshafts support the weight of the truck up and down and the steering steers. So a reduction of material at that placement wouldn't really show negitive effects as it isn't stessed at that point, I think.:lol:

Looks great Mnster. We are having the Fat Rock C's priced out in Stainless Steel. This should help out with issues some may have with early wear and slop.

:lol: is there anything you dont think of? I hate you!looks good man nice work "thumbsup"

Nice mod, but is there anything holding the knuckle from moving up and down other than the axle?

It'd seem that the whole knuckle assembly now has nothing holding it inside the larger hole as the screws don't exceed the diameter of the bearing. Maybe flanged bearings would be better?

I like this idea alot. MNster what is to keep the bearings seated in the C ?
Couldn't it eventually become loose and the the bearing slide either up or down out of the knuckle?

This could easily be solved by the use of a shoulder bearing.

Mabey we should have the next batch opened up and offer the shoulder bearing to go with it?

edit: gstealer beat me to it.

Hmm I have a bag of flanged bearings, I might have to get some axle C's and try this :)

Hmmm.. I can see a mod happening to mine REAL soon... My Fat Rocks are sloppier than a hooker after being in a superbowl winners locker room...

Nice idea.. I'll hafa see if my LHS has that size of bearing... AWESOME idea... "thumbsup" "thumbsup"

great write up, will be trying this out shortly."thumbsup"

so you only do it ot the top or also to the bottom ? ? ?

Looks like the material removal was kept to a minimum - there's plenty of material left I think.

It does'nt look like that will bear much of any kind of load - an accurate press-fit should suffice to keep it there. Some red Loc-Tite would help also.

Flanged bearings would be the ideal solution.

Good thinking Mnster - I can't believe the amount of wear visible in your "before" pic, that's totally unacceptable (at least to me)

Nice job overcoming an obvious flaw in the design...

yeah, ive thought of doing a smilier mod but using flanged bearings and a shoulder screw.

still no answer on this

on one part he metions ground clearance so i imagine the mod was done also to the bottom hole

but ther eis no direct mentioning of this or pics showing it

The Cvd axles prevent the knuckle for sliding up and down. The holes were so worn before the knuckles standoffs fit in the holes. This is how these things have always been supported. But your right, flanged bearings would probably be a better fit.

I did it to top and bottom.

Fishmaxx did something very similar a few months back, except he used those flanged bearings and some socket cap screws if I remember correctly.:idea:

Yes he did.

Well I'm the first one to go public with the idea so there. :lol: I had given throught to using some bearings from my old motor cans. But, using the socket cap screws didn't give me the smooth snag free ground clearance I was looking for.